Days 23 & 24 – Ashland Loves Me

The wind dies down gradually overnight and swings to the northwest, where I am sheltered by the hill Next to me. It is before 5am, and I am happy to lay here a little longer. But in a ruthless act of self-denial, I open the valve on my air mattress and it deflates. I need to get going. There is much to do today.

I have a general idea of what I am doing in Ashland, and where I will spend my nights. But there is much that is still undecided. I have decided to go with the flow.

The road to Ashland

From the campground I make my way to the trail. I am back on the PCT by 6am. My destination is The Callahan Lodge from where I will get a ride into town. The weather is perfect for hiking and the tread is smooth. Don’t look around, Doolittle, just get to Callahan’s. I can’t stop myself and see a deer grazing in the meadow above me.

Three flowers cannot be ignored. I am in speed-shooting mode. Unzip-camera-point-shoot-zip. Using this method, I get capture these:

But the prize shot of the day is this video of a spider web. This web was three-dimensional, having not a spoked-wheel form, but more of an egg beater shape. A photo can not do it justice. But a video really makes it glisten.

Decompression

Coming off the trail is always a little jarring. On the trail, we practice Leave No Trace principles religiously. Off the trail, human activity is guided by other principles. I walk through an abandoned train station and a highway construction project. It feels like I have arrived home after my first year at college: the world has not changed, but I have. I cannot entertain these thoughts now – too much to do.

I pay for a ride from Callahan’s to the post office using a local shuttle service. The driver carried the Wander Women into town just an hour before me. Those party animals went directly to a restaurant. I ask the driver so many questions that he eventually gives me a little tour of the town center. By chance we drive by the Women all sitting outside a downtown cafe. I yell out the window, “Hey, Hiker trash!”

Baggage overload

The post office has two of my three packages. I learn that my final package will be here tomorrow. It is the Colo-Guard kit that I ordered before I left home. Patti forwarded it to me here and now I am going to do the test before I move on. Bizarre, huh? Modern life – frustrating and miraculous.

I am a bag lady, carrying my accumulated possessions with me. I crash into the Red Zone – a sports bar. I change my shoes there. The old ones held up well for 500 miles, but the tread is thin now and the cushioning gone. The proprietor hesitates when I ask him to dispose of them. He may be wondering if he has a hazmat suit.

I drop by the local outfitter and buy some Superfeet shoe inserts. I have heard they are much better than the inserts the hiking shoes come with. I sign the hiker registry at the store. Ninja was here! He was the first hiker god I met and the one who gave me the electrolyte tablets that helped rebalance my body. Thanks, Ninja. God speed. Here is what the rest of my day goes like.

• Check into hotel
• Go to pricey grocery store for food for upcoming segments
• Return to hotel to wash clothes and FINALLY take a shower
• Start uploading blog posts
• Talk on the phone to Patti
• Munch on some deli food while watching Holey Moley on TV
• More blogging
• Sleep

There will be more of the same tomorrow and, hopefully, some time off my feet. I am taking a day off blogging to take care of chores. See you on day 25.

• June 24 & 25
• Starting mile: 1710
• Ending mile: 1717
• Daily PCT miles: 7
• Total PCT miles: 3451