Day 36 (September 21)

Mount Shasta -- very big!

Clear skies as we emerge from our last PCT slumber to greet our last PCT morning. Our post-breakfast load has never been lighter: out of coffee, food, and fuel. Couldn't have planned it better.

This section of trail isn't much celebrated by the locals. Before the PCT was established and needed a route between Mt Ashland and Hyatt lake, there wasn't a major hiking trail through here at all. Maybe we're just lucky with the lighting, but it's pretty grand to us. Mt Shasta hovers over us in the southern sky as we stride along the low hills and ridges towards Pilot Rock, the sides of the trail thick with dewy thimbleberries. Just a few miles to go.

Ashland's down there somewhere

Around noon a thick fog rolls into the valley, completely covering our destination. It's pretty from above, but as we descend the last hill and dive below, it makes for a dreary sky. Within an hour we're standing under Interstate 5 at a crossroads of mixed feelings -- here the PCT heads west past Mt. Ashland and into California, and we head north to town. We'll miss the trail no doubt, but we're excited for what's to come.

The first thing to come, we hope, is lunch! After a short road walk we arrive at Callahan's Lodge, a hotel and restaurant highly praised by hikers for hospitality and cuisine, and the southern outpost of Ashland. We'll be meeting our friend Sharon here, ending our hike, and commencing our temporary Ashland residence.

Sharon greets us with good cheer and bad news: Callahan's isn't open for lunch during the week. Thus begins the harsh grind of civilization. Luckily there are about a hundred places in Ashland that are open for lunch, so no need to shed tears. We toast our arrival in proper Oregon fashion with responsibly-ground burgers and prizewinning microbrews. For dinner we feast on cheese and wine from the excellent food coop. With great effort we even manage to stay awake until 10, hard work, but there's so much to eat...