Day 111- where is mr sun

Another sunless day on the pct. In fact there were so many clouds I could not even find my own shadow. With no sun, there was lots of moisture and just walking made it feel like rain. My body is extremely tired. I think I am at the nearing the end of my 30 mile days. For sure after stehekin I will be dropping my mileage significantly. I met many section hikers today and they were very intrigued, and always asked if I needed food. I didnt want to take there food so I declined that but gladly answered all of their questions. I have decided that of the people I have met on the trail, Washingtonians are the nicest. The huckleberries are giant and a constant distraction but they are too sweet to pass up. Overall even though the weather was freezing, the clouds ruined the view, and I had to sport the long johns under my shorts look, it was still a decent 30 mile day.

Day 110- roller coaster

Breakfast at Snoqualmie Pass!

At 2 in the morning it started raining and I had to put my tent up. To do this I had to find my trekking poles which I thought I left by the power outlet. I walked the 100 yards over there and did not find them. They ended up being right by where I was sleeping. I put the tent up and slept the rest of the night. In the morning I was waiting outside of the summit pancake house when it opened. I got the biggest thing on the menu with every breakfast food imaginable. From here I got some snacks and a couple meals from the chevron and hit the trail. It began with a couple thousand foot climb. There was fog and clouds everywhere so I did not get to see any of the great views until almost 2 when it began to burn off. The trail was never flat always up or down. Over a pass then down to a valley. For the first time in a long time my legs are fatigued. I think it is due to walking at a fast pace to make up for my mid morning start. By ridge lake I met beacon. We didnt talk much as there were a couple day hikers there too. I walked with the day hikers for a while and was just happy to talk with people my age. They may not have been my best friend and we didnt even have lots in common, I just liked answering all their questions. At lunch time they turned back and I cranked on. Through lots of deadfalls and the challenging up and down of the trail I met many section hikers and crossed many streams. One of the larger creeks even had a washed out bridge and I had to cross on a branchy log. I finished out the day and am camped out on a windy ridge. It's going to be a cold night.

Day 109- snoqualmie pass

When I woke up this morning I was just too comfortable in my sleeping bag. This meant I didn't get up and moving until after 7. But even so I wanted to get to snoqualmie pass today. It would be my last giant day of 42 miles. Even with the late start I was set on my goal. Almost all day was filled with logging land, a checkerboard of clear-cuts. In the morning the fog had settled into some of the lower valleys and made it half beautiful. I passed Tibetan a few miles in. He is an interesting guy and it was strange to see him after passing him over 1500 miles ago. He must have skipped up. The rest of the day was non eventful. Then about 8 miles before snoqualmie pass is where all the down trees started. Every other minute was spent climbing up and over some gigantic trees that laid across the trail. It got dark and I brought out the head lamp and cranked out the last few miles in the dark before arriving at highway 90 and the pass. To my dismay the chevron had closed a half hour early causing nothing to be open. I did find a power outlet to charge my phone and a spot right next to a ski lift to sleep. I will find a place for breakfast in the morning, buy a little food (mostly snacks) and head out.

Day 108- into the clearcuts

Last night was the first night in a long time that I was actually cold. This just made me get up and get going quicker. The Mosquitos were somewhat bad until I was up by chinook pass and highway 410. From here I had to climb to sheep lake and then up even higher over yet another pass. Sheep lake had so many backpackers out for the weekend for such a small lake. From here we got to wind around some high hills with little water compared to the rest of washington. Because of how the hill were situated, there were great views of what's in front and what was behind. Eventually I got to government meadow where there is the best of the three shelters that I have seen built on the trail. Here there was a family spending the last of their Sunday. I could just tell they would love to give me food so I went up and started talking to them. I ended up talking and snacking with them for an hour. They gave me a hot dogs, soda, and chips and when I said I was going they gave me marshmallows, Graham crackers, chips, and a candy bar. I only got in 6 more miles because of the time I spent at urich cabin. But I did get six miles into the dreaded logging section of the trail. In that time I had to climb up under and around multiple fallen logs. Tomorrow I may do the big day I had planned for today.

Day 107- the last resupply

I woke up and was on the trail around 630. I snaked up and around white pass ski area before dropping down to highway 12 and white pass. From here I made the half mile walk down the road to the kracker barrel and picked up the last of my resupply packages. It had about 6 days of food and other than that I will be just getting food out of gas stations the rest of the way. I bought ice cream, coffee, pastries, burritos, and a pizza pocket from this store and waited for some of my depleted electronics to charge. After I could not sit still any longer I made my way back to the trail. I was a bit too full, but it's so hard to pass up real food. On the trail it was a winding path through beautiful lakes and wildflowers. Then as if that was not good enough, we climbed to the top of the ridges, yielding wonderful views of rainier. I would around these ridges with many gorgeous meadows and alpine lakes. Then I hears some thundering footsteps and looked into the meadow and saw over a hundred running elk into the trees. The next stream I came to had hundreds of frogs in it too. This section is full of wildlife. This trail is amazing in that if you have a couple bad days out here, it will take you high into the mountains and give you spectacular views and help you remember why you are out here. I passed the 30 mile mark for the day and was planning on 4 more to highway 410 but shortly thereafter I hit Dewey lake which was pretty amazing and something I decided was not worth passing up. It was the question of camping by a lake or a highway. I don't know why I was so stuck on doing more miles. So I settled on a 31 mile day and am just fine with it (trail mile 2329) . Tomorrow I supposedly enter into one of the worst sections of trail through clear-cuts with many down logs. Thank you logging industry.

Day 106-people watching

Today was a good day... After my morning meltdown. I packed up my stuff and got going close to 7, but only about a mile into the hike I began to get attacked by hundreds of Mosquitos. I was swatting them left and right but more just kept coming so I began to run down the trail to get away. It didn't work and for a good five miles I was swatting them and yelling some choice words at the irritating insects.finally as I began to climb the goat rocks I got away from them. Early in the climb I saw a dad with his kid. Pretty normal except the dad was carrying two guns on his shoulder and neither of them had packs or even water. That set the tone for the day. I would see as interesting people as I would on a trip to Walmart. Down the trail I saw a large group of teenagers with the parents straggling behind. In that group alone there must have been 8 wife beaters and as many trucker hats. Then around noon i saw a guy in a dress shirt and jeans getting water and then his pack fell in the stream. He sprinted down the mountain and dove in and got his pack and waved to me like nothing happen. The strange assortment of people continued the whole day. I probably saw 150 people total. The goat rocks were pretty amazing. Definitely the best Oregon or Washington has offered so far, but it did not even compare to the sierras. Even so, the views of Adams, and St Helens were great and the view of rainier only got better as we walked on 6000 foot ridges towards it. In the last 2 miles of the day I even got to see the goats of the rocks. There were between 5 and ten and as soon as they saw me they bolted up the rocks. They move a little quicker than me. I had forgotten how tough it is to walk on snow. I am tired out from the 32 mile trek through the snowy goat rocks. There is 5 miles to white pass (trail mile 2303) tomorrow and then it's 279 miles in 9 days to stehekin where I will meet up with my special guest who will finish the trail with me.

Goat Rocks

Day 105- caching in

Waking up I could tell it was going to be a tough day. My body was tired, my mind was tired, and I was unmotivated to get up. Since I knew it could be a slow day, I forced myself out of bed and onto the trail at 7. Only 2 miles in I was dead tired and needed a break. I pushed on and made it to forest service road 34 where there was the most wonderful food cache in the world from the trout lake abbey. It contained apples, oranges, snack bars, complete meals, vitamin water, and even Starbucks frapachinos! It gave me the energy I needed to power up the long hill to the base of mt Adams. The views were spectacular. It was really one of the first good views of Washington. St Helens, rainier, and of course Adams were all visible and I snapped off plenty of pictures. On the descent down from mt adams i finally saw some elk. They took off as soon as they saw me, breaking branches and trampling bushes and scaring me a bit. As i left the mt Adams wilderness, the Mosquitos became unbearable around the lakes just before goat rocks wilderness. After 45 minutes and tons of bites, they began to lighten and I finally found a place I could set up my tent before I was eaten alive. I entered goat rocks wilderness just before setting up camp and tomorrow I will get to go through it. Some say it is one of the best on the whole trail. Even with being tired all day and very fatigued I still managed 33 miles.

Day 104-everythings bigger in Washington

The fallen trees are huge, the Mosquitos are huge, the snowdrifts are huge and the miles are longer here. Even at a low elevation and not the most difficult terrain, I am getting tired earlier than I did in Oregon and northern california. I think all factors of the long trip may be wearing on me. I woke up in a damp tent on a ridge looking back at mt hood. It wouldn't have been a problem but all day I was so busy fighting off the exotic Mosquitos that I had no time to dry it out. Even though I seemed to be going at a slow pace, the miles still crept by and before I knew it I was walking through Indian Heaven wilderness where my family has backpacked since I was a baby, during our last trip there in 2009 we ran into several thru hikers, inlcuding a retired guy named  "peanut eater" who completed the PCT that year and this year is taking a shot at the continental divide trail (CDT). The Mosquitoes were pretty bad here just as they have always been. This was the lone highlight of a day filled with walking through thick green forests with lots of  deadfalls and offering very few views of the area. I made it to trout lake creek, just past Steamboat Lake where I am camped at the best campsite I have had in a while. The only trouble is I still have a damp sleeping bag from 2 nights ago and a damp tent from yesterday.

Day 103- the clothesline

Today I woke up with everything soaked. My sleeping bag was wet, I was wet, my tent was wet, and my pack was wet due to a tent collapse in the middle of the night. I did the best I could to not get too frustrated. Luckily my family was spending their time to camp out on the trail with me for a night and they had some great food for breakfast including eggs, bacon, frosting, bagel French toast, and coffee, all topped off with some trail made huckleberry syrup made by my sister. Once the great meal was over it was time to hit the trail. It was just one of those days I didn't feel like walking. It was lots of climbing in the morning, only to have a 2000 foot climb all go to waste by descending down the other side of the hill. From here we just climbed even higher up into the hills east of stabler. I used my pack as a clothesline all day to dry all my gear out. At one point I had it so covered in things drying out, it concealed my pack. Day hikers were even giving me strange look. Even with the long time my bag had to dry, the sleeping bag is still very damp tonight. Luckily i am newly resupplied and got to have my favorite dehydrated food for dinner: gnocchi.

Day 102-huckleberrys

Washington welcomed me with some of the largest huckleberries I have ever seen. They large blue and very sweet. After getting dropped off and walking across the the bridge of the gods, I had to climb up from only 140 feet to 4000. Around 3 I met up with my parents and sister where they would camp with me on the trail. We had good food and even a cake and s'mores for dessert. The trouble came when we went to bed and it began to pour. Then about 1 in the morning my tent collapsed and made a puddle in my tent and soaking everything. I got as warm as I could and decided to figure it out in the morning.

Day 101- the gorge

It was a warm night in the eagle creek canyon and I didn't sleep too well. It seemed much cooler in the morning so I got a couple hours of sleep in then before setting out on the ten miles to cascade locks. Going down the canyon was pretty amazing and the most beautiful trail I have seen in miles. The forest was green, the water was pure, and there were water falls everywhere. One waterfall called tunnel fall, you actually have to walk under the falls through a tunnel. When I got about a mile from the end of the trail I began to see tons of day hikers and many of them had dogs. Then the unexpected happen, after believing I would be hanging out in cascade locks until around 12 when my friend Tyler, I had 3 messages from my parents saying they were in town to meet me for breakfast. This motivated me and I ran the last 3 miles to where they were parked. I was greeted with the usual hug and comment on how skinny I looked. From here we crossed the river and had a wonderful breakfast buffet at skamania lodge. I stuffed myself completely. I packed up the food they brought me and before I knew it my friend Tyler was in town. We went to the hood river beach and swam around while avoiding parasailors. From here yet another friend Courtney picked me up and took me to a BBQ where her family and some neighbors were waiting to ask me lots of questions. I filled myself with hot dogs hamburgers and even pie for dessert. I chatted for a long while and even got my laundry done. It was great. Tomorrow they will give me a ride back to the trail and I will hike 20ish miles to camp with my parents.

Day 100-bye Oregon

I am camped about 10 miles from the end of Oregon. This means I will be sleeping on Washington soil until I am done with the trail. Waking up, I was tired and fatigued from my massive day yesterday, so I slept In a bit even so I made it 31 miles today. The first part of the day around mt hood consisted of climbing a ridge, then dropping down the other side to a river. This was repeated a few times and was somewhat annoying. But eventually I began to see some day hikers mostly on their way to either the muddy fork or Ramona falls. I even had to teach some how to read signs. From here we walked north and left mount hood in the dust. After clearing a couple hills and passing lost lake, we came to a ridge where hood was visible behind and st Helens, rainier, and Adams were visible ahead. It was pretty amazing. Soon after I departed the pct to take the eagle creek alternate route which I had been told by many past hikers was a must take. It was steep at the beginning and really put some pressure on my knees and legs to slowly descend. After two miles it became more gradual and was Just casual walking through a green northwest forest. Tomorrow I will complete the 10 miles of Oregon and take the rest of the day off.

Day 99- 52 miles

Today was the day I did over 50 miles for the second time. It began a little ways past Jude lake and ended past timberline lodge. It was really not a bad section, with a few lakes along the way including Timothy lake. The only thing that seemed to spoil some of it was the views were very infrequent, with all the walking in green forests. As I approached mt hood and began the walk around it, I was already around mile 45 for the day and the trail went up a sandy hill. It was pretty rough and was one of those climbs that 2 steps forward meant one back. Once up the hill, views of mt hood were amazing with the peak looking down upon us hikers. To add to the beauty, the trail was bordered with amazing wildflowers. As I went by timberline lodge there were many day hikers snapping lots of pictures of hood. It was strange to be walking under some of the ski lifts that I have snowboarded on, only this time the snow was gone. After crossing highway 26 at waipiti pass and highway 35 at Barlow pass today, the only section left is the 40 some miles I have to get to cascade locks. 52 miles was a giant day for me and I can tell I am exhausted and may not be so fast tomorrow. The key today was my pace was close to 4 miles an hour. Even though cascade locks is within a long day of where I am camped, i am thinking I will do it in a day and a half due to the anticipation of being pretty tired tomorrow.

Day 98- the tag along

Last night was cold and windy and I did not want to get out of bed. Finally around 615 I forced myself out and did a quick pack job of my stuff and was walking soon afterwords with the sole purpose of getting warmed up. Luckily we got to walk right around mt Jefferson on the west side offering some pretty stunning views. We walked around a horseshoe type ridge near woodpecker peak and climbed over a north facing ridge and came to a beautiful meadow, that is where the tone for the rest of the day was set - I met dreamlaugher. He is a 65 hear old man hiking the Oregon section of the PCT. He never stopped talking and most of his stories seemed far fetched. After a while I felt more like some peace and "quiet" and just enjoy the views along the trail so I put in my headphones but he still wanted to tell me more stories.   I tried to out walk him, walking 12 miles in 3 hours and took a break, but who should appear, dreamlaugher running down the trail, looking like he was going to drop. I started walking again and made it to olallie lake where he caught up once again. From here it was a lost cause and he continued walking behind me talking my ear off with more stories. Around 8 I made camp and he camped with me and said he would keep hiking with me. Today he was with me for 30 miles of the 38 I did, got to give him credit for putting in big miles.! I suspect he will not be up when I leave tomorrow morning, we'll see..... The day ended on a good note - I had some blue cheese mashed potatoes for dinner that were great. I am 39 miles from timberline lodge and should get at least close to there tomorrow.

Day 97- mt Jefferson

It was strange walking today. Even though I only took a half a day off, it felt like it was much longer. I got a ride to the trail around 11 and didn't start walking until close to 12. It was a bit sad to leave my family once again, but I will see them in cascade locks in a couple days. The majority of walking today was through a burn area around three finger jack. It was supposed to be mostly waterless, but with all the snow still around, I had no issues and did not need to carry much water. After we walked around the base of three finger jack, we had some amazing views of mt Jefferson. I am camped on a ridge with Jefferson straight to the north looking like a giant mountain. The views to the north east and west are amazing, while when you look south it is ruined by bare, burned trees. Mac and cheese is on the menu tonight and the goal for tomorrow will be to eat enough food to lighten my pack a bit. I was feeling pretty tired today as well due to two nights in a row of being up past eleven which is way past my usual bedtime and not being able to sleep any longer than 630. But I cannot complain about two real beds in a row. It's the first time that has happen on the whole trip. Not much wildlife existed in the burn area. I saw only one deer and a ton of very small frogs that hung out by the snow. Tomorrow I will pass by pamelia lake area where my family has done quite a bit of backpacking.

Day 96-family

Today I finally got to see my family. It's been over 3 months and it has seemed to fly by. The day started with me waking up in a real bed at my friends house in Sisters. After charging up all my electronics, his mom made me a wonderful breakfast of sausage eggs French toast coffee and orange juice. Then I was taken to the trail and had 18 miles to go to make it santiam pass where my parents would be meeting me. I walked by the nice mt Washington and only encountered one small patch of snow. From there it was steady walking through a dry forest. I passed by big lake youth camp and crossed a few forest service roads before finally making it to highway 20 near santiam pass. A few minutes later my dad sister mom and grandma arrived to pick me up and we headed back to our cabin. Before leaving they left some trail magic  (brownies, and beverages)  for thru hikers passing through. The feeding began on the way back to the cabin. I was given sandwiches brownies and pop by my family who like everyone else I have seen commented on how skinny I was. At the cabin we took a dip in the river, ate steak and potatoes for dinner, chocolate pie and homemade ice cream for dessert, and also got my chores done. Later in the evening I got some stories and pictures of the trail in. It was the perfect day that I needed. I got to relax, eat and see my family. In the end it seemed like the 18 mile walk was a minor part of the day.

Sunrise

Flowers

Day 95- more familiar trail angels

It was one of those mornings. I woke up early but did not want to get out of my sleeping bag. Time went by and I finally found the motivation to get started. With everything packed up and ready to go, I began my 31 mile push to mckenzie pass. I was going to do it by 5 as well. Little did I know there would be quite a bit of snow. On the bright side the Mosquitos were much more tolerable today as well. I walked past elk lake in the morning and met chemical burn. He got his name from putting on too much deet and it created a burn on his leg. He was still packing up so I moved on. I passed a few more day and section hikers throughout the day. The scenery today was fantastic, starting with the huge meadows we walked through with views of bachelor, and the three sisters mountains. We actually walked right by the south sister. This was cool because I have climbed the south sister a couple times. The whole day was made up of these spectacular views and even though clouds were in the sky, rain was avoided. I got to mckenzie pass around 5 and my friend Lucas picked me up and brought me back to his place where his mom made me a huge dinner of beans, enchiladas,rice, corn, and fruit. I even got a shower and some pictures uploaded. Later in the evening she pulled out strawberry shortcake and huckleberry ice cream and said they had a real bed for me to sleep in. It was amazing. Thru hiker heaven. Let's see if my parents can match them in hospitality when I see them tomorrow.

Fitting that its called mirror lake

Mirror lake. I see why

Day 94- late start

Well I stayed around for breakfast with the redneck hippies from Eugene. When I told them that that is what they are, they loved it. They also enjoyed my stories. I waited for breakfast and then ate as much as possible. Sadly it took me until noon to get my fill leaving me very little time to get closer to mckenzie pass. I still got in 27 miles, the most possible with the daylight I had. Tomorrow I need to do 30 by 430 so my old roommate lucas's family can pick me up. I am not feeling great today, and I am nearly positive it is due to all the junk the Eugene party crew fed me. I can't imagine 3 hot dogs for breakfast is a very smart idea. Well I packed out an orange and a sandwich and not far down the trail when I was setting up my solar charger, the mophie external battery for my phone broke and is a bit useless. I have no way to charge my phone. I had an amazing shepherd pie for dinner. I was almost too tired to cook, I was up late last night and I have to get up early again. The Mosquitos are a bit better, but their bites hurt and itch more now it seems. I believe I have killed more Mosquitos than the miles I have walked. as a result of the large number of Mosquitos, my legs feel like lego pieces with bumps over every square inch if them (all bites). It's not the most fun hiking with all the mozzys, but its pretty flat and easy.

Charlton lake

Day 93- giving blood

A quick 14 miles into shelter cove was only quick because of the large number of Mosquitos around that were constantly biting and harassing me. So many bit me that they probably got the equivalent amount of blood as if I had donated. Shelter cove was solid and I got a hot dog for lunch as well as some AAA batteries for my radio and use of the terrible Internet. I met boots and David two section hikers here. Yogi the bear would be jealous of the rest of my day. At lower rosary lake some people gave me a bagel and cream cheese. Then after 12 miles of the worst Mosquitos so far I got to charlton lake where there was a group of family and friends camping from Eugene and they gave me access to everything. They were great and cooked me steak tacos hot dogs and marshmallows. I was going to walk further but they convinced me to camp there and said they would make me breakfast!

Trapper creek by odell lake an willamette pass

Day 92- the midday swim

Waking up I had no idea I would have a relapse of the sierras. But in the year of snow, i should have known I would be seeing more snow. I had a couple miles of snow walking around the pct highpoint for Oregon and washington. I really had to search for the trail in some spots, but after coming this far I know I just have to fight through it. For some reason, all of today I was really tired. I think I need to start snacking more. Around 24 miles in i really hit the wall, I had to take a long break and just relax. But even when I started out again I was dragging. Luckily at this point there was a lake that I jumped in real quick despite the heavy clouds of hovering Mosquitos and that did the trick. I am camped 12 or so miles from willamette pass. Oregon is really flying by. Sadly the Mosquitos have really put a damper on the beautiful scenery.

Nothing better than a nice afternoon swim

Day 91- the crater sunrise

Since I have been to crater lake before, I had to do something to make it special this time. I decided to night hike out to the rim and watch the sunrise. I awoke at some number that started with a 4 giving me under five hours of sleep. But the sunrise was absolutely worth it! It came up right over the rim on the other side of the lake. I knew I would need some kind of sugar to kickstart my day so I went with nutella on tortillas. This boosted me a few miles through some patchy snow walking but I could already tell I would be dragging all day from lack if sleep. It's hard enough to go to work or even class on very little sleep, but walking for over twelve hours in a day makes it really tough. But I battled. When I sat down for my first break there was a small dust devil that I saw start up and continue for about a minute. It was about the size of a trashcan and not 5 feet from me. I continued on and needed some help from listening to the radio after we left the crater lake rim. This is also when the walking got really monotonous due to all the trees and no good views. The Mosquitos were out in force to make it even more enjoyable. Now I have a system of limiting the bites I end up getting. I am constantly wiping my neck, face, legs, and arms. I had a big day kills wise, raising my mosquito kills per day significantly. A few miles before the highway i saw a trail crew working on the trail and they offered me some water which I should have taken but I thought I had enough. And I would have, had there not been a significant amount of snow. After I crossed highway 138 I saw acorn again who seemed to have skipped up to crater lake. From here it was more snow than not, with most of it in large drifts that were pretty steep and hard to traverse. I actually ended up bending both of my trekking poles on the same steep snow field. I made it through that and to thielson creek where I was so thirsty I drank a whole liter within a minute and got an unpleasant brain-freeze from the snow cold water. From here I put in a few more miles bringing me to about 30 for the day and the ability to stop walking at 7 in order to catch up on some sleep.

Day 90-the breakfast break

All night there was a bear growling about 100 feet from camp. He never came into camp which was fine with me. He sounded like he was in pain which may explain him being there all night and not even coming into my camp. Due to the bear interrupting my sleep, I slept in and didn't even start in the trail until 7. I walked 29 miles through snow and millions of Mosquitos and made it to mazama village where I destroyed their buffet. I had six plates of turkey, mashed potatoes, lasagna, and apple cobbler. While sitting their I saw there were 32 mosquito bites on my right arm alone. I hate those things. At the buffet I met alienwalker. She is a through hiker who has done some skipping, but she was nice. After dinner I headed out and planned on walking 7 miles to a good viewpoint where I would watch the sunrise. It ended up I went down the wrong trail for 4 miles costing me time and energy. I had to back track and then still do the 7 miles. I had to walk until midnight but I did end up making it. It was strange to night hike because I would see lots of deer, but only their eyes reflected light. It was like a cartoon. I am glad to get to the beautiful crater lake. It only took 37 miles and it feels like a windstorm on the rim.

Crater lake sunrise

Day 89- back to the trail

After a wonderful 24 hour break from the trail, I had to get back on the trail. My grandparents didn't give in easily though. With a large breakfast of eggs, hash-browns, bacon, orange juice, coffee, and biscotti they did make me consider staying another day. But I had made my choice and began packing up my stuff. I had enough food to get all the way through Oregon there, so I packed up some and am still looking at where I want to mail it. I got some more pictures up on the blog as well today. Then finally around 1230 I hit the trail. I have no complaints about the time. I had such a wonderful time with some of the extended family in southern Oregon. It was apparent everyone had done a good job feeding me when I went to buckle my hip belt. I had to loosen it to get it on but I'm not complaining. I was so rested and in such a good mood that the miles just flew by today. Before I new it I had passed by four lakes trail and began getting eaten alive by Mosquitos. I have a net but I didn't want to dig for it, so I just walked as fast as I could for a few miles. I could not take any breaks without having hundreds on me. At one point I stopped to tie a shoe and by the time my poles were down there were three on top of my hand. I probably killed 400 mozzis (mosquitos) while hiking. The day ended a bit early as I had done 21 miles in 7 hours with breaks included and was plenty satisfied and also hungry. I made some dehydrated mushroom spaghetti that was about average for my meals, but did fill me up. I will be passing out to the tune of the thousands of buzzing Mosquitos around my tent.

I've had a request to post some more pictures, so will put up a few of the last 1780 miles, not necessarily in order

Day 88- the Garmire crew

Eight miles was all I had today. Soon after waking up I saw a sign that said i had eight miles to go instead of five. That's when I had to kick it into high gear. I walked about as fast as I could for a couple hours and made it to highway 140. I finally made it to where my grandparents would pick me up at the trail at 825 and I was expecting the grandparents at 830. Once I connected with them, they came and got me. As their car came down the highway, a real skinny coyote ran across right in front if their car. They picked me up and surprised me with a couple homemade egg mcmuffins that were pretty darn good. They drove me back to their house and we talked and caught up along the way. Back at their place I got my chores of laundry, shower and food packing done and then we were off to pick up a few things. We hit Costco, and then went to the eagle point walmart that has some of the strangest customers of any walmart. Inside as we were beginning to leave, we saw wrangler shopping in the walmart. It was a shock because he had asked if I knew of any walmarts couple hundred miles ago and I didn't even think to tell him eagle point (near medford). We ended up giving him a ride to the bus stop since he already had a hotel in ashland. My grandma was so happy to be able to help him even a little. We made our way home, uploaded some pictures, and before I knew it, my cousins were on their way over. Between all my southern Oregon cousins, my brain was picked clean with no questions left unanswered. The best part was that everyone brought snacks, and wonderful dinners and desserts that were high In calories (what I need lots if). It was definitely the best overall day of eating on the trail. I was stuffed all day long. After showing pictures, eating and just catching up with family, I finally got to make use of my night with a real bed around eleven. Even though it was way past my bedtime, it was well worth staying up to see everyone. The plan for tomorrow is walk a little further down the trail when I can motivate my grandparents to kick it in gear and get me to the trailhead.

Day 87-40 miler

I woke up to the tune of my alarm clock with the idea of completing the 44 miles I had left in the section today. But when I heard the alarm, I had no motivation to get up so I decided to sleep in. I finally got on the trail around 715 and I was all business. If it hadn't been for so many day hikers I may have actually made it to the highway. First I met the day hiker Edward around 9 in the morning and he was very interested in my journey and he was one of those people that it was just a pleasure to talk to. So I played with his dog and told him about my trip for over 20 minutes. This happen many times throughout the day, but I never chatted with people this long and I had no interest in playing yogi bear today and trying to get some food. I just wanted to get to highway 140 and see my grandparents again and all the cousins I did not see on the 4th of July. I passed by hyatt lake and then Howard prairie lake where I believe they have a shooting range and a racetrack. My dad actually worked there one summer and trail ran in the pct. The day finished off with me putting on some music and really mashing some miles even through the somewhat bad Mosquitos. I ended up a little over 4 miles away from the highway. I can sleep in and then take my time getting to highway 140 where my grandparents will pick me up at 830.

Day 86- seeing some people I know.

Waking up with 18 miles to go in order to see grandparents did not seem bad, knowing I had until 1230 to get there and they would have lots of good food for me. Taking that into consideration, I put it in top gear and really flew through the miles. Not two miles in I passed John duncan's tent and kept on trekking. The day consisted of a small climb followed by a long downhill into callahans. The walk was littered with day hikers mostly hiking their dogs. Finally around 1220 I arrived at callahans and saw my grandparents already there with kfc, dump cake(my favorite), drinks, watermelon, and overall enough food to feed a small army. It turns out that it only takes a few thru hikers to eat like one. No need for a trail name, steady, nice and myself were the first to dig into the feast. Gourmet, and John Duncan seemed to get their fill as well. This was the official becoming of trail angels for my grandparents. They were a hit and the center of the party. It was even better that they knew many of the places in northern California that we went through including castle crags, lake britton, burney falls, and the John muir trail since my grandpa hiked it many years ago with a bit of a different style It was a great afternoon of lots of chatting and good stories. Sadly it had to end. I had decided not to stay there so I hiked 10 miles down the trail after they dropped me off. This leaves 43 miles to get to the highway where they will pick me up and take me to meet my cousins, and do some chores like laundry and figure out how I will get food for the rest of Oregon. Did I mention I finally got a shower today as well. I won't say how many days it was, only that it was too long. I'm surprised my grandma didn't faint when she hugged me. Last but not least my grandma brought me the best snack if all:nutella.

Day 85-Oregon!

I finished walking all over california around 430 today. It was a 1700 mile walk. Now it's all Oregon. Along the 36 miles of today, I got to meet a few thru hikers. Early in the morning I meta group of section hikers consisting of mostly older ladies that I had met near castle crag. Then I met an older thru hiker that did not give me his age. Just judging by his appearance he had either taken lots of time at seiad valley to clean up or he has skipped a lot. Then around lunch I passed by bookworm who ended up skipping a somewhat large section north of yosemite. That's where the big rivers were. He got his name due to carrying a kindle and he was reading it when I walked by. After meeting a few more section hikers, I met John duncan at the Oregon/California border. He is now named the bear wisperer due to seeing 17 bears already. Around the Oregon border, the ridge walking turned more into walking on rolling hills. It was still beautiful. Right before the border there were lots of cattle and all had bells around their necks so it was constantly noise. Only a couple of miles after crossing the Oregon border I saw 4 rednecks on the tailgate of their truck all with beers in their hand. They seemed to be camping on a dirt road. That was my welcome to southern Oregon. For dinner i cooked up some wonderful gnocchi with a little bit of mashed potatoes to thicken the extra water i had in it. Then for dessert i had an amazing angel food cake that my sister made me. I wish i had it every night. Tomorrow I will make it to callahans lodge where my grandparents will be there with some food and drinks. I am so excited to get there and see a familiar face. It's only 18 miles!

Day 84-last day in Cali

First of all I apologize for having some trouble keeping the day numbers right on the blog. It seems I cannot count to 100. Will second grade take me back? I got up at 500 this morning to try to get the 21 miles I had to seiad valley in early enough to climb the hill out of seiad valley and edge closer to the Oregon border. I camped at the top of the 16 mile downhill into the tiny town and got a good start. I had enough food for a small breakfast so I ate that and then i had to make it to seiad for my next meal. I began the descent to grider creek and met a guy from Vancouver who is doing some section hiking with his friends. I pushed on and finally got to the first crossing of the creek. Since all crossings were bridged I didn't have to worry about getting the feet wet. This is the point I realized I needed to crank up the music to get through the next 11 miles. I put on the headphones and started moving real fast. Before I knew it I had made it to the grider campground and the start of the 7 mile road walk. At this point I was out of food and very hungry. I had to push on. After I joined the paved grider road there were some blackberries that seemed to only make me hungrier, but at least it was something. I finally made it to seiad valley and went straight to one of the three buildings in town: the cafe. I had a great burger and fries with a coke in the opinion of a starved thru hiker it was great. After this I got my 3 packages including an angel food cake from my sister! I packed up and then went for some ice cream and candy bars from the store. Sadly the store was out of AAA batteries so I will have to go s little further with no headlamp. I also got to download some sports talk shoes with the cafe's wifi to listen to on my way up the 8 mile hill out of town. I was off then. I grinded up the hill to the tune of the podcasts and caught up on my sports news. I also arranged to meet some cousins and grandparents at callahans in 2 days. The views after making it up the 9 mile hill in hundred degree heat made it all worth it! Another amazing sunset from there high ridges and another day feeling on top of the golden state!

Day 83- no food

Well I do not have no food. I have enough to get me to seiad valley tomorrow, but it is the leftover stuff that I'm not a big fan of. In addition it is the type if food that does not translate to great energy. I am totally out of snack foods and I would give just about anything to have a candy bar, nutella, pop tart or ritz crackers. Those are some of my favorite snacks on the trail. The last two days I have been surviving on top roman, beans and couscous. All are pretty bland and I have noticed my energy level drop with only those to fuel me. Anyways today I was dragging all day. I was hoping for a big day to set myself up to get into Oregon and meet my grandparents in the next couple days. I didn't hurt myself for both of these to happen with 32 miles, but I didn't help myself either. Around 3 in the afternoon I just hit the wall. While walking the ridges, meadows, and the lakes of the wilderness today, I met slip and sweep. They are thru hikers who skipped the sierras. Then I met two girls section hiking from burney falls to ashland among many different day hikers. While I was walking by paradise creek I had a grouse fly up out of the tall grass not more than 5 feet from me. It was pretty cool and it scared me. I also got to see an amazing sunset over the mountains to top off the day. The Mosquitos have gotten pretty bad in places where water is around. I can't wait to get to seiad valley to get some food. Rumor is my sister stuck a dehydrated angel food cake in there. Then two days later I get to have lunch with my grandparents at callahans lodge!

Day 82- ducks vs. BEAVERS

The Russian wilderness and the trinity alps are both amazing places to hike. I went through both of them today. I got to walk on these amazing cliffs and ridges while looking down into basins with meadows, lakes and streams. There were also some snow capped mountains around to add to the scenery. This does not stop my desire to get to Oregon, but it does muffle it. Acorn, who I camped with got an early start and was on the trail before I was up. I made coffee for the first time on the trail this morning due to the fact that acorn mentioned it last night and it sounded good. It also gave me an extra boost. I caught acorn in the mid morning around highway 93 and I did not look back. I kept in trekking all day in the great scenery. A little before lunch I saw postop and homemade walking south. They said they got to mt Whitney and decided that it was not for them. So they took some time off and are now going south from ashland. They also said only about 15 true thru hikers are ahead of me. The day closed with a 12 mile waterless stretch. No big deal. I didnt even make it all the way to big bear spring(end of stretch) but I had overestimated how much water I needed so I had enough to camp. Right before the road to etna, I met 4 day hikers from Oregon (2from Corvallis and 2 from Eugene). So along with the millions of questions they asked about how I'm doing this hike, I finally got one thing I knew I missed about Oregon: ducks vs. BEAVERS!

Mt. Shasta in the distance

1600 miles and still having the time of my life

Day 81-another 34

Well as is the theme, I put in another 30+ mile day. This time it just happened to be 34. I'm not sure exactly how many days it's been since I have done a day less than 30, but that's ok. My feet are holding up and seem to be ok with putting up big numbers. In the home stretch of California I'm trying to avoid any foot troubles that it seems are pretty common around this time. I finally caught acorn today and he told me how some of the people in back were fairing. It seems that many of them have either skipped ahead or dropped out. In his words "the trail has become sparse". Only a few more days until Oregon and I cannot wait. Seiad valley in 3 days is the next town I get a box in and boy do I need it. I have basically run out of snacks, so I am eating 5 meals a day to make up for the lost calories. I am either eating or walking at this point. If your wondering how it is possible to be able to go from a maximum of around 28 miles a day to consistently low to mid 30s I would say the only difference is efficiency. If you can keep everything you need for the day on top of your pack that can save you 5 minutes every break. If you take 6 breaks a day that's 30 minutes and that equals a mile and a half. I have it dialed in where I am either walking or taking a break. I don't mess with gear or equipment during the day. That happens in the evening. I also make sure to get 8 hours of sleep. That's about it. The hike today was amazing. We hiked on the top of ridges and over huge jagged peaks. With the no snow (except one small patch) factored in, it was one of my favorite days. My feet are still not fully healed so hopefully that happens tomorrow.

Castle Crags