Start point
PCT and Grider Creek Road junction, mile 1671.8
End point
Tent sites at dirt road, mile 1693
Miles hiked
21.2
Wilderness area
Rogue River National Forest
Klamath National Forest
People I met
Mia and Abby
Fungus, Bridget, Molly, Jen
The day on trail
Oh I slept so well. It was a cool night, especially for a hot day.
As we were getting everything together and breaking down camp, we caught up and got to know each other a little better. The girls I couldn’t remember the names of were Fungus, Bridget, Molly, and Jen. They’re all recent college grads hiking together before they enter the workforce.
Ketchup took off earlier than me, and we made plans to meet up at a water source, and if we miss each other there, just before the border to cross into Oregon together. She’s a wonderful friend and person; I’m so glad I know her and we’re hiking together.
The skies were beautiful and the weather was beyond gorgeous.
Valleys and mountains stretched ahead and behind, with views of Shasta behind. California has spoiled me so far, and these flatter valleys are just not as exciting, I hope Oregon is more than that and green tunnels.
I’ve hiked in Washington, which is almost always spectacular. Driving through Oregon has never really been amazing with mountains, but the rivers were pretty from the highway. I’m hoping the state surprises me and is not as boring to hike as its reputation says. Its reputation is that it’s really easy terrain without many views and tons of mosquitoes. Plenty of people even joke that the state bird of Oregon is the mosquito.
This is what we’re walking to. It’s bittersweet to get close to this border. California has spoiled me…us…with people, experiences, food, views, weather, terrain, and so much more. I just hope it continues, though I know it’ll be in its own way. Just as each section is different, I know each state will be, too.
So we’re heading to Oregon.
And I found my first ripe puffball mushroom! I’ve seen a bunch of these on trail already, but they were old, so the inside had collapsed into nothing but goldenrod spores. When they’re young, they’re firm and solid.
They supposedly have the flavor (or lack thereof?) and texture of firm tofu. I’m excited to eat this up tonight!
The trail continued on and opened up with gigantic skies and fields leading into forest.
There was another puffball and some flowers. There was also a gigantic chunk of marble. I think that chunk was technically a boulder, which is defined as any rock more than 10” in length.
It was a really pleasant morning to hike. It wasn’t challenging and just a perfect time to settle into a nice cruising groove of hiking.
There was another mushroom and a plant called pine sap.
Pine sap, the red one, apparently is a flower which doesn’t photosynthesize. Just like so many mushrooms have a symbiotic relationship with trees, and others are parasitic to trees, this is parasitic to Russula mushrooms. It gets its nutrients from these mushrooms because it doesn’t have chlorophyll.
When I took a little standing break, the fattest fly landed on my gaiter.
It’s so black and golden and pretty!
I took a water break at the only spot for one. There was a little spring down a hill, slightly off the trail. I ran into Bridget down there, and Molly came down as I was leaving.
It was a great spot though, and there was a little leave spigot to fill from. It flowed pretty slowly, but it was reliable, delicious, and cold.
It was a nice lunch and it was really pleasant to get to talk more with Bridget and Molly. I had just missed Ketchup, she took off before I got there. It’s funny how I so often miss her.
I just continued on, one foot in front of the other. No headphones yet, just enjoying the sounds of my feet on the soil and the thoughts in my head.
There were flowers and interesting rock formations. There were dips from forest into fields. There were signs and posts.
And a random toilet box and seat.
I opened it up out of curiosity and, thank goodness, it was just bare dirt under it. I don’t even know if the box could hold someone’s weight.
There was a rock pile. At first I thought it used to support a trail sign, instead it was a cool pile of rock.
There was a mushroom that grew around the edge of a rotted log.
I passed by some graffitied blazes and some old signs.
There were also some beautiful stretches of trail and some cattle.
I saw a beautiful dead moth.
About this time I started getting some really bad butt chafe and lower back chafe. It wan’t too bad, but it would get worse.
Ketchup and I ended up meeting up. She waited by the trail for me to catch up so we could hike the last few miles to the border and to camp, together. There was one campsite at an old shack that was just before the border.
It was kind of creepy. It was really more than kind of creepy — it was straight up creepy. It also had really interesting reviews. It was owned privately and was under slow-going restoration. Half the reviews said it was an elite campsite, half said it was horrible.
The final quarter mile of the stretch to the border my chafe got really, really bad. Walking was agonizing. Cleaning the areas with soap and water didn’t help. I think it was straight up heat rash. I was in agony. Ketchup was hurting too. We pushed to the border. And suddenly we were in Oregon! We let out huge whoops and cheered. It was a really beautiful, intimate celebration of what we’d achieved so far. Sharing it with Ketchup was great.
We signed the trail register.
We took a moment for me to take my bottoms and she took some pictures of what was going on with my heat rash so I could see how bad it was. And it was bad. I wasn’t bleeding or anything, but it was definitely worse than it would’ve been if I didn’t have dermagraphism where my skin inflames extra with any irritation.
We took a few minutes then continued on. Camp was maybe a mile or two further. We took breaks to manage the pain.
When we got to the dirt road, there were a lot of tent sites open. It was flat, and a few cars came by. We were expecting there to be water on the way there, but there wasn’t. So we were a little dry. Luckily there was a water source about 1/2 mile further. But we were too wrecked to make it that day.
There was a car with a couple girls, Mia and Abby, and one of their boyfriends. They gave us about 3/4s of a liter each. They were there to hike the Oregon section on a break from college. We had enough to make dinner and have a decent morning.
Fungus, Bridget, Molly, and Jen rolled in soon after. They’d heard us whooping and hollering at the border.
We all collected together and talked about our days. Apparently Ketchup and I weren’t the only ones with horrible chafe. Everyone had it, literally everyone but Mia and Abby. The miles and something about the weather had affected us all. As frustrating as that was, it was nice not to be affected alone.
But there it was. My first night camping in Oregon.
