Hello, Joy here. Ron and Kendra spent 2 days in Etna, CA. On Wednesday morning, they checked out of their motel and got on a public bus that took them to Yreka, CA. From Yreka, they had a trail angel who picked them up and took them past the Oregon state line, right off of Hwy 5, where they picked up the PCT trail. This ‘jump’ was around 118 miles, and was done on the advice of park rangers and the PCT agency, due to the heavy smoke. I know Ron and Kendra were bummed for not being able to ‘walk’ across the state line, but maybe they will go back and do those 118 miles when they are finished with this hike. Also, a huge shout-out to these trail angels….. many were giving rides to hikers all day long and all week long. There were so many hikers that needed to be relocated out of Etna and Seiad Valley, and these large groups were also putting a big strain on the local businesses. They are not equipped to handle 100+ hikers a day. Or to have this many people needing to spend a night someplace. And these were not short shuttles. They were anywhere from 60-120 miles. Many of these individuals do not charge any money for this service, but most hikers do give them something for their time and gas. These locals have certainly stepped up and helped the hiker community, tremendously!! And while these people are doing this, they are watching the fire and evacuation warnings and orders that are going out to make sure their own neighborhoods are not being affected. You talking about stress!!!
I checked in with Ron and Kendra last night (Thursday) and they are still in some smoke, but nothing like it was in Etna. Yesterday, the trail ran very close to Hyatt Lake. It was actually 1.4 miles from the trail, so Ron and Kendra took this side trail so they could eat lunch/supper at the Hyatt Lake Cove restaurant. I’m sure that was a great treat for them! It looks like they ‘may’ be doing the same thing tonight (Friday). They are coming up on Fish Lake and it too has a restaurant, and it’s just a short distance (2 mi) down a side trail. That is just my guess! (It’s 5pm their time and they already have 20 miles of hiking in today.)
Their next planned stop will be Crater Lake National Park. They should get there on Monday. They may need to pause here an extra day, as I sent out their resupply boxes and they won’t get there until Monday or even a Tuesday! This got a bit delayed because I was waiting to see how far north they were going, to get out of the smoke.
So it looks like they will be at mile marker 1775 tonight — 875 miles left before the Canadian border. But,,, 2 fires right on or near the PCT trail, at mile marker 1992 and 2091, so we’ll deal with the impact of these, as they get closer. And then Washington State is a mess still with fires.
Thanks for following along…. have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!!
I am so pleased that Joy can stay in touch with you two and keep us up to date on everything.. I heard more fires broke out in Cali but I didn’t here exactly where. Is it hot there? We are getting our hottest weather yet, and I spend a lot of time,outside working on my barn yard. everything is so dry and I am sure you see a lot of that to.Still miss you and sorry you had to be moved 118 miles, but Thank God someone knew what was best for all of you. I am so happy for you two, but I will be glad when you return home, because I love you much
Hello mom! Bucket here – Sage and I keep working with Joy to hike as much as we can, but also work around the trail closures due to fires, storms, etc. It is very hot and dry here in Oregon as well. We love you! Thanks for everything.