I am in it! Ashland to Crater Lake - 177 km in 5,5 days

Wow! I am in it! The trail got me now! Done with my first section; Ashland to Crater Lake. This last week has been all of the things; joy, hard work, solitude, loneliness, togetherness, smiles, laughter, pain, hunger, thirst, exhaustion, trees and views and wonderful people. 

Started out from Ashland alone and was planning to go slow. I am not so good at slow obviously. So I hiked on, mostly forest the first days, felt good to walk finally! Big trees, easy trail, heavy pack. My first night sleeping alone in the tent, yikes, freaked completely out, no humans in miles, animals moving around everywhere, my headlamp on and off trying to scare away imaginative ( or not) bears. Feeling ridiculous in the morning having breakfast with a deer munching leaves beside me. 

 Well, hiked on. Long day 2 and far to water. After dragging myself the last two miles I could not have been happier to see tents, people and running water. This was my first meeting with Mama Bear, Patchy and So good and we laughed around the fire. Can't believe how fast a situation can turn from complete exhaustion to pure happiness. 

 We woke up, the tents and sleeping bags completely soaking wet from condensation. Yey. Crawling out of the tent; completely stiff. Downjacket and hat on. Make coffee. Suddenly everything feels better! Pack up camp. Hike. First hour pain, then robotmode is on and I hike for hours without a break. Eating while walking. On and on through forest and lavafields. 5 minutes meditation with ants crawling in my drying sweat. Energy-gel, water, hiking on. Goal: Fish Lake; people, rootbeer and ice-cream. I make it! Reward is a rootbeer float, chili-cheese fries with the best company. Ending the day camping on a spot with a trailangel making wonderful food for us and being handed a beer from a friend. Bliss!

The trailangel Chef makes cheese-omelettes for breakfast and I hike out grateful on a full stomach. I hike all day alone through dead forest, blowdowned trees and sworms of mosquitoes. It was horrible! I just hiked and hiked. I was creeped out from that forest. Finally after a whole day of walking and no breaks because of all the mosquitoes the trail started to climb. Up, up and away from that haunted place. I fall exhausted into a campsite, make dinner and collapse in the tent. I can't sleep, don't like camping alone... Miss my love and wish for morning to come..

Next morning; raingear on for mosquitoeprotection. Packing up camp and hike on fast. I catch up with Mama Bear, Patchy and So good and decide to try and hang on to them. We hike the alternate up around Devils Peak. So much snow!! What?! We step in each others steps in the snow along the ridges and get the reward to slide down the hill saving a mile and getting to laugh ridiculously. 

We hike on in the snow, it is hard, body is in pain,I hike on pure will, downed trees everywhere. I can't believe we will ever get there. But one step in front of the other one more day and we get there! Mazama Village here we come!! Yey! The bliss of getting to sivilisation, people and a store! I pick up my resupplypackage, buy rootbeer and candy and we smile and drink beer and just feel like everything was worth it. Wow, life!!! 

I am excited to meet my friend Lindsay here, that woofed at Lykkebo 3 years ago. She works up here for the summer and has offered me to stay in her house for the night.  I get to shower and eat and sleep in a bed. Now I am resting my feet, blogging and talk to loved ones. 

I am good!!! See you in a week folks!!