Chester ups and downs

Heading north from Chester

The trip along the PCT North from Chester was composed of several ups and downs: being physical, emotional or mental.

Chester’s burns healing to Lassen National Park from the fire Dixie a few years ago was dusty, hot and sometimes disturbingly calm. Together with this marked lunar land as an excessive land of 3 days, with temperatures that rose above 100 degrees while we headed to the old station to the stretch of Mt Shasta.

There was also a smell of smoke in the air, which meant that the fire season was already in force.

In Old Station, I checked the PCT closures and discovered that a 50 mile section of the path was closed due to a fire near Etna Summit. Without knowing if the growing fire closed by the growing fire, I liked many hikers and decided to move to Seiad Valley to resume the trip north.

After stopping at MT Shasta to collect a refueling box and avoid excessive heat, I studied the Norcal bus network to discover how to get to the Seiad Valley. It turns out that many hikers were doing the same. This meant that the bus ended up full of trash and completely resumed hikes and backpacks.

Finally leaving California

When leaving the bus in Seiad Valley in the oppressive heat of the afternoon, I decided to walk that night to 15 miles up to a camp in Ridgeline the opportunity to sleep at a higher height and the slightly colder temperatures were much more attractive than the invitation to have a barbecue in the local park of RV near where we left the bus.

The next morning, however, I was received by an even thicker smoke that blew from the fire near Mt Shasta. He had grown in size as he would find out later.

It was a bit stressful without the cell phone reception, it was a challenge to obtain state updates over the fires and the path in general. We push north to the ca/or the border in the hope that the wind will change the digestion to fly the smoke and that the new fires will not explode near the path.

Reaching the border with or was a satisfactory moment. California is a great state that was beaten home for the understanding that it took me about 90 days to reach Oregon.

I was tired at the point and I was glad to leave North. I found that the heat and miles of burning scars are physically and emotionally challenging. Certainly it was the low point for me so far on the PCT, and I certainly had my doubts about whether I wanted to continue for more than 45 more days.

However, Oregon was almost an immediate breath of fresh air of trails. The path from the border to the road near Ashland was green and lush.

It was comforting to walk again in the shadow of large healthy trees. There are no dusty burns. However, there were indications of a new stalking challenge on the road … mosquitoes.

Crater Lake National Park

Leaving Ashland meant that we were just a few days after it could be said that he is a true outstanding of the PCT. Crater Lake did not disappoint.

More than one person told me to look down while approaching the edge of the crater so that when you look and see the lake for the first time you can experience it in full effect. That suggestion was excellent because this is what I saw when I looked up …

The images do not do justice to the Lake and the National Park. It is really spectacular to see and experiment in person.

The walk along the Rim Trail had several miles long and each hiker was walking its slower miles on the PCT. It is difficult to have a good time when every minute there is another surprising point of view.

I can say that the view that day from our lunch place was a lunch time view in my life so far.

From Crater Lake, my thoughts deviated further to the north when I realized that I was approaching the final stretch. After several hundred very challenging miles, I was excited about meeting with friends to walk through the sections of the path and join my parents for a couple of zeros in Portland. I was also enjoying the paths of the path again.

Reaching Chester’s refuge cove was a challenge as I said. Combating the doubts I had and the boredom he was experiencing was a strong reminder for me that attitude and mental health are as important as physical conditioning.

To that end, I feel honored to raise money for the National Alliance of Mental Diseases while I am walking on the PCT. If you want to get more information about NAMI or make a donation to support your various initiatives, here is a link:

https://donate.nami.org/fundraiser/6283303

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