7/15/17 – Welcome to Oregon

Day 83
Miles: 1,671.20 to 1,693.57

Total miles hiked: 1,109.71
The wind that scoured the neighborhood of our site last night eventually died out and when I woke up in the middle of the night, it was peacefully quiet around us and stars shone from the sky above us.

Morning was equally calm. We didn’t have to climb any big hills for little while so the stroll along the ridge was very enjoyable.

Some climbing eventually got in our way, luckily we were mostly in trees when it happened, and shaded from the sun. 

Between the treed sections, there were meadows. The ones higher up had alpine character with mainly prairie lupine growing on the expanses, while those lower were covered with tall grass and other greenery.

The last meadow we walked through was Donomore Meadow, home of the Donomore cabin, originally built in 1935. The cabin is currently being restored with the idea that soon it will provide refuge for hikers.

Today part of the restoration crew was a trail angel from Oregon who had canopy set up for shade and chairs where hikers could sit. There were drinks, water, coke, beer, and Mike’s hard lemonade, and we also got hot dogs. It was fantastic. I wish we could stay much longer, and socialize with other hikers but it was past 4:00 p.m. and we had to make more miles to get to camp.

Less than a mile away, we crossed into Oregon. It’s hard to believe that after 2.5 months we are finally out of California (and we still have considerable section to return to).

Oregon welcomed us with cooler weather. Cold weather to be exact. It seems like the temperature dropped at least 20 degrees, and wind picked up that was chilling us to the bone. I reached for my down coat after we set up camp and headed to a spring to filter water. Others had their puffy jackets on as well. Everybody’s teeth were clattering and everybody retreated to their tents right after dinner. 

We’re excited to be in Oregon, and we are curious what adventures will this state brings. Stay tuned.