Etter flere dagers hvile med mye god mat og drikke kom vi omsider til Ashland. Nå skulle vi gå fra å være NOBO’s (nordgående) til SOBO’s (sørgående). Det føltes ganske merkelig. Men det var godt å være tilbake i California. 

Første dagen var vi fortsatt i Oregon og det var mye røyk i luften pga skogbrann ved Crater Lake. Det var litt ubehagelig men etter å ha gått i et par dager ble det bedre.  Bare for å bli verre.  Det viste seg at det var flere skogbranner. Det brant lengre sør i et område som vi skulle gå.  Vi traff mange NOBO’s som gav oss nyttig informasjon. De kunne fortelle at neste område var stengt mellom Seiad Valley og Etna.

Annonsørinnhold

Spar stort: Kjøkkenutstyret du kupper på tilbud nå

I et veikryss oppi fjellene var brannfolk utstasjonert. Der satt det en kjekk brannmann med brei Arkansa dialekt og var koordinator. Lite visste han at det ville komme mange PCT hikere forbi hver dag. Brannfolkene hadde altfor mye mat og drikke, så han fikk seg en ny jobb som trail angel. Kald drikke og snacks smakte godt sammen med siste oppdatering på skogbrann fronten.

Da vi nærmet oss Seiad Valley ble det verre. Dalen vi hadde planlagt å overnatte i var overfylt av røyk. Det sved i øynene. Vi var usikker på hva vi skulle gjøre men valgte å gå videre 3 miles til toppen av neste fjell på stien. Det var blitt ganske seint og vi var sliten etter en 20 miles dag, så vi bestemte oss for å campe. Det var mindre røyk men vi var litt bekymret. Vi hadde fått info om at skulle det utvikle seg og brenne nær oss, ville det komme folk fra Forest Service og sørge for at alle kom seg ut.

Neste morgen var det litt klarere. Vi hadde ikke så langt igjen til Seiad Valley. Men det var en ganske så lang nedstigning dit. Rett ned i en røykgryte. Ganske sprøtt.
Vel nede traff vi flere hikere. De spanderte kald øl som smakte herlig i varmen.
Vi var heldig og fikk skyss ganske raskt med to jenter som jobbet på den lokale cafeen. De kjørte oss til Yreka. Her var det også røyk i luften men mye mindre.  Det viste seg at stien vi nettopp hadde gått ble stengt samme ettermiddag. 
Etter fire dager i villmarken valgte vi å ta en zero day i Yreka. Klærne stinkete av både svette og røyk. Dusj og klesvask var fantastisk.
I morgen går turen videre. Forhåpentligvis uten flere skogbranner.

English:

After several days of rest with lots of good food and drinks, we finally arrived in Ashland. Now we should go from being NOBO’s (northbound) to SOBO’s (southbound). It felt quite odd. But it was good to be back in California.

The first day we were still in Oregon and there was a lot of smoke in the air due to the fire at Crater Lake. It was a bit uncomfortable but after a couple of days it became better. Just to get worse. It turned out that there were more forest fires. It broke further south in an area we were headed. We encountered many NOBO’s who gave us useful information. They could tell that the next area was closed between Seiad Valley and Etna.

In a crossroads up the mountains firefighters were stationed. There was a nice firefighter with cool Arkansa dialect working as a co-ordinator. Little did he know that there would be many PCT hikers past each day. The firefighters had far too much food and drink, so he got a new job as a trail angel. Cold drinks and snacks tasted good together with the latest update on the forest fires.

When we approached the Seiad Valley it became worse. The valley we had planned to stay in was covered with smoke. It sting our eyes. We were unsure what to do but chose to go further 3 miles to the top of the next mountain on the trail. It had become quite late and we were tired after a 20 miles day so we decided to camp. There was less smoke but we were a bit worried. We had been informed that if it would develop and burn near us, people would come from Forest Service and make sure everyone came out.

The next morning it was a bit clearer. We did not have that far to Seiad Valley. But it was quite a long descent there. Straight into a smoke cooker. Pretty crazy.

Well down we meet several hikers. They offeret us cold beer that tasted delicious in the heat. We were lucky and got out of there pretty quickly with two girls working at the local cafe. They drove us to Yreka. There was also smoke in the air but much less. It turned out that the trail we just been on closed the same afternoon.

After four days in the wilderness we chose to take a zero day in Yreka. The clothes smelled of both sweat and smoke. Shower and laundry were amazing. Tomorrow the trip goes on. Hopefully without more forest fires.