getting spoiled

well, mom and john showed up friday afternoon on schedule at the northern edge of crater lake park. they were a welcome sight, and i couldn't stop grinning as i looked through all the bags and coolers of food they had brought with them. for weeks i've been fantasizing about what i'd like to eat - hours would pass as i fixated on cheesecake, donuts, macaroni, etc... - and mom made every effort to fulfill those dreams. (i'd just like to point out that the slice of cheesecake is on a full-size plate. see the fork peeking out from behind? so good.)


tonight we're staying in a chalet at willamette pass. tomato and i both hiked pretty big days (i ended up walking just over 44 miles, but tomato broke the 60 mile barrier!) and everyone was tired as we ate a late dinner. my laptop was calling to me though, and i'm staying up far too late enjoying my unlimited internet access. i still won't get everything done though, especially as my eyes are beginning to close involuntarily.

mom and john have been amazing - picking up and dropping off tomato and myself at different trailheads at all hours of the evenings and mornings. today they even met me halfway with cold drinks and fresh fruit - if only every hiking day were like that! but i felt bad when the road i asked them to pick me up on this evening turned out to be little more than an off-roading dirt track. they made a heroic effort to reach the trail junction, but the van just couldn't do it and they were forced to stop a 1/2 mile away. it took an hour each way to drive the 6 miles of "road." we're looking at other options for my drop-off in the morning...



tomato and i are still on track for arriving at the washington border on the first of august, though it will certainly involve some tough hiking days. i'm going to shoot for a 50+ on monday. we'll see how it goes.



sunrise on crater lake

oregon trail

yup, made it to oregon. we rolled into ashland on saturday afternoon as planned. between june 29th and july 18th i hiked 634.8 miles. that's 31.7 miles a day, including all resupplies in towns along the way. my feet got a little sore, and i may have developed a blister or two under some calouses... but all in all, it was cool to see what i was capable of. tomato and i are headed out this afternoon and hope to be at the oregon/washington border on august 1st. more big days ahead.

thanks again to tomato's parents gene and susan for being such generous hosts in their rv the past couple nights. it was a much needed and much appreciated rest. (our only scheduled day off in july)

now i'm really looking forward to meeting up with mom and john next weekend around crater lake for some more good food and pampering! :)




can't seem to eat enough! 1/2 gallon of ice cream? just an appetizer now. the seiad valley pancake challenge however, is a near-impossible undertaking. it easily defeated me.


hiking is dirty business sometimes


view of mt shasta in the early morning

old station, ca

boy, my posts have started dwindling as my momentum has picked up.

since i hooked back up with tomato in truckee, we've been moving right along. since my stay in south lake tahoe i've averaged just under 30 miles a day. i've had really great stays with trail angels in bucks lake, belden, and now old station. bucks lake has great new trail angels in nancy and terry williams who shared their family's 4th of july barbecue with five of us hikers - tomato and i were their 5th and 6th hikers ever. belden trail angels laurie and brenda braaten are legendary and lived up to their reputation with shuttles and an incredible, all-we-could-eat breakfast for eight hikers. i bet brenda flipped over 70 pancakes that morning. and my stop here in old station with the heitmans has been short but sweet. they're going out of town for a wedding (hikers that met on the trail in '05) and Frodo (of the infamous Scout and Frodo trail angel couple) is here to help run the place along with Buck Larsony and Tadpole. in the four hours i've been here i've had a shower, done laundry, ate a fantasticly huge and delicious dinner -veggie lasagna (specially made for two of us), green salad (w/ avocado!), garlic bread (real garlic!), obcene amount of berry cobbler (frodo's mom made it!), and orange ice cream (homemade and hand cranked!)- and tomato and i borrowed a car to rush to the local store to resupply. now i'm yawning and trying to quickly finish up here.

unfortunately i haven't talked at all about the beautiful and fragrant wildflowers i've been hiking through, or the bear i (sorta) saw, or the pleasant weather, or how my $#@!$ pct atlas is still not in my possession (right now i'm hiking with a couple pictures on my camera of other peoples' guides) or the wonderful staff at drakesbad guest ranch (huge meals, showers, and natural hot springs - need i say more?), or much of anything really. perhaps next time.







tomato and i are shooting for ashland, oregon on the evening of the eighteenth. 350 miles in 10 days. it's a tall order, so we'll see what happens...

pit stop in truckee, ca

when i got to donner pass this morning, i called up bill and molly person who open their home to thru-hikers and call it "pooh's corner." she was kind enough to pick me up, feed me lunch, and let me shower and do laundry. so i'll be headed back out to the trail momentarily, feeling refreshed.

the mosquitos have gotten pretty bad. the cold weather we had in the sierras kept them at bay for a little while, but that brief reprieve is over. check out this video i shot behind me while i was sprinting through a particularly bad stretch.

the miles are coming easier now, and i'm feeling strong. even had a 40 mile day last week.