August 22.
Woke up in a bed with Mup which was wild. We packed up and went to get breakfast at a little cafe that had vegan options. I had been messaging Twig and Twist who were also in town and heading back to the trail and offered them a ride back to the trailhead as well. We met them at the cafe, got some gas and extra snacks, and drove back to the trailhead.
I was excited to get back on the trail, especially since I was hiking with Twist and Twig and might not spend all of Norcal alone. It was also hard saying goodbye to Mup. We’ve made tentative plans to meet up again when I’m closer to the Sierra but that is so many miles and so many days away.
But finally I said good bye to Mup. Goodbye Mup. Thanks for everything.
At the trailhead we met up with a bunch of other sobos! Legit, Cheesy, Chance, Flowers (Pidgins new trail name because of his new flowery hiking shirt). We all set off together, a little 8 person sobo bubble, the biggest I’ve seen so far.
Unfortunately there was also a ton of smoke all over. The second we started climbing up I started to see all of the smoke in the valleys below and started breathing it in. It hit me hard. I couldn’t catch my breath easily and hiked really slow. There’s some fires in Oregon and a lot in California and it seems the smoke is reaching all the way up here. I slowed way down and got separated from the others.
I got service at one point and called my mom. Things still aren’t great with her and my stepdad and it was good to talk to her for a bit.
Not long after that there was a cooler full of sodas where I met up with the other sobos. The plan was to only go around 20 miles to a water source and then hike the last 6 to California the following day but halfway through the day, Flowers, Twig and I decided to maybe push to California, to some cabin remains on the other side. On the way another sobo hiker named Vortex caught up and joined us. There was also another German hiker named Shit finger who was with Vortex but a little ahead of us.
It was fun hiking with others for a bit. I passed Twist at one point and didn’t end up hiking with her which is a shame since other vegan hikers are few and far between. I did have a hard time keeping up with Twig and Flowers since they’re faster hikers than I am and the smoke was really affecting me. Still managed to stay with them for most of the afternoon.
As we hiked we kept talking about wanting to finish Oregon and make it to California. So instead of only doing 20 miles we decided to push to 26 to the Oregon-California border. Flowers had Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and we blasted it the last few miles.
Right before sunset we made it to California! 2 states down, 1 to go!
Hiked another .8 miles to a cabin that was listed as cabin remains. Guthooks says it was rotting but when we got here it had been built up with a cot and a bunch of chairs and a nice porch we had dinner at. Flowers and Twig went down to get water while I ate my amazing burrito. Roadrunner and High Roller showed up and camped nearby. Twig and Taylor came back and Twig called dibs on the cot while Flowers and I got the floor.
We’re all hanging out on the porch now eating dinner and talking and joking and life is great. Bienvenidos.
Plants Outside 