Day 117 : Hello Oregon!

14th August 2013
Mile 1699.5 to mile 1728: The California-Oregon border to I-5
Mileage : 28.5

The first Oregonian trail register

Today was a new day, and a new state! As with yesterday nothing could dampen our spirits as we did our first miles in Oregon heading towards Interstate 5 and Ashland for some well deserved Oregonian beers. Rocky and T-Rex were especially excited as Oregon is their home.state, and also they would be take a break for a few days back in Portland their home town. I wish i could say that the grass was greener on the Oregonian side of the state line, but mostly it was the same. Ominously a hicks.smoky hazy had enveloped the mountains reducing visibility to such an extent that only the immediate ridgelines were visible on either side of the trail, with the rest disappearing into a grey-blue fog. The smoke was thick enough in parts to begin to affect my breathing ever so slightly on the uphills. This did not bode well.for the days and miles to come, but for the mean time we all.put it from.our minds as we started the final descent to highway and began to see the telltail signs of our proximity to main roads and civilisation, i.e. day hikers. I am usually only too happy to stop and chat with anyone on the trail wanting to ask me about the trail and my experiences thus far, but today i had thoughts only for town and all that that entails. I therefore tried me hardest to keep my exchanges with day hikers as brief as was humanly possible without being rude, i hope i pulled it off. The descent was never-ending, with my knees protesting vehemently the whole way, but today i had no time for them and carried on despite my many aches and pain, which all seem to be more pronounced whenever i approach a town stop. The sights and sounds of the interstate signalled the end was near and i finally emerged tired but happy onto a small side to find T-Rex waiting for me, along with Justin, our angel for our Ashland stop. Although i usually start the day at the back, this is no indication of over in which we finish the day, as our motivation and energy levels fluctuate throughout the day. T-Rex has an almost unbelievable ability to push herself  hard whenever a town stop is near, regardless of the trail conditions, which today involved a long knee jarring descent and, and the fact that she almost never uses her hiking poles. I dont know how she does it to be honest, my knees would have called end to my hike long ago were i hiking like her. It was Rocky's turn to bring up the rear today, but he appeared  only 10 minutes or so behind me. He was experiencing similar joint discomfort to that of my own so could identify well with the look on his face as he emerged onto the road. The three of us piled.into Justin's car and were soon speeding our way into Ashland and towards civilisation. An hour or so later the 4 of us, along with Justin's better half were enjoying easily the best meal on the trail by a huge margin. The meal, beer, company and hospitality shown by our angels were a welcome welcome into Oregon. The Oregonian bar has been set high.