PCT Week Four: We Made it to Oregon, Dude!

The Pacific Crest Trail is a thru hiking adventure, that stretches 2,600 miles between Mexico and Canada. While my partner has been hiking since March 18 when I dropped him off on the border of Mexico, my adventure started the first week of May, with my good girl Chloe Rue at my side. We had to skip north of the Sierra Nevada Mountains this year, and plan to end with them. Instead, we started where our pets can officially join us: Old Station, California. Follow along for stories, dog tails and things I am learning on the way- about my dog, my partner and life in general.

Hello Oregon!

We have missed you SO much Oregon! Truly, I love this state. I love the massive, tall trees and old man’s beard moss that drips from them, and the way clouds immediately drop over our heads and make it seem like werewolves and vampires are about to start a war in the middle of the woods. I don’t know what it is about this land, but it feels magical; like anything could happen.

By anything I absolutely mean a down pour of rain over our heads after our first few steps in the state. Followed by Chloe’s bladder getting upset, a lightning storm, a mountain summit, another lightning storm and the week ends with a lot of vomit, poop and an awesome stay in Ashland. Stay tuned because this story is a doozy!

We crossed the California/Oregon state line on June 5th at 1:30 in the afternoon. We had enjoyed some time eating lunch at a BEAUTIFUL cabin just a few miles south called Donomore cabin. Built in the 1930’s the cabin offers safety in the frequent storms that haunt this area, as well as a stunning viewing point for wildlife. Seth even saw a bear frolicking down in the valley as we approached, and had the opportunity to watch from a distance until Freyja caught the scent and barked; scaring the bear away.

It’s amazing how a place you would normally consider “abandoned” or “gross” or even thinking it’d be full of rodents- it’s amazing to see this cabin with fresh eyes from the trail. Now it’s a place that is safe from wildlife and storms. It offers a cot, a woodstove, and even sometimes has trail magic tucked in its doors. When an old cabin or an abandoned radio tower suddenly begin to look warm and welcoming- well that’s when your perspective shifts from what society sees as a luxury, to what you see as a luxury. Perspective shifts are important too, because that’s where we learn the most.

So we left Donomore Meadow, feeling SO excited for the trail ahead and finally reaching our home: Oregon.

The clouds began to gather as we backpacked our way uphill. Then we crossed the border, and took the moment to celebrate. Seth had reached beyond his 1,000 mile mark; and I had reached over 300 miles with the dogs! We have never backpacked this far in our lives, and man it felt amazing. To have successfully made it through the outlandish snow, the terrifying conditions, the rattlesnakes of California- and finally step foot into our home. To the land that accepts every wayward soul: my heart is in Oregon.

The clouds continued to gather as we continued through our homelands. The raindrops began and we both had to laugh. Is it really Oregon if it’s not raining and overcast? I kept my eye on a suspicious cloud, worried the rain might turn into a thunderstorm. Seth had his eye on it too, and thankfully Chloe Rue was just a happy clam in her raincoat.

We had a blip of cell reception, so we quickly checked the radar. It showed a nasty storm was coming to us fast, definitely showing us that our eye on the suspicious cloud was accurate. We would be hit by the orange colored radar! However it would be very quick and then the rain was also supposed to dissappear. Instead of setting up camp, we set up our footprint (a layer base for a tent) to mimic a tarp, considering wind and rain protection. Then we sat underneath it in a copse of tall Oregon trees and watched. The thunder was deafening, the lightning landed close; but we felt safe below the tree line, all snuggled up together in the storm. It did dissipate, along with the rain, quickly. We waited our 30 minutes and then felt ready to continue north, knowing we were close to the tree line and about to be on an exposed ridge.

Observation Peak

Thrilled by the lack of snow, our crew of 8 paws and 4 legs trekked onwards and upwards. We were making excellent milage, feeling almost an extra set of energy due to making a major milestone and bypassing the storm. It wasn’t until we were far past the treeline and close to Observation Pass, that we met snow again. Chloe absolutely ran for it, thrilled to be protected by her rain jacket and to have some fresh cold snow under her paws! But Seth and I looked at eachother groaning. Who knew that the path just HAD to be on the north side of this summit.

“Let’s just climb the mountain. Screw it. We’ll go straight up where it’s snow free instead.”

And that my friends is exactly what we did. Instead of struggling on another heavy sloped, snowy surface we summited Observation Peak. With California to the south and Oregon to the north, this was an awesome decision. We felt completely energized, even though we were over 7200 feet of elevation. We came down the ridge on the otherside and met back up with the trail. The mountain pass was a easy compared to what we had recently undergone in Northern California, and after the pass, we were free from snow for miles and miles.

Chloe has to Pee

If you’ve been following my Youtube Channel, you’ve probably noticed my concern over Chloe this past week. Shortly after leaving Seid Valley, California Chloe began to struggle with her bladder. My poor girl would stop to pee constantly, sometimes going 5 times in a span of 3 minutes. She was passing urine, so I didn’t feel it was an emergency, but I am always wanting to do what’s best for her. I sought advice from an online group of veterinarians, who also felt this might be a bladder infection. Following their good advice and using what we had on hand, we did our best to keep Chloe comfortable until we could get to town. We had fortiflora and doggy pain meds. We had a LOT of water sources and plenty of filtered water. So we kept her hydrated and pain free, and she just kept on peeing.

It is hard to imagine what we would have done if she had stopped peeing. Having an obstructed bladder is probably an emergency. We might have had to get off trail immediately. If her bladder infection began to be bloody, or extremely painful for her; I’m sure we would have had to just found the nearest bail out point, and asked a trail angel to help us to the nearest doggy hospital. And that right there is the magic of the trail: none of those things happened. And if it had, we WOULD have been able to be helped by angels. People who hike are honestly, the best people. The kindness and soulful hearts we’ve encountered help me realize that had it turned into an emergency, we still would have been okay.

Thankfully, Chloe’s pain free peeing all the time just continued as it was until we were able to get her to Dog Urgent Care in Ashland. We discovered she does NOT have an infection (hallelujah) and it is just her anatomy down under that was collecting more dirt and gross things than usual due to the amount of hiking we are doing. Now we have special wipes and education that help keep her clean and infection free.

Mount Ashland

Back on the trail, after we summited our peak and enjoyed the views, we continued our trekking straight up hill toward Mount Ashland. Some of you know that in 2020 I had a short contract in Medford Oregon, that went awry quickly when fire season struck. The 2020 fire season in Oregon was legendary where thousands were displaced from their homes and hundreds of people lost their homes to wildfires. Unfortunately, I was one of those people who parked her home on wheels right in the path of a wildfire. If you want to read more on the tragedy, check out my post about it right here.

The crazy part is during that space of time, when I was working a contract but not able to return to my camper home, I was an absolute ball of anxiety. Of course I went hiking and decided I should summit Mount Ashland. So I did, and now three years later I found myself walking around this mountain and I can’t help but be reminded of that terrible time in my life.

Yet, I have learned something about bad things that happen. We grow from everything that breaks. When we heal, we heal so much stronger. The biggest and most important thing we can do is to just keep walking.

Another important part of healing is to know that despite something bad happening when you’re traveling, that is not what defines the place. Going back, making new and fresh memories, and knowing that there is so much more than the bad thing- it’s all a part of healing.

Meanwhile, as I looked up to the mountain summit and reflected on these things, another furious cloud began to become visible over the mountain, and thunder began to roll. Seth and I knew there was a shelter behind us, but the forecast had predicted night time storms starting around 7pm. We felt we might be able to make it to town. At least, we wanted to get as close to town as we could.

So, we pushed. Chloe and Freyja were AWESOME on this long haul day, carrying their packs with their little four legs plugging. Chloe would encourage me to keep up with Seth, not wanting to fall behind the pack. And while her pulling was not the most polite way to hike together; the encouragement helped and we made awesome time. We would have made it to town, if the storms would have held off. But in Oregon the weather is about as predictable as a tennis ball in the mouth of a puppy- and the lightning began to strike the summit.

My advice here is to NEVER mess with storms on a mountain. If you’re above the tree line- good luck! Thank God Seth and I were close to Ashland Campground where there was the shelter of an outhouse and some nice tent areas to camp. We continued our excessively fast pace and found ourselves at the campsite, looking out at the most beautiful, yet terrifying scene of clouds I’ve experienced. If we were tucked indoors somewhere (rather than halfway up Mount Ashland) it would have made for the coziest night. Instead we watched lightning strike the mountain summit, that stretched less than a mile above us, three times. Beautiful, terrifying, and one of the nights on the PCT I will never forget. I thought the dogs would have been antsy with the loud noises so close. I have trazedone on hand for just these moments, when we can’t outrun a thunderstorm. But those girls were so tired from our long haul of a day, they fell asleep as the rain tapped against the roof of our tent. They were snuggled up together, seeking comfort in eachother, and in us to keep them safe.

Getting Sick on the Trail

The next morning, I woke up feeling like I had to poop. It was one of those get out of the tent NOW situations and I barely made it to the little outhouse. Unfortunately, the diarrhea trend continued, and actually worsened into vomiting as we strolled our sore legs and paws down toward the interstate. The worst part about backpacking when you have an upset stomach is the number of holes you have to dig in a day. Chloe loves to help me dig cat holes, and they are normally not too bad an issue. However when you have to suddenly stop, throw your pack down, and dive after your trowel- it’s a different story. Many cat holes were dug this day, (Chloe did not help with them either) but we did, at LONG last make it down the mountain. I had no idea what was going on with my stomach, but when we finally made it to a hotel room; before another thunderstorm struck and before my stomach erupted again, I was SO grateful. We all were happy to rest in town that day.

Ashland, Oregon welcomed us with open arms then sucked us into its vortex powers, keeping us there longer than we had intended. But for that story, you will have to stay tuned! Have you ever delt with stomach issues on a backpacking trip? How many cat holes have you ever dug in a day? I hope you all have many Happy Tails and happy trails.

Barking Embarkers