Mile 1,688.7 - 1,714.1

'Welcome to Oregon', the sign read. At mile 1,698 we have finally completed California. Over 3 months, or 95 days, we have spent walking every inch of California south to north.

So much has happened over the past 3 months I can't even begin to think back on it all.

More than anything, we're happy to be moving forward, and a state name is really no more than that. We still have 1,000 miles to walk. Now it's just a mental challenge. 

In the trail register, I wrote "the day has come, bye bye Cali" and Balance wrote "good riddance California". It was funny reading other hikers comments about being done with California.

After that milestone we crossed the 1,700 mile mark on the trail. Wow, what a day.

By late afternoon we got caught in a hail storm, so we took cover under some huge trees. We hiked on and camped at 7,000' with a beautiful sunset. This is what hiking is all about. Tomorrow's a new day.

Sunrise cow.

Welcome to Oregon!

Two happy hikers at the California / Oregon border at mile 1,698.

A sight for sore eyes.

Campsite sunset at 7,000'. Our first night in Oregon.

Congrats to all thru hikers who have made it through California. That's something to be proud of. 

Mile 1,661.9 - 1,688.7

We were the first ones out of the campground this morning. That was because of the massive mountain we have to climb first thing. Plus it is going to get to around 100 degrees today so we wanted to beat the heat.

The climb was very long but not much of a problem. We are in great climbing shape now. We ended up hiking more than average today even with that huge climb. We are also setting up for a nero in Ashland in a few days.

We didn't see one other hiker today, which is odd because there are so many of us out here.

Tomorrow is a huge day for us. We will cross into Oregon. Can't wait. See you later California. Wow, this state is too big. 1,700 miles for one state.

Seiad Valley overview.

Part way up the 5,000' climb out of Seiad  Valley.

Towards the summit. It took about 5 hours to reach the top.

Balance dealing with the climb and the heat.

Y-Knot in his desert attire. Keeps me from getting sunburned. Yes, it's hot wearing all these clothes but I try to soak them in the streams and keep my body cooler.

Mountain ash.

Mile 1,714.1 - 1,726.6

This morning we woke up with town rage. Town rage is a term coined by Masshole, who was always racing into town. We still had 14 miles to hike before reaching Ashland. Well, not really the town. Once we hiked the 14 miles we still had to hitch a ride from I-5 to Ashland. 

This was our second fastest hitch of the trip. About 30 seconds after hitching a nice man stopped to give us a ride. Our fastest hitch was in Old Station, when we  didn't even stick out a thumb and a women stopped and asked if we wanted a ride.

Once in town, we settled into a Super 8 motel. We immediately headed to the indoor pool for a swim. We also were hungry, so we went across the street to a market with great food. We had business to do as well. Both Balance and I needed to get new gear. The only outfitter in town was over 2 miles away, so we took the local bus. I bought a new pair of shoes and Balance got new insoles. Balance also needed the library which was near the outfitter.

The rest of the day was for rest. My right knee has been hurting so an epsom salt bath felt good.

It was a good night to be indoors. Major thunder and lightening storms hit the area, bringing heavy rain.

Beautiful morning light.

Y-Knot rests in a giant bird nest that someone constructed along the trail. 

Balance crossing the railroad tracks en route to I-5 and Ashland.

Mile 1,647.7 - 1,661.9

The plan for today is to wake up early and hike the 14 miles into Seiad Valley. The PCT takes a six mile road walk through town. Town is really just a store, cafe, RV Park, and a Ranger Staton. We used all but the Ranger Station. It was downhill 14 miles but we will pay dearly for that tomorrow as we climb over 4,500' ( Ouch ). Balance and I hiked today with Sizzler, Masshole, and Dewey. Then later we met up with Tick Tock and Slaughterhouse.

First stop was the Seiad Cafe where we all had lunch. This cafe is the home of the Pancake Challenge. If you can eat 5 huge pancakes, you get them free. Only 6 people have finished all 5 pancakes in the history of the challenge. We didn't try it and I know I couldn't do it, nor would I want to get sick trying. 

The RV Park next to the cafe is where all the hikers hung out. It is over 100 degrees and we have that monster climb to do, so we will start early tomorrow morning. We spent the afternoon trying to stay cool, which included 3 showers for me.

Tomorrow will be a tough day, but that's another story for another day.

Y-Knot, Masshole, and Sizzler hiking the 6 mile road walk into Seiad Valley.

Klamath River.

A pack of hikers marching towards Seiad Valley. The road is actually the PCT for 6 miles. Very little traffic on it.

Our one and only lunch option. Great food.

Hikers take over Seiad Valley. Everyone's backpack outside the cafe.

Balance reading at the RV Park, trying to stay cool in the shade. It got to over 100 degrees today.

Mile 1,621.3 - 1,647.7

Today's plan is to hike a big day and set ourselves up for a shorter day into Seiad Valley. Seiad Valley is just a store and cafe. We are told the cafe closes at 2pm so we want to make it in time to eat lunch. 

Seiad Valley is the last town in California on the PCT. We are so excited to leave California once and for all. No one state should be 1,700 miles. That's crazy. You can cross all of Europe in that amount of miles.

We should be hiking into Oregon by the middle of next week. That will be a happy day for us.

The view near our campsite this morning.

Balance at the top of another climb.

Marble Valley Cabin.

Y-Knot soaking his feet in Paradise Lake. I try to soak my feet once or twice a day. It makes them feel so much better.

Blue Gentians

Looking for water and a campsite at the end of the day. We found both.

Mile 1,606.0 - 1,621.3

We really slept in this morning. We got up at 7:30am, which is very late for us, but we are staying in town until mid morning so it doesn't matter. Once up, Balance, Sizzler, and I walked to the nearby bakery and got breakfast. 

We packed up and started thumbing out of town. It took about 20 minutes to hitch a ride. A nice guy in a truck stopped. He lives on the other side of the mountain so it worked well for us. Sizzler jumped in the front seat with his dog and Balance and I jumped in the back bed of the truck. This 10 mile hitch was by far the windiest mountain road I had ever seen and so steep. Balance was very close to throwing up as she gets car sick quickly.

We made it to the trailhead just as 3 other cars of hikers did. We all unloaded and took a group photo on the summit.

With a late start we didn't plan a big day. So by days end we were happy to have hiked 15 miles of many ups and downs, rocks and roots.

We are camping tonight with Sizzler and Tick Tock.

Balance and Sizzler getting ready to start hitching out of town.

A group photo from back at the trailhead. Left to right: Salsa, Anchor, Globetrotter, Y-Knot, Balance, Masshole, and Sizzler.

Y-Knot taking in the sights.

Balance walking along the rocky ledge.

Another neat camping spot. Good night.

Mile 1,571.0 - 1,597.1

We hiked one tenth of a mile shy of a marathon at 26.2 miles. We are getting stronger and have been able to hike 25 mile days now.

This morning we woke up in a cloud. The visibility was only around 50 feet and I thought for sure we were going to get rained on, but we didn't.

Today was endless ups and downs with some beautiful scenery. We hiked with our long time hiking buddy Sizzler on and off today and camped with him both last night and tonight. The only other thru hikers we saw today were Iceman and Polar Bear. They are from Minnisota, hence the cold term names.

We are less than 10 miles to the road that leads to the town of Etna. We hear its a hard hitch, but we need food and rest.

Balance in the morning mountain mist.

The day starting to clear up.

The mountains in the far distance usually have snow on them this time of year, but now they are snowless.

Every corner brings a new overlook and a different perspective.

Sizzler and Y-Knot at the top of another tough climb.

Balance silhouetted

What a climb, and of course it comes at the end of our day. The faint line is our trail.

Y-Knot makes it up the climb before sunset and now it's time to find a camp site.

Mile 1,545.4 - 1,571.0

We woke up to a clear sky. The last few days we have been treated to thunderstorms that have kept things cooler. Last night both Balance and I used our cold weather clothes for sleeping. We haven't used these since the Sierras but it's nice not to be sweating at night.

The terrain started to level off once we climbed out of Dunsmuir. We are in a little hiker lull. We haven't seen many hikers the last few days. It's strange getting the feeling of being alone out here, because we certainly are not. Still it's nice even for a day to have a real wilderness experience.

A lot of red rock here in Northern California.

Anyone know what these are? Pretty neat though.

Beautiful morning weather. Cool, clear, and crisp.

Balance at lunch.

Y-Knot on the rocks.

Mile 1,597.1 -1,606.0

Wow, last night was freezing cold. Sizzler, Balance, and I camped at around 7,000' next to Statue Lake and the temperature dropped to 38 degrees. That's the coldest it's been since the Sierras and we were not expecting that. It's been warm the last few weeks at night, so we weren't used to it. We have been sleeping on top of our bags.

I woke up just after midnight and had to put on our rainfly just to keep some of our body heat in, and it worked. Our friend Sizzler sent home his sleeping bag and only had a liner so his night was a real cold one. We had on every piece of clothing we could just to stay warm and it was barely enough.

Morning came and it was hard to get out of our bags. We managed to pack up fast and start hiking to keep warm. Just a 9 mile hike to the highway where we will hitch into the town of Etna and spend the night. When we arrived at the highway there was zero traffic. Just a bunch of road construction workers whom we chatted with for awhile. About half an hour later the first car to go by stopped for us. Very exciting, we are going to town. Once in town we got the last room at the one and only motel. Ate lunch, resupplied, and ate dinner. That's what we do. We're hikers. The motel was nice enough to do our laundry too.

We saw lots of hikers we haven't seen in a long time here, so that was fun.

Sunrise over Mt. Shasta.

It only took an hour to warm up this morning. Then it was a comfortable day.

Balance you have hiked 1,600 miles. Hard to believe. That's a long way.

Lipstick Lake.

Sizzler with his trail magic soda heading to the highway for a ride into town.

Y-Knot faking a hitch because there was no traffic. The first car to come by stopped for us. Thank you.