Thieves, Getting pelted, and migraine - OREGON!

After months of hiking through the desert, the Sierras, and Yosemite, I have seen so many changes in the topography and have countless memories of the people that I have met along the trail.  The overload of beautiful vistas, mountain ranges, and meadows has given me a glimpse of the wonder of God’s creation. We are so blessed to have a country that is filled with so many natural resources. I am humbled by the scope and breadth of the 1,900 miles that I have hiked.  Finally, I made it to Oregon!!! California is such a huge state that it occupies what seems like an endless part of the trail.  Once you get to Oregon, you have your “trail legs” and each day you can just pump out the miles. 

Oregon has been called the “green highway” among the hikers because it flattens out in the beginning and you are free to walk as many miles as you can.  I have put in a lot of over 30+ mile days and have felt that they come easy.  I mentioned before that it is kind of like going on a long run.  You get into a rhythm and take in the sights and sounds around you. 

Another thing that is said about Oregon is that their honorary state “bird” should be the mosquito.  Anything that you don’t have covered they try to attack!  Every time you stop to rest or get a drink of water the thirsty insects come in for the kill.

We got our first glimpse of the rainforests in the Pacific Northwest. No trip to the Pacific Northwest is complete without enjoying the hidden gems in Oregon and in Washington. The spectacular series of 100 ft waterfalls and lush monstrous old-growth trees are only part of the serene landscape. You can find beautiful flower laden paths and we will soon be coming upon the many wild berry bushes along the trail. There is plentiful water and it has been hotter than normal for this time of year.

Our first major stop in Oregon was at Callahan’s lodge where good luck and misfortune both found me. The lodge offers thru hikers the chance to pitch their tent on their beautiful backyard campground. The day was going so well.  We met a great couple from Medford that was curious about our journey.  After spending time talking with them, they generously paid for our meal. That was a wonderful treat.  We got the chance to take a long shower and wash all our clothes. We looked forward to a peaceful night under the stars on the lush lawn at Callahan’s.

 

Lush lawns were at the park and also Callahan's. 

I went to retrieve my wall charger for my phone, external battery and the satellite communications only to find that a thief had taken them. Those are some of the most valuable things to a thru hiker because that is how you communicate with your family. Without your communications, you also have lost the ability to use your navigation tools on your phone.  I couldn’t believe that a fellow hiker would do that!  The charger and external battery were worth less than $100, but the value of them was beyond that. When you are in the wilderness, you can’t just go out and replace a much-needed item. I was not happy that someone had taken them!   

After settling in for the night, Alex (9-5) and I were awoken at 12am by a group of lodge guests shining a floodlight on us and pelting us with a hailstorm of beer cans from the second story balcony.  They hit Alex in the lower back and narrowly missed hitting me in the head. They threw a whole 6pack at us.  Alex quickly returned the favor by yelling at the patron and throwing the beer cans back up at them.  We cautiously went back to sleep without another incident.  Thank goodness we had planned a ZERO day so that we could get some much-needed rest before heading into Medford and Ashland to try and find replacements for my stolen merchandise.

The next day went much better.  After downing a huge breakfast of eggs, sausage and unlimited pancakes, we found the local REI store. Alex had to replace some broken gear and I found an external battery. Liam was meeting us in Ashland.  We were blessed with an instant hitch to get in Medford. The town is familiar with thru hikers so we were happy they stopped for us because with 1,900 miles under our belt I am sure we looked pretty suspicious. We had similar luck getting to Ashland to meet up with Liam. 

When we tried to get back to the trail we ran into problems in Ashland trying to find a ride. We tried for about 2 hours with no luck.  We ended up getting the number for a local adventure guide service and we were on our way. In hindsight, it turned out to be divine intervention. The driver and owner of the guide service was a colon cancer survivor.  He has been NED, no evidence of disease, for 1 year. It was great to talk to him about the struggle that my dad is going through. Finding some common ground, he decided to give us the grand tour of Ashland and some history about the area. One of the more interesting tibits of information was the history of the Oregonian Shakespeare Theater. 

According to our guide, the theater started as a college project in 1935 and has grown to have an annual festival and three theaters. Throughout the year they have both free and paid performances.  In the beginning they only did Shakespearian productions, but as time has gone on they include both classic and modern productions. The only time the theater has taken a break is during World War II. After being in the woods, it would have been nice to step back in time and experience MacBeth or Romeo and Juliet in an outdoor theater surrounded by the sounds of the forest. Unfortunately, time or schedule permitted us to join the fun.

The guide also took us to a beautiful Lithia Park, a 93-acre vista of emerald lawns, naturalistic plantings, and groves of all kinds of trees selected for their hardiness and color. The park is listed on the national historic register as it was founded in 1892 and has become a hub of entertainment and culture to the southern part of Oregon.

Our guide and Alex

We found our groove in the town of Ashland. We went from restaurant to restaurant and wandered in the unique stores along the streets. Liam grew concerned about his timeline and after a discussion with Alex and I, made the decision to catch a ride the next day further up the trail to Cascade Locks. He has a wedding to attend and won’t have time to finish the trail.  He was going to have to miss part of Oregon or part of Washington. After our experience with Ashland, he felt it best to move forward to Washington. I hated that after almost three months of traveling together our group would be splitting up before we reached the end of the trail. Alex pointed out that we all started the journey alone so that is was fitting that we may have to end it separately as well. 

Hanging out the last day together. I tried to get video of the herd
 of deer that ran by but it didn't turn out.

Naturally we decided to make the last night a memorable one and we stayed up gazing at the stars, exploring the rest of Ashland and reflecting on the good times we had together.  We had been through illness and injury, the desert, the highest peak in the lower 48 states and accomplished a lot. After seeing Liam off, 9-5 and I wandered into a teashop and had some unbelievable Yerba mate tea from a gourd. The tea was awesome. I drank two pictures of it! After taking a nap on Lithia parks’ lawn, we headed back out to the trail and our group that had started shrank to two determined hikers.

Herbal tea in a gourd was a first for me.

The miles came much easier and we jumped to over 30-35+ mile days and moved much quicker due to the terrain. Alex and relaxed into a rhythm for and the miles flew by.

As we approached Crater Lake, there were downed trees everywhere, a sort of Treemageddon that we had to maneuver around. It made going a little slower. Alex was meeting two friends at Crater so we pushed forward. We planned to hike the entire Crater Rim, the two musician brothers Jack and Jack, fell into stride with us and did much better than expected. We hiked 25 miles. Their car allowed us to hit the top tourist spots of Crater and we drove the entire rim trail. It seemed almost sacrilege to be riding instead of hiking after so many miles hoofing everywhere.

This is Wizard Island in the Crater Lake area.  Water is unbelievably blue.

The next morning I woke up with a terrible migraine headache. I started throwing up and had a nagging pain across my forehead.  It felt as though my head would explode.  As luck would have it, we were far away from a medical clinic or drugstore. After dealing with it for a while, Jack and Jake took me to Diamond Lake Resort where I booked a room to try and sleep. The rest helped and I stumbled out of bed the next morning after a good breakfast and headed back out to trail. Alex had come back to the lodge but was staying behind with the promise to catch up with me later.  I set out alone toward Elk Lake Resort. We had been traveling fast enough to catch up with another hiker named Nightrider. You may remember her from the South Lake Tahoe post.  Nightrider started the same day I did from Campo.  She had been hiking solo for over a month and was anxious to get back to hike with someone that she knew. She had jumped ahead of us so it was good to hear from her.  Our plan was to meet up outside of Sisters Oregon and for her to hike with us the rest of the way. With over 800 miles to go it will be nice to have companionship the entire trail.

Looking forward to catching up with Nightrider.
This is from South Lake Tahoe.

By the end of the next day, I still hadn’t see Alex.  I ran into several southbound hikers and asked if they had seen him but he was AWOL. The number of hikers we encountered has decreased tremendously.  I don’t know if most of the hikers that were on our same pace have quit the trail or we got too far behind, but I am not seeing other northbound thru hikers at this point. The number of southbound hikers should remain steady for the next few days.

Communications has been difficult on this part of the trail.  With that being said I am not sure if I will run across Alex again.  With the move toward the Mt. Hood area, the weather took a steep dive and previously the temperature that was around 90, had taken a nosedive and was a chilly 35.  I had my family send my raingear a few stops ahead of me so I am hoping for good weather until I get the gear I need for hiking in the rain.

Capturing the sky.

Deer are everywhere.

The Park

Burney Falls, catching a hitch to Mt. Shasta, bugs, bugs, bugs!

To parody a commercial we all know...
Days on the Trail = 88
Miles Hiked = over 1,500
Experience = Priceless!

The crew split up in the town of Burney so that Nightrider and Pancakes could meet up with family and friends further up the trail. Since we had already lost a couple in our group to injury, we were getting smaller by the mile. The Burney Falls State park area was so beautiful and the waterfalls were awesome. Burney Falls is pictured above.  

Liam trying to escape the bugs!

Before coming on the PCT, I had read about the bugs.  I honestly have to say that they are NOT exaggerating when they speak of how many mosquitoes and bugs eat you up out on the trail.  The over abundance of flying insects, however, didn't diminish the beauty of the Hidden waterfall at Camp Rock Creek.  We go to great lengths to keep away from the bugs. Liam is modeling his favorite headgear.  DEET doesn't stop them. 

We keep having close encounters with deer. I am not sure if it is because we all smell a little bit stronger or they are more plentiful, but they seem to be everywhere.  They want to get our gear for the salt left behind from our sweat.  They ate everything they could get their hands on.  Also we have seen herds of them as well.  Here is a short video I took: video of Deer

LIchen on the trail

This part of the trail we began to see a lot of lichen. There was so much you couldn't ignore it. The lichen provide food, habitat, and nesting material for a lot of the animals in the Pacific Northwest. They absorb moisture very quickly and hold onto it for a long period of time. They come in all sorts of colors and textures. They are present nearly everywhere on tree trunks, shrubs, the ground, and rocks. In large numbers they form kind of like scum on wet areas of the ground. They are both a fungus and alga but they give the appearance of a single plant. They make their own food so they don't injure what they grow on.

We started hitting 35 mile days and it has been feeling really good. As a runner, I ran a "long run" every week. Those of you that are runners will know what I am talking about. Sometimes I ran 17-20 miles at one time.  It feels really good.  On long runs you get in a rhythm and aren't really as concerned about your speed, you are just ticking off miles.  The 35 mile days are like my long runs, I am getting in the zone and checking out.  Letting my mind wander.  The longest distance I have ever covered foot running or walking has been 35 miles. The 35 miles we are going through now has a lot of up and down movements. It has been really hot and humid. At the end of each day, I have felt sore and gotten really dirty. It reminds me of my long runs on the dirt roads in Stillwater, OK.  The soreness feels good.  I know I am accomplishing a lot of hiking.  The elevation changes are severe some days we go up 7,277 feet and then go down 9,400 feet.  35 mile days are coming easy to Alex as well.  In order to make it through the mountains of Washington before the snow comes, we will have to put in a lot of 35+ mile days so getting into a rhythm is what we both needed to do.  

We had been seeing Mt. Shasta for over week as we headed toward the Oregon border.  After seeing it for so long, we just decided to climb it.  It was really a random stop and so glad that we decided to go for it.  There was a 7.5K vertical climb in 3 miles which is a crazy incline.  After we made the decision to climb up Shasta, we had to find a way to the trailhead. We started out trying to get a hitch.  

That is where a guy named Joe comes in.  We had asked for directions to the local grocery store and met up with Joe.  He is a very creative guy.  He took us to the fish hatchery, Heart Lake,  and then Mt. Shasta trailhead. The Mt. Shasta Fish Hatchery has open ponds of rainbow and brown trout that are used to stock the mountain fishing streams, rivers, and lakes in the area.  I can't thank Joe enough for taking time out of his day to help us make the distance.  Joe was one of the people we have met along the trail that I won't forget.  In a short period of time with him we exchanged memories, stories, and he inspired us to continue our nomadic journey up the top of Mt. Shasta.

.  

Atop Mt. Shasta

After summiting Shasta, we could see some angry skies in the distance and had to come down a little sooner than we would have liked. Instead of hiking all the way down, we glissaded as much as we could.  It took us over 7 hours to climb up and only 2 hours to come down thanks to the snow.  Liam got some good footage of us coming down the mountain.  Unfortunately, my camera battery was dead.  We slid down over 3 miles on the snow.  Here is a picture I took earlier to give you an idea of the incline.  It was so much fun.  

The terrain continues to be amazing. You can see if you have been through my journals that I am going through very different ecosystems along the way. All of them have their own beauty. I know that the peace of this nomadic lifestyle will beckon me to get out on another adventure from time to time in the future.  For now I am enjoying each day's challenges and getting into a rhythm of steady hiking.

Heart Lake on the way up to Mt. Shasta.

Liam, Bassboat, has to go to a wedding next month so he is going to have to make changes in his itinerary to work around his commitments. When Liam leaves, the group will dwindle down to 2 hikers - Alex, and me.  We are starting to see fewer and fewer northbound hikers.  That is a sign that many have given up the trail.  I am finding that it takes a long time to get your trail legs under you, but once you have accomplished that the miles come much easier and the distance you go each day is more significant. The "herd" is the biggest bulk of the thru hikers.  They should still be about a week or two ahead of us.  

As we are hiking, we are not seeing any more day hikers.  We have finally started meeting up with those doing the PCT from a southbound hike.  A large majority of the hikers start in April and finish at the end of September hiking northbound.  The southbound hikers normally start much later and they finish the desert part closer in the winter when it isn't as hot. I don't know the exact proportion but I do know that there are significantly more northbound than southbound hikers. 

The epic picture of Liam on Mt. Shasta

Fish

Zach relayed the above post via text and phone conversation.  He was having trouble with cell service. I apologize if I have made an error in transcription. Kayla 

S. Lake Tahoe, July 31-- Aug 1 - Halfway!!!!!

The last couple of weeks have been hectic due to a bombardment of secondary applications for medical school. After leaving South Lake Tahoe, we left the cool mountain peaks and encountered a massive heat wave. The change in temperature we found in northern California was dramatic. It consistently was in 90s and even surpassed 100. Along the way we have been reunited with Liam and Pancakes.  We lost both Chef and Special Ops due to injury, but they hitched up the trail to try to heal. Escaping the heat and the bugs became our mantra.

We met new characters out on the trail, one was named Master G. We met Master G close to the Peter Grubb hut, one of the few shelters along the trail.  It's main function in the past has been a ski lodge for sierra club skiers in the winter. Snow would pile up so high that the second floor had a "front door" to use as the main door for a good part of the year.

The further I get up the trail the more I love this lifestyle and don't want it to end. It's great to be in a community and a part of the "grind" again. The trail has slowly become more about the people you meet and the time you spend together than the nature and the miles. As Legend says "it's important to remember to keep your priorities, family, friends, and community before the trail." I was able to live out these words along this last stretch when I ran into a group of kids with their two leaders outside of Echo Lake. The group was on a week long backcountry trip. We stopped and they asked questions about our trip.  Even though the ages spanned from 9-14 they asked the best questions about the trail yet! I was surprised by their intense love for nature, outdoors and learning about the PCT.  

The longer we are on the trail, it seems the wildlife has been more present and also bolder. I finally had my first bear sighting. Unfortunately, I really don't have much to report. The bear was just outside of Drakesbad Guest Ranch and I am thankful he was not very interested in our group. We also got the rare chance to see three stags in the same area.

Now to the annoying animals. The most dangerous animals for our health and packs have not been bears, or mountain lions, but deer and chipmunks. Three nights now we have been stalked by deer, desperate for the salt on our pole straps and socks. The chipmunks not only will chew through bags for your morning snacks, but also bizarrely carry the Bubonic plague that can be transmitted via fleas. Most everyone has something with a hole it in or completely gone because either a deer or chipmunk got it while they slept.

Huge crowd in Belden.

We were getting tired as we approached Belden, which was a small town along the trail. Normally a town of about only 50 people, there was a music festival going on when we got there and the population swelled to over 4000!  We were not accustomed to being around many people at all and in the words of the Grinch they were all "Noise, Noise, NOISE".  

Pancakes enjoying his pancakes

During our two days there we felt like there was only a two hour break in the music. As one that practices "hiker bedtime" my body, ears, and mind was not used to 24/7 music or staying up all night. (Hiker bedtime is around 8:30pm!)

Somehow during the festival, we found our way to a bingo hall. This wasn't your grandmother's bingo however, it was more of a Vegas circus style act. The stage included 5 disco inspired gogo dancers, an acrobat, and two MCs that got the crowd pumped to to win jars of Nutella. Of all the things I expected before trail,  I never thought one of my most fond memories would be Liam winning bingo at a music festival in Belden! 

Dad sent some cigars, which Liam enjoyed.

Closing in on the halfway point  of the trail, we crawled out the next morning on little sleep for a massive climb. We were fried from the cumulative wear on our bodies and the lack of sleep. It was rough. Exhausted and feeling bad, we made it to the mile marker.  I had a package from my dad to open at that particular moment. He specifically had written me a note to wait until them. His "trail magic" was just the thing I needed to change my demeanor. Not only did dad include something for me and the crew, he had also sent some words of encouragement. His words gave me renewed strength and gave me the energy I needed for the rest of the day.  Thanks Dad!

Halfway!

I got a satellite text from my family, that I had received the long awaited approval of both my AMCAS and AACOMAS medical school applications. With the joy also came an onslaught of eight secondary applications.  Overwhelmed by the amount of work I needed to do on my secondary essays, the group graciously dropped into Burney so that I could get to work.  After hiking a 33 mile waterless stretch in over 100 degree heat, we were happy to find air conditioning, something cool to drink,  and everyone's favorite: pizza.

The beauty of the area continues to astound me. No matter how much I fight it, every great journey must come to an end. All we can do is enjoy the time we have been given and never take any moment we have for granted.  I am planning to enjoy every mile I have left.  I wanted to leave you with a few pictures from this part of the trip.  The next post will be about the trip up to Mt. Shasta.

The Mountains and Valleys Traveled the Past Four Years

For those who do not know me, my name is Katie. I am Zach a.k.a. "Dr. Fresh's" older sister. The past four years for my family have been a series of crisis and celebrations—a jumbled mess of crippling pain and seemingly unending joy. For example, Thanksgiving 2013 my Dad announced to our family that he had colon cancer. A few weeks later, my husband and I were engaged. In April of 2014, Papa Joe, one of the pillars of strength, love, support, and stubbornness in our family finally succumbed to his struggle with a litany of debilitating illnesses. Two months after his death, however, our family experienced one of the greatest days in our lives by celebrating my husband and my marriage, the joining of our families, and the creation of our own family with our son Drake. We laughed, shed happy tears, and spent the entire day surrounded by love. It was a very welcomed relief. Through the course of 2015 and 2016, our family endured the death of my Grandma Dana, the heart of our family; another cancer scare; a second cancer diagnoses; surgeries; and even more personal struggles. All have tested our endurance and our strength. I remember my Mom and I tearfully looking at each other a few years ago and saying, “Can we please just have a break?”  

I admit when Zach first approached us about hiking the PCT I was scared, but I knew that God was calling him. The look in his eyes told me that nothing was going to stop him either. As a result, my initial fear turned into excitement, which transformed to an overwhelming sense of peace. I have never truly worried about Zach while he was on the trail, even though many of the challenges he faces can mean the difference between life and death. At the same time, my Dad is undergoing a similar journey with the same stakes. Even though the chances that my father might not beat colon cancer are slim, they are still there. Yet, through it all, I have felt more peace than I have fear.  

Dad’s first diagnosis was the first time any of us had experienced colon cancer. We didn’t know what to expect, and the odds of it returning were so minuscule we didn’t think even contemplate it coming back. We completely unprepared for the second diagnosis. Despite going through it before, the second time brought more difficult challenges. The first treatment cycle Dad was able to have more “good days.” This time, it seems like he hardly ever gets a rest from the nausea and fatigue. He also lost all of his hair, which was shocking because he looks more like a stereotypical “cancer patient.” (Not entirely, you still look good, Dad) Through it all, he still smiles and praises God. Yet, his smile seems a little weaker and his voice is a little more worn down this time around.

My mom is already a chronic worrier. Unfortunately, she inherited that from my grandmother, the worry queen. Dad's cancer was the first time in more than 25 years of marriage he was the one who was seriously ill or injured.  In the beginning, the second time was harder for Mom than the first, but she recovered. I have been exceedingly impressed with how calm she has been while Zach has been on the trail. It is a testament to how much stronger she is after going through my Dad’s cancer diagnoses. She no longer worries as much.

Parents typically hide their hurts from their children because they want them to feel safe and secure. I understand that now, because as a parent I do the same thing. Drake has seen me break down twice after David told me my grandparents were gone. Drake’s wide eyes, intently watching me cry, showed me how afraid he was to see me so upset, so weak. I needed to be strong for him. I choked down the tears, talked with him about why I was so upset, and explained to him that it was OK to be sad and cry when we lose the people we love.

I can hardly bear to even consider the idea of my Dad or Mom not being here to watch him grow. I know that there are many people out there, including some of my friends, who are not as lucky as we are. They have lost their husband/Dad to cancer or some other disease. I am grateful for our circumstance. My son worships his “Big Wills” and loves his “Little Wills.” I do not want to imagine my son’s life or mine without them.

 

A few weeks ago my mother posted on Facebook that,

“Cancer doesn't just affect the person with the illness, it affects the whole family. Our lives are all changed. We find ourselves on our knees praying about so many things. The good that has come out of his illness is that in the midst of trials is where you grow the most. We learn to appreciate what we have and enjoy today.”

Cancer has changed our family. For the good. These past few years have seemed like nothing but one thing after another. I have probably spent months in prayer, pleading with God to protect our family and to heal it. Sometimes the weight of it all felt like it was going to crush me and our family, but we remained strong. Our strength, however, did not come from within. It was given to us by Christ and by the power of prayer.

At first I didn’t understand why Zach chose James 1 2:4 as his verse for the trail. I thought, why not choose Isaiah 40:3-5? It didn’t occur to me until recently that Zach didn’t choose the verse for his trip, but for our family. The last few years I’ve witnessed how much our family has grown and how much stronger we’ve become. We have scaled mountains only to slide violently down into the valley. In all those valleys, however, God, our living water was there. God has used all our circumstances for His good. He allowed us to witness to others and show that even in our struggles there is goodness. We found joy in the pain. Whatever you are going through, God has a purpose and his plans are always good.

Coincidentally, the end of Zach’s journey is towards the final stretch of my Father’s fight against colon cancer. The end of these trails also means an end to my mother’s anxieties. For David and I, our journey is not quite over, but I know that in the end God will prevail. The experience Zach is gaining and the beauty he is witnessing is truly food for the soul, nourishment to weary bones, and a sweet release from the burdens of life that he so desperately needs.

The beard

I know that when Zach returns home he will not only be changed physically (I mean, have you seen the beard?) but also spiritually and emotionally. When we greet him either at home or at the end of the trail my Dad, Mom, David, and myself will also be changed from the roads we've navigated the last few months. I am so glad that Zach has been able to escape to the trail to be able to rest from all the stress and tragedies that have happened. I hope that when our family’s struggles from the past year are over each of us can escape, if only for a little while. So that we may finally rest. That day is not here yet, but when comes I can assure you I will be jumping for joy then take a nap, because I am exhausted. Joyful, but exhausted. 

It has been difficult without Zach. I do have a feeling that sooner or later he will be called to the wilderness again. Selfishly, I hope it won’t come for at least a few more months (maybe a year).

If you read this blog and still do not understand how we are able to remain so strong and positive through some of the most trying times in our lives, I have the answer for you. Jesus.

Without Jesus, we are nothing. Our family would have never survived this without our faith in Him. Without our church, prayer warriors, and friends this process would have been much more difficult and a lot lonelier. We feel people’s prayers for us. We know God will protect Zach, heal my Dad, and take care of our family. Understanding these things brings a peace only believers can fathom. 

If you have any questions or want to know more about God, please speak to anyone in our family. We will be happy to share God's love with you and tell you all the good things a relationship with Him offers.