Day 112: Short day out of Ashland

Date: August 19, 2017
Miles: 8.9 miles (14.3km), from mile 1,716.7 to mile 1,725.6.
Health: Feeling fresh after having laundry and shower in town.

We try to sleep late but the habit of waking up early every morning wakes us up not long after sunrise. We eat breakfast, play around with the dogs, and then pack our packs. Switching back to clean trail clothes feels strange as I’m so accustomed to them being dirty all the time.

I try to backflush my filter but quickly come to the conclusion I need a new one. I’m getting tired of taking forever to filter water at every water source.

After saying goodbye to Sue and thanking her for all the hospitality, Rick takes us first to Walmart so I can get a new filter and then to In-n-out burger to fill our stomachs one last time before getting back on the trail.

We visit the Post office one last time and this time my charger from Etna has arrived. Huge thank you to the Post Master in Etna for repackaging and shipping it for me. The box with all my valuable rain and thermal gear is still missing. I’m not going to need it yet but we’ll be in Washington soon and I don’t really want to buy new gear to replace gear I already own.

After Post Office Rick drives us to the trailhead and after saying goodbye and thanking him for all the help and time, we get back on the trail. It feels good to hike with someone again. Hiking alone can get pretty boring at this point.

As it’s already late we only hike for a short while and once we reach a beautiful spot next to a flowing spring on the side of the mountain we decide to call it a day.

We set up our shelters and eat a little. We’re still close enough to the town to have cell reception so I try to work on my blog. Before I get too far I fall asleep. I’m still sleep deprived and need to catch up on my rest. We should get to Crater Lake in three or four days.