July 13 and 14 Mileage 1 Mile 1727 to mile 1728 Can't sleep in the heat four egg breakfast turnips and kale in coconut oil Kristi takes us in the hot car to REI trading in my darn toughs steak bowl at chipotle trader joes resupply shop n kart $2 probars sorting mountains of food … Continue reading Day 80 & 81: Trying to take care of business when it’s too hot to think: a double zero in Ashland

July 12 Mileage 16 Mile 1711 to mile 1727 I wake early, I'm the first one out, I hike slow. I eat sunflower seeds, raisins, my last bar. I'm hungry, thinking about food, the heat is coming up. There is the warm humid light, the dry conifers, the soft dusty path. I'm thinking about burgers … Continue reading Day 79: Ashland = Heaven

July 11 Mileage 38 Mile 1677 to mile 1711 (plus 4 miles on the wrong trail) I've been waking up at five a.m. lately, for better or worse. Mostly I'm still painfully tired and I stay in my sleeping bag, just sort of dozing, until everyone else starts to stir. Today, when I wake up, … Continue reading Day 78: The thunder rolls

July 10 Mileage 29 Mile 1648 to mile 1677 I sleep well, waking in and out of dreams, sometimes too alert- is it time to hike? Is it time to hike? In the morning it's overcast, the air is cool, I eat some jerky (so salty! Why is hiker food always so salty or sweet. … Continue reading Day 77: Fording the Klamath River on my neo-air

July 9 Mileage 31 Mile 1617 to mile 1648 Every month, in the week before I get my period, I have a day filled with intense, sloth-like fatigue. It's as if someone replaced my blood with lead and then replaced the air with warm jello- I try desperately to crush miles but I've been transported … Continue reading Day 76: cowbells, butterflies and a steam room full of flowers

July 8 Mileage 19.5 Mile 1597.5 to mile 1617 We wake in the morning with a mission: 9.5 miles to Etna, and food. I'm the last one out of camp, at 6:30, but it's blessedly overcast and cool and I'm cruising. What a difference a lower air temperature can make! This last climb would've felt … Continue reading Day 75: a successful in & out in Etna, the town with more deer than people

July 7 Mileage 26.5 Mile 1571 to mile 1597.5 The mosquitoes come out right when we're going to bed, but only a handful. Four? Five? I wonder how many are buzzing around my face. I'm in my sleeping bag, down jacket on, hood up, mosquito headnet over my head. It's my mosquito protection system and … Continue reading Day 74: wading through hot ramen and watching a bear

July 6 Mileage 34 Mile 1537 to mile 1571 Chance's alarm goes off at 5 a.m.- she's hiking by 5:18. Chance wins the award for fastest packing up in the morning, hands down. Mack is out a few minutes later, in his pink shorts with the broomstick he uses as a hiking staff, and I … Continue reading Day 73: giardia schmiardia, I feel strong!

July 5 Mileage 27 Mile 1510 to mile 1537 It's hot and I can't sleep, again. Why is my sleep so bad right now? Maybe because the sun is out until 9:30 p.m.? I miss the days in the desert, when it got dark at eight. So easy to go to bed at eight p.m. … Continue reading Day 72: castle crags of enchanted magic

July 4 Mileage 3.5 Mile 1506.5 to mile 1510 Twinkle gets up at 3 a.m. to try to climb Mt. Shasta- he and Sherri are going to attempt it without ice axes or crampons, just scrambling up the rock. After he leaves I feel strangely awake, alone in the dark hotel room with the air … Continue reading Day 71: sick as a dog, campy 4th of July parades and the hippy party bus