That town was awesome. We got to check out some awesome breweries, eat a whole mess of Indian food, laze around in the local park, and eat fresh fruit at the farmers market. Some of us even went to see Much Ado About Nothing at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It was an amazing performance and I was ecstatic that we got to see it.
While we were in Ashland, Shelly's parents came to visit! They gave us rides and brought us monster cookies. They were some legit trail angels. It was wonderful to see them while they were in town and we were very grateful for all their help and kindness.
After three zeroes we got back on trail. Shelly's parents dropped us off at the trailhead in the evening and we made it a whopping .5 miles out that night. Shelly went with her parents up to Crater Lake where she would meet back up with us. So, it was Matt, Wright, Loverboy, Dad (Adam), Cityslicker and I rocking it out of Ashland. Vanish had left a little earlier in the day.
The first morning out of town went south very quickly. I lost time and then passed out about 7 miles from camp. I don't remember the whole ordeal but I can recall my fellow hikers taking very good care of me. We aren't too sure what caused my little incident but either way I was tired and not well so I got off trail for the night. Dad and City came off trail with me to make sure I was taken care of in Ashland. LB, Matt and Wright hiked on.
I am very grateful for those boys and all the help they gave me. I felt completely safe and taken care of. They carried my pack, gave me food and water, and checked my vitals all the way to our extraction point. It just goes to show what we will do for each other. I know I would do the same for them. I'm very grateful and I love them all the more for it.
I got off trail for about 24 hours. Shelly and her parents took me to immediate care where I got some tests done. I was fine at that point and they dropped the three of us off at a road crossing further up the trail. We posted up there and waited for the boys. The hikers slowly trickled in as the day went on. Vanish showed up, as did the mob squad. Around 10 pm Loverboy and Matt rolled into camp. They had logged over 30 miles! In fact, LB and Wright did a 35 mile day. Woah. Anyways they were exhausted when they arrived and they enjoyed some of Loverboy's birthday trail magic we brought him and immediately went to bed.
The next morning we got out of camp with the intention of doing a 30. That didn't happen. We made it about 27ish miles that day. It was cold, noticeably cold. This slowed some of us down. We made it about 27 miles out and camped at a small creek that was 20 miles away from Crater Lake Mazama Village.
That night was very unpleasant. We camped on a hill next to that creek so it was colder than most campsites. I also was camping in an area that was not even remotely flat so I was cold and uncomfortable all night. It was one of my worst nights on trail. Shelly was gone, I was cold and in pain, and all in all I was miserable. To top it off, it was 30 degrees the next morning, which made getting out of camp very hard.
Eventually, I got going. It was actually a very pleasant morning. The sun was shining, the air was cold and crisp, and the prospect of a warm building was at the endof the day. On my way, I passed 1800 miles! Another milestone flying by!
We pushed the last 20 into Crater and met up with Nathan and Shelly! We all retreated into the Xanterra restaurant as the evening got colder and colder. The weather forecast was calling for snow, so no one was excited to go outside and set up their tents. Eventually we couldn't wait any longer and we went to the hiker biker area. It was COLD. REALLY COLD. And to top it off, Loverboy and I got lost trying to find the camping spot. We spent about 30 minutes wandering around a giant campground. It was frustrating. By the time we found everyone I was grumpy and ready for bed. Shelly and I quickly put up the tent and spent a little time with our fellow hikers before going to bed.
We woke up to ice on our tent. It was below freezing again but thankfully there was no snow on the ground. We were set to hike out that morning so we readied ourselves for the Crater Rim Trail! Onward and upward.
-Smokey
