We woke at 4 am to alarms all around us urging us to get up and join the others in an insufferably early start to the day. We were the first out of camp, and by 9 am had walked 10 miles, finishing up 21 miles by 1:30 pm at a hut with a large well/water pump.

We napped/ate/read for 2.5 hours amongst the other 20 or so hikers crowding all the shady spots around the hut. We waited until 4 pm to hit the road again for the final 10 mile push, and because Vee got a nap in, we made it in to camp first. Five minutes into arriving at the river, a trail angel approached me and said they had pizza, beer, sodas and fruit for hikers! We’ve never had such perfectly spontaneous and important trail magic!

There is nothing better than pushing like crazy in unbearable heat for 32 miles to be completely surprised by two drop in trail angels in a sprinter van. I will never forget this beautiful day.

With a full day at our disposal, I utilized the swimming pool at the hotel, we did our resupply and post office stop, and then gathered with friends. The heat was ridiculous (100+) so we decided on indoor beers, followed by an escape room, bingo, and taco Tuesday! Can’t say better things about Ashland and having everything we needed (and an amazing hostel!)

WE MADE IT TO OREGON! Finally.

We crossed the long awaited state line after hanging out for breakfast with buds at the Donomore cabin. It was 6:30 am, which meant it was the perfect time for a shot of fireball. We celebrated, then hit the trail.

Unfortunately, 6:30 am was not the perfect time for fireball in Tim’s stomach. Soon after, Tim started to feel ill. We made it a few miles before his stomach completely turned and he could not keep down fluids or food. We had to cut our planned 28 mile hike out to a 17 mile hike to a campsite near a road so that we could bail early. By the end, we were hardly traveling one mile per hour, with frequent breaks, and me occasionally taking Tim’s pack to reduce his effort. It was tough to keep our spirits up.

We ended up camping near an old shelter, after debating whether to get Tim off trail for an extra night in town than planned. Finally, we decided to camp it out. That was probably the wrong choice.

Ultimately we both ended up skipping about 9 miles of trail to get out the next morning, since Tim still could not hold down calories or water.

Somehow, we woke up in the morning, made our way to a water source, then bushwacked straight to the road parallel to the trail to hitch. We made it around 2 miles before two cars drove up, and a PCT thru hiker who quit this year due to injury, picked us up in the back of his subaru that he had cleared out specifically to pick up hitchhikers.

He drove us straight to Ashland and took us to our friends’ Airbnb where we showered and I ate their leftover ice cream. Then we went to Morning Glory for second breakfast, and Tim was finally able to keep some food down!

We then went thrift shopping, got smoothies, and checked into our hotel, and ended the day with dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant with friends followed by a game of ultra light Settlers of Catan (board handmade by Runway out of felt). The day was restful and exactly what we needed.