Oregon: The Promised Land????

I attempted to pack quietly on the 1st of August so as not to wake everyone else in camp at 4 am but with the rustling of my tent and the trash bag that lines my pack I’m sure everyone was wide awake before I was done. Uphill was packing nearby and had actually warned the Rev before he went to bed that he would be up early but the Rev apparently hadn’t believed him cause as he finished packing we heard the Rev exploit ( Y’all are seriously hard core packing this early and hiking out” “Everyday” I replied then sighed as I pictured the warm sleeping bag I had recently climbed out of “everyday”. And then we were on our way. The Oregon/ California border was roughly 26 miles away and I was ready to escape to the promised land. We walked in moon glow and headlamp beams while the sun stirred creating a tapestry of fire glow against the distant mountainsides. We cruised past Echo lake and down to a saddle where a forest road crossed our trail. I stopped to eat a honey bun I had packed out of town for a breakfast treat and Uphill continued on. It was another long climb of 12 miles and 3100 feet of ascent up to Nabob ridge and on to Alex hole spring where I filled up my water.and had a quick lunch. Around three the trail ran near an old cabin and I went up to check it out and found Uphill sitting on the porch repairing his sleeping quilt that he had recently accidentally melted a hole in. I joined him on the porch and rested for a while. We were .8 miles from the border of Oregon and soon we got up and continued on. A short time later we made it. While it was still a ridiculously long way to Canada and even father to the end of our trails it still felt like we had finally gotten somewhere. I would have to return to Southern California and cross the desert all too soon but for now i was making my escape. We stopped for pictures and walked on into our new state. We had planned on camping at the next road crossing which was supposed to have tent spots but no water so we were both carrying extra. When we go there everything was slanted and overgrown so reluctantly we carried on for another 2 miles to mile 1692.5 where there was a dry stream and a decent spot to camp for our first night in Oregon. A 26.5 mile day

The morning of the 2nd long before daylight we were up and on our way to a road crossing and a lodge called Callahans where our resupply boxes were supposed to be waiting for us. Uphill was off to the races and usual and I was keeping a decent pace an hour or so behind. A climb up to Jackson gap began the day and a jaunt around Red mountain swiftly followed. Then down for a few miles to Siskiyou Gap before yet another climb past McDonald Peak. Then finally the trail headed down toward interstate 5 and Callahans lodge still miles away. Well at least it was supposed to be down but the trail was like a roller coaster going up and gown and around and every which way. At one point the trail even ran straight into somebody’s driveway and out through their backyard?! Crazy but the nice owner had set up a picnic table and water faucet for hikers. Around noon I reached the side trail that turned left and headed down to the road. It was twisty and overgrown and kinda confusing but I made it out of the woods onto to a railway yard and found  uphill  looking for the trail. We soon located it and found the road that led under I-5 a short distance to Callahans. We were wanting to get a room so we could relax all afternoon and take showers so we asked at the front desk. There was a laminated sheet of paper on the counter that plainly stated a room double room for PCT hikes with a fireplace and Jacuzzi was 129 dollars in very plain text with pictures. The guy behind the desk tried to charge us 225. I told him that were hikers and wanted the discount he said the hiker rooms were the ones without fireplaces and they were full. We were 98 percent positive there weren’t any other hikers there but besides that I told him the paper said the regular room were 129 for hikers with a fireplace he snidely told me I was wrong so I handed him the laminated page that was literally on the counter right in front of him and he took it looked at it and threw it in the garbage. I could tell this was going nowhere so I just asked if me and Uphill could get our boxes. He agreed looking for all the world like he would do anything to get the dirty hikers out of the lodge. He left and quickly returned saying they didn’t have our boxes. Uh-oh we didn’t have any food and without the resupply we’d be screwed. We thanked the guy and walked over to the restaurant to eat while we figured out what to do. I called my dad and he tracked the box and for some reason it had been sitting in Memphis TN a couple of hours from where it had been mailed for the last 4 days without moving. Not good at all. Uphill tracked his and it wasn’t going to be delivered soon either so we ate the cheeseburgers we had ordered and decided we would have to go into the nearby city of Ashland. Uphill called a number for a taxi service and the guy said he would come get us for 18 dollars so we happily left the very unhiker friendly Callahans and went out side to wait. I sat outside for a while then realized I needed to tell them to return the package if it ever got there so I went back in and the manager lady was relieving the desk guy. I asked her to return the package to sender which is free with the post office and she said she would have to charge me 55 dollars. In shock and assuming I misheard I exclaimed “what”? She said she had to charge for the service and the return of the package to Ashland. I told her the  mailman would happily take it back with him and wouldn’t mind at all she disagreed and so I told her it was a box of food and I wasn’t paying 55 dollars. So she then wanted to know what to do with it and I politely and magnanimously told her she could eat it if she wanted. I noticed another copy of the laminated PCT hiker page as well and asked if she knew that it said hiker rooms were 129 with fireplace and jacuzzi and she said I was wrong so I showed her the page and she took it and said “I thought I retyped that.” I was completely flabbergasted, but didn’t want to deal with any of it anymore so I just went back outside. Another couple of hikers had come up called ,Danger, and Blaze, and they were going to share our ride to town. Soon the guy showed up and we all loaded in and went to town. He dropped us off in downtown and Danger and Blaze took off somewheres. Uphill and I decided to find a hotel so we found a nearby coffee and milkshake shop and got milkshakes and sat outside on the sidewalk. Then we stared searching the internet for a room. Everything affordable was booked on the travel sites. I could find single rooms but no double. Uphill wasn’t having any luck either. I finally just went to google maps and started looking at nearby hotels. I noticed Plaza inn and suites was nearby but wasn’t showing up on the travel sites so I googled it and sure enough a double queen room was only 99 bucks which was cheap for the area so I booked it and we walked over. The desk lady was super nice and within 15 minutes we were ensconced in the nicest room I had been in in a very long time. The only catch was it was the room they usually have to people with pets but neither of us have allergies and it was really clean so we didn’t mind at all. We took showers and relaxed before going out to a small place called Creekside Pizza where I got a meatball and cheese pizza pie that was absolutely delicious. Stuffed to the gills we decidedly wed wait and resupply the next morning and  waddled back to our room where I passed out in the ridiculously soft bed. A strange and chaotic day on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Short entry but I’m trying to catch up!