August 8th
We always seem to leave towns later than expected, as chores and organizing always seem to take more time tha planed. Today is no exception. We get a quick ride right to trail head from some local students.
The trail east of I-5 enters a “no-mans” land between the Siskyous and the Cascades. We walk across a series of gentle, rolling green hills, mostly very dry. Generally this is a “kinder-gentler” terrain. And it’s cow country. We see a few dayhikers and run into Toek at the springs, which are about ten miles into the trail.
The new shoes, a pair of Teva “Roncro” designed as a trail running shoe are proving to be a bad selection. Already they are starting to breakdown. The heel cushioning is compressing dramatically and the feet are both turning in to the point that there are new blisters forming and pain even in my knees. And I’ve only had them for ten trail miles. Neither the shoes nor my feet are likely to make it to the next town. In fact it is a struggle to make it the 7 miles to the next road crossing, highway 66, where we can get a ride back into Ashland to fix this problem. Fortunately we have this option.
The walk to the road is a grind, trying to focus on getting there with enough time to get a ride into town and trying not to focus on the increasing pain(s) in both feet. The most exciting thing that happens is the flash of a black behind crashing through the brush. It happens so fast, and is such a blur, that it is impossible to tell if it was a small black bear or a calf separated from the herd. Both are frequently found in this area.
Highway 66 is a quiet road and its even more quiet at 7:30pm. But we are lucky and get a ride within ten minutes and are back in town by a little after 8pm. Deja vu all over again. This is th second time on this hike that we have ended up back in a town we thought we had left for good. The Ashland Inn is full except for a couple of family suites, but they help us find less expensive lodging at the “relax inn”.
We take advantage of the situation and enjoy a hot meal followed by wine and ice cream…….
