7/6/18 -7/8/18 - Ashland to Bend

Daily Miles Hiked: 0.0

Total Miles This Trip: 16.9

PCT Miles Completed: 1717.7

I decided in the interest of trying to keep up with this blog this time around I would combine these 3 days into one post.  I will briefly summarize what I did, and how I ended up in Bend, Oregon instead of Ashland.  

7/6/18 -  I woke up with the hope the fire hadn’t spread, but now it was up to 8,300 acres over night and still moving north.  I called Callahans and they said they were open and I-5 had reopened but they were ready to evacuate at a moments notice.  They also said there was a decent amount of smoke.  As long as the road and trail were open, I was determined to try to get a ride up the next morning.  I brought my rental car back and got a message from a trail angel on a local facebook group saying she could try to get me to Callahans at 10AM the next day.  Throughout the day however things continued to get worse and the local search and rescue crews listed an advisory to stay off the trails near the border.  I went out again that night and took a picture of the smoke.  Way behind the Mobil sign on the right of this picture is where I would be starting, and the ridge with the smoke covering it would be where the trail roughly is.

It was a tough call, but I decided to change all my plans.  Instead of going to Callahans I booked another rental car for the next day and decided I would drive to Bend, get on the trail there and hike south hoping the trail was still open, or at least the roads were so I could roadwalk around the affected part of trail.  Another trail angel offered me a ride to Medford because the rental companies in Ashland were closed on Saturday.  By the time I went to bed the fire was over 10,000 acres. 

7/7/18 - Overnight the fire exploded up to 22,000 acres, but seemed to be stalling on the northern front.  I was picked up and brought to the Medford airport where I picked up my rental and headed to Bend.  It was truly a gorgeous drive through central Oregon.  I got into Bend about 5pm and started going through my prep to leave the next day.  Driving around Bend I stumbled upon a Blockbuster Video location.  

An internet search later and I found out it was the last one left in the contiguous United States, though there were a couple more left in Alaska.  Getting back to the hotel, I realized I had 2 problems though, the rental car place didn’t open till 9:00AM, and the bus up to Sisters where I would hitch to the trail didn’t run on Sundays.  I cound always hitch from Bend, but it is a much longer hitch.  Added to that the section I decided to switch and start on was one of the driest in all of Oregon and I would have to do at least 17 miles my first day with a full pack to get to water.  Trying to convince myself I was being smart and not procrastinating, I decided to stay one more night in Bend and leave first thing Monday morning.  So I got some pizza and just chilled in my hotel room for the rest of the night

7/8/18 - Fire is up to 25,000 acres but 25% contained.  Good signs, still with no northerly progression.  The bad news is they did officially close 13 miles of the PCT as a precaution.  The fire is only a mile from it now.  Since I was gonna be stuck in Bend another day I wanted to see the town, but I had some more business to attend to first.  Instead of spending another 100+ dollars a night on a hotel room, I booked a bunk bed at the Bunk and Brew - Bends Hostel.  I got all my stuff together and checked out of the hotel and brought the rental car back, then proceeded to walk the mile to the hostel just to see if they would let me leave my pack there even if I couldn’t check in yet.  They were fine with that and I took off to explore downtown Bend.  Pretty much an artsy/hippie town with 18 breweries all condensed in their downtiwn area.  Walked around a bit then settled in at the Bend brewery for some beers and poutine.  

Made my final calls home and called my cousin in LA who once again has expressed an interest in visiting me on trail, possibly even when I get back to Ashland.  All my walking around Bend, I completely forgot to wear sunscreen and wound up with a nasty sunburn.  

I would have gotten one anyways, but the full pack is gonna be rough against this.  I was gonna see another movie but decided it was best to get to bed at a decent hour.  Hopefully tomorrow is finally the day I get on trail.

Keep on keeping on

- Patch