Aug 13th
Alex Hole Campground(1690.3)-Grouse Gap Shelter(1715.9)
Today’s Mileage: 25.6mi
Yay! Today was the big day! After 107 days and 1,698mi, I’m finally in my home state of Oregon. What a wonderful day! It started with one final beautiful California sunrise.
I was so happy to reach Oregon. I’ve really been looking forward to this ever since we got out of the Sierra. We all took pictures, signed the register, and ate something special…I had Oreos:)
It really did feel different for me once we were in Oregon. I felt like I could breathe and that a weight was lifted. We had great views and nice trail the rest of the day.
Contrary to popular belief, there were some uphill climbs, but I didn’t even notice them in the wonderful Oregon forest!
One bummer is that the snow is still around in patches and we know there is lots more coming soon. After everything I’ve been through, I managed to break my hiking pole slipping down this patch of snow we had to go down. Dang!
We ended the night at the Grouse Gap Shelter where we got to have dinner at a picnic table with a great fireplace. There was even a trail magic cooler up the trail and everyone had sodas with dinner.
We are all probably zeroing in Ashland and we are excited to only have a 10mi morning hike to town tomorrow. I’m very excited to be getting picked up by my step uncle and aunt who I will spend my zero with in Grants Pass. Let the Oregon fun begin!
