Day 35 – Shelter Cove

A zero is a guilty pleasure. A real bathroom is always close. I wear clothes that do not belong to me and that I will leave here when I am done with them. A store stocked with junk food delicacies is at hand. A restaurant that serves calorie-rich entrees is open all day. My friends old and new come and go. There is a city- like level of mosquito control. It is nice to be here…but Canada whispers my name. I cannot tarry.

Online woes

I was up late last night trying to get the Day 26 post uploaded. The maddening thing is that occasionally a graphic or video would actually squeeze through the tiny digital keyhole and get online. That fact kept me trying and trying until after midnight. I gave up after that.

I woke at 4 am and trudged down to the WiFi porch and tried some more – limited success. At 5:30 I went back to bed and slept til 9! All day, off and on, I keep trying to post until finally at around 7:30 the post goes up. Was it really worth all that effort? I don’t know. I suppose.

Back to real life

The morning sky has a scurrilous appeal. But the smoky eye shadow over the mountain is hard won – a fire burns somewhere. After walking through the wreckage of so many burns, I wonder how much more must burn. Is this now a persistent sign of the times?

The rest of the day is spent eating enormous quantities of fatty food, planning route strategies, talking with hikers and campers, charging my electronics and buying food for the next 5-day segment.

I make a new friend – Toad. She considers the name a compliment because reptiles are her very favorite thing. She calls herself an adult student. I think she is smart to do this. The label declared that she is not just some kid anymore. Her hiking is one way to conduct some real-life field work. One of her other favorite things is peak-bagging. When the PCT crosses a summit trail, she feels compelled to take the summit trail to the top of the mountain. “I want to see what it looks like from up there.” I, on the other hand, am content to stay on the PCT and view the mountain summit from right where I am!

Toad mentions that she is going to meet a friend up the trail. His name is Bram. He is European and is in this country under dubious circumstances. He sounds like someone to avoid.

I manage to get a call through to Patti in the evening. The NBA finals start tonight. Oh how I would love to watch that! One of the lenses of my glasses is cracking from the top down. (Why is everything breaking out here?) We discuss getting a backup pair made in case these completely break.

Alternatives

Christie, one of the Wanders, has put together a pretty compelling, but logistically complicated plan on how we can navigate the rest of Oregon. The problem is that the trail is in really bad shape from a major fire and windstorm last year. The fire section is closed for the foreseeable future and the blowdown section my take all summer to clear. We want to hike as much of Oregon as we can, but the best route my parallel the PCT using alternate trails and fire service roads. Getting transportation will be a problem, too. But like Christie says with a broad smile, “It would certainly be an adventure!”

The plan tomorrow is to ride out to the trail on the truck of one of the staff at 6:30 (uncharacteristically late by Wander standards.) I hope to hike 15-ish miles and camp at the least buggy place I can find. This segment will end with a hitch into Sisters or Bend.

I am ready for bed. I am wearing my own clothes again, and lathered in DEET (no place in Oregon is mosquito free!) My legs are rested and my feet actually feel almost decent. Oregon has been spectacular so far. Let’s see what else it has to show me.

• July 6
• Starting mile: 1906
• Ending mile: 1906
• Daily PCT miles: 0
• Total PCT miles: 534
• Animal: lounge lizards (many)