Traveling south, ie the Victory Lap

Chairman meow

The section of trail from Ashland to Canada was finished, but our trip was far from complete. We had two sections of trail to complete (Sierra City to Ashland, and Big Bear to the Mexican border). But first. We had boatloads of friends to visit on our way south.

In Bellingham, we stayed with my good friend Teagan at her new apartment. She apologized profusely for her hectic work schedule. Craig and I assured her that we really really were happy sitting indoors cooking and watching an entire season of Orange is the New Black. So much had happened this summer!
We took a bus south from Bellingham to Portland, where we ate shelled peanuts and drank beer with Michelle. The next morning, we took a series of buses west to the mouth of the Columbia River. In the town of Astoria, we visited my friends Jake and Roxy. They are both teachers. We went canoeing and visited a colony of sea lions on the docks (hands down, best physical comedians, ever). We collected mussels and cooked them in white wine sauce and played Settlers of Catan. Craig and I went to Jake's middle science classes as Science professionals, to tell the kids about being real live scientists. Only a few of them probably caught on to the fact that we are unemployed and homeless.

I am starting to realize that there is life after the trail. I have friends living happy, fulfilled lives. And that can be me too. It's encouraging.

We took buses south on the coast of Oregon, down to Lincoln City. Zack and Nikki, Craig's friends from Minnesota, picked us up and took us home to their house on the beach. They forage for mushrooms on the weekends and teach during the week, walking on the beach every night. We explored tide pools during low tide, looking for messed up star fish clinging to the rocks.

We continued south, thumbing our way down the coast on highway 101. A couple of girls from Newfoundland picked us up first. "We're headed down south of Eureka tonight," they offered. We looked at each other. We'd been debating whether we should go back to Ashland to buy bikes to cycle through the section we missed in Northern California. This was as good a sign as any, so we agreed. These girls did not disappoint. They played perfect coast music, and we made a picnic feast on the beach. We cruised through the redwoods in awe. The girls dropped us off in a town outside of Eureka so we could stealth camp for the night.


Picnic lunch with our new hitching friends

The next few days, we hitched down the coast with whoever stopped for us. There is no shortage of characters in Northern California. An old man who ran a bar gave us leftover sauerkraut and potatoes for breakfast. A painter in a VW bus picked us up. A girl asked us who Snoopy Dog was, since she was recently signed to his label. We were driven by surfers, by electricians, by teachers, by strangers of all stripes. At night, we competed with the transient homeless populations for hobo hideaway campsites. It was glorious.

In Berkeley, we met up with my friend Megan for a night. It was time to get back on trail.
Friends keep asking what the next adventure is, and I don't have an answer. The PCT has been the light at the end of the tunnel, the goal, the one item on my bucket list for so long, that I don't have an answer. So now I do have a goal: make a bucket list.



Shaving in a field in Northern California

We continued south by train and rental car and metro train and bus, back up the mountain to the place where we started this journey. Big Bear. Our friend Tink, from trail, let us stay at her house for a couple of nights before dropping us off at the Cougar Crest Trail. Mile 277.7. Where this all began. Here it goes. Back to the desert.

Hike on the Bay