Day 13 & 14

As per usual my sleep was average at best. Most of my fellow hikers already left by 6:20 a.m. when I slowly start to crawl out of my tent. And again it’s 8 a.m. by the time I start hiking.

In average today’s segment is more or less all uphill (3500ft / 1060m) over 14.6 miles / 23.5km. The ascend starts right after last night’s camp.

Uphill is still a challenge, especially when it’s really steep, but with very small steps I can conquer them all… 😀

Just in front of the first water source of today, there are a lot of huge bushes. Suddenly I hear a sound like a little helicopter and I duck as it flys by really close. Surprised by that sound I try to locate it and find out where it originates. It doesn’t take long to identify it. There are Hummingbirds (Kolibri) flying around and howering in front of flowers in the bushes. This is the first time I see Hummingbirds out in nature. I try to take pictures and videos but they are so fast, that I don’t have a chance to get a proper shot.

The water source itself is a few steps away from the trail but someone was so kind to leave a hint (see photos below). I talk with the hikers resting in the shade while having a snack before I continue hiking.

During the day I take another little break but nothing else worth to mention happens. Just uphill hiking…

In the evening I arrive at the tent site I had planned for. After setting up my tent I went to the nearby water source, which is more a trickle then a stream. Therefore it takes quite long to fill my water bottles. During that time the nearby mosquitos have a feast on my back and I get perhaps 8 new bites just while getting water.

Back at camp, I cook my dinner and after I have eaten three more hikers arrive, all Dutch. As I am pretty tired I go in my tent and fall asleep trying to listening to their whispered conversation.

Day 14

Tonight I sleep relatively well. One of my better nights so far. I need again roughly 2h from the time I leave my tent to the time I start hiking. I wonder where the time goes by, as I am busy all this time. During the time I pack up my stuff and have a breakfast some hiker go by my site. They are all in a hurry, because the border to Oregon is close.

Today has also some elevation gain in store but not as much as yesterday. In fact it’s frist downhill, then uphill again only to descent again to the same elevation I started today….

At around noon I arrive at Donomore Cabin. This simple cabin has a history that goes back to the 1850s as mentioned on the small information panel outside. It’s not locked, so I take a quick look inside. I assume in case of severe weather this cabin could serve as a shelter as well.

A few minutes before I arrive at the cabin something stings or bites me in my left shin (Schienbein). I can’t see what’s biting me, because the place where it happens is in the shadow and I am wearing my sunglasses. But it feels like someone put a needle in my shin. Luckily the area doesn’t swell and by the end of the day the pain is gone.

Shortly after my break I arrive at the border to Oregon and the few hikers resting in the shade there are cheering as I step over to Oregon. I take a few pictures and talk with the hikers. Shortly after, I continue to hike. For some reason to don’t feel like I belong to them. They know each other for and have endured 1690 miles together and I just started recently.

Less then a mile after the border is a dirt road crossing and today with the best trail magic I have experienced on trail. A group of men and women from Medford area have come by car and have set up some tables, pavilions, grills and coolers. The offer cold beverages, warm breakfast burritos, fruit salat, cookies, chips and other delicious treats. It’s a Saturday afternoon and they have come together in the morning to prepare everything and then drove up the mountain. I talk with some of them while they offer me more food and drinks. One of them hiked the PCT some years before and suggested to do some trail magic. They enjoyed this experience so much that they tell me, that they want to do it again.

After 45 minutes of resting in the shade and delicious trail magic I continue to hike. The rest of the day is „just hiking“, as nothing noteworthy happens.

Today my planned tent site for the night (a forrest worker camp) doesn’t have a water source. So I have to collect all the water I might need until I reach the next source tomorrow morning. I fill up all my bottles and the water bladder and with over 4l of water I arrive at the camp.

The British couple I have first met in Seiad Valley is also there. We chat, cook and eat together. After that I set up my tent and go to bed shortly after.

Right before I am about to fall asleep, I hear a loud „crack“. Something or -one just broke a big tree branch by the open cabin. Of course I immediately think that a black bear is close. I listen with a heavy beating heart, but there’s nothing. I convince myself that it has most probably been a deer and not too long after I fall asleep.