Soho and I checked into the Rodeway Inn yesterday and will be staying today as well. I was thinking about a hiker-based Michelin star rating. I’m thinking:
* Has a roof ** Includes toilet *** Somewhat clean bed
It was a 3-star for the first night. Ironman and ‘Taters called me up in the morning and said they were heading to Ashland. I gave up my bed for them and slept on the ground which knocked a star off.
Twigsy, Soho, and I wondered around Ashland most of the day buying a bit of gear and resupplying. Nice town, lots of semi-homeless hippies. We fit right in.
It was good catching up with my German friends when they turned up. Their plan now is to hike North into Canada, stay a couple days, get their Visa re-stamped, and finish up the High Sierras in September. I gave them my daughter’s number in Portland and they might ring me when they get to Mammoth. Hopefully I’ll see them again before they go back to Europe.
Turns out that Ironman has a couple of motorcycles as well. We seem to have many shared interests. I need to stay in touch with that guy.
Soho and I were debating our next steps. It seems that Oregon is burning down. The buzz on Facebook is that folks are being rerouted South of Crater lake (around 1800) and that the Jefferson forest is basically closed after 2000. The routes around are 40 mile walks on narrow highways. These routes are East of the fires which means it will be days of smoke-filled sadness.
I came to the conclusion there is no point in going through this. 250 miles of smoke, walking on tar, and seeing nothing but brown haze sounds miserable. Messing around for 15 days waiting on the eclipse also seems a waste of time.
The plan now is to jump off the trail at Fish Lake, mile 1770. We will bounce to Portland to hang with my daughter for a couple days, then somehow get down to Kennedy Meadows at mile 700 and do the High Sierras. We will (hopefully) end the hike at Donner Pass.
I’ll section hike the rest of the trail over the next couple of years starting from 1770 to finish up.
While reviewing the scuttlebutt on the trail North of here, I ran into a post about Tree. Tree was one of the first gals I met when I started the trail back at Scissors Crossing (mile 77). She was a Chinese national hiking the trail on her own. Super girl. Very positive, independent, considerate. Our paths crossed many times until I began outpacing her North of Big Bear.
Well it turns out that she was declared missing in the High Sierras North of Tuolumne Meadows on July 30th. They found her body shortly after at Rancheria Creek in Kerrick Canyon (mile 980). She had left a group she was with and hiked it alone. Most figure she was swept away during a river crossing.
There have been 3 Asian gals who have died on the trail this year. Why? I have a theory. The Eastern countries still have a bit of a male domination thing going on and I think these young ladies spent most of their lives fighting it. When they get on the trail they push their independence beyond prudence and get into trouble.
The world is a sadder place without Tree in it. She had so much more to contribute and now that has been taken away. It really hurts to write about it.
Tomorrow Ironman will give us a ride to the trail head in his rental.