The Earth, On Fire

I had been planning on finally writing about miles 1090, to 1500, semi-apologetically for my lack of updates, explaining that Northern California had been a bit of a blur of long days of heat-drenched miles. I had been planning on writing how I finally felt like I found my hiking rhythm, walking 25+ mile days, transitioning from the low Sierra to the southern Cascade range. I had been planning on writing with my excitement about nearing the California-Oregon border, achieving one of the biggest milestones of the trail—walking the entire length of California. But then, about 190 PCT miles shy of the Oregon state line (about 7-8 days of hiking, give or take), California and Oregon caught on fire. The McKinney fire was first, the biggest fire this year and just north of me. It’s already consumed more than 50,000 acres of land, killed residents trying to escape, forced people in the surrounding towns to evacuate, and displaced or killed thousands of animals. The PCT passes very close to the fire zone, and the section from Etna, CA, to Ashland, OR is closed. Smoke fills the air from Mount Shasta to Ashland. Just as we were preparing to skip up to Ashland, we learned of another, smaller fire just north of Crater Lake, the Windigo Fire. This fire is directly on the trail. And, just north of Bend, a 40-mile stretch of trail is closed due to a previous year’s fire. Given all the current closures and the logistical nightmare of hiking small sections and finding rides to the next open section, we made the decision to skip up to Timberline Lodge, just south of the Oregon-Washington border and hike Washington. Once I finish Washington, I am hopeful I will able to hike Oregon.

Getting up to Timberline has been a logistical feat and an experience in human kindness and generosity. First, extended family of my friend, Pickle, drove from Medford, OR, to Mount Shasta, and drove us all to Medford. Then, they hosted 8 hikers in their house for two days, feeding us and taking us to stores so we could resupply our food. They drove us all over town and opened up their home to us, as if they had known us our entire lives. Then, we rented cars (I think we got the last of them), and drove to Star Camel’s childhood home, just east of Portland. His parents fed us, let us stay in their home, and drove us to Timberline Lodge. My friend, Abby, who lives in Portland, was also ready to drop everything to help with rides. Many hikers were spending hours finding rides and coping with canceled buses and full trains.

While I’m disappointed that I won’t have a continuous northbound footpath of the PCT and reaching the northern terminus will feel different and less satisfying, this seemed to be the only realistic, safe option. It feels different driving to a place, rather than walking through the transitioning nature. I also will miss my parents and sister, who had planned to come to Bend, OR. I will miss Crater Lake. And I will miss that feeling of walking the entire length of California. I think, each year, the PCT will get harder and harder to hike in a continuous path. Unless you are lucky with the timing, the drought that has plagued the West will continue to make the fires worse. Despite my disappointment, I have to keep reminding myself how lucky I am. I didn’t lose my home. I didn’t lose my business. I didn’t die trying to escape a fire. And I’m still able to hike.

I will try to write about NorCal when I have some time. But for now, I am going to get back on trail and see what Washington has in store. ❤️

Not how I envisioned getting to Oregon (from the I-5)

Despite not having hiked for three days to deal with the fire, this is how I currently feel.