Trail Day 102: Grouse Gap Shelter (mile 1705.7) to Old Road 99 (mile 1716.2)

10.5 PCT miles

I’m used to being in a hurry on trail. I always have somewhere to be or miles to try to do. For that reason, I set my alarm really early this morning to make it into Ashland as soon as possible. As it went off I realized that it didn't matter how quickly I got into town. I was checking into either a hotel or the hostel, something that I probably wouldn't be able to do in the morning.

I also wanted to take advantage of the cool morning air for hiking so I didn't want to get up too late either. I ended up waking up at 5 am, and lay around for awhile until I was fully alert.  I even ate breakfast “in bed.” I had tried cowboy camping last night and it didn't seem to affect my sleep at all. The benefit was that there was less to pack up in the morning.

I finally got going, winding my way around grassy hills. I could hear cowbells in the distance. When I finally saw the cows, they were directly on the trail. I tried talking to them the get them to move without frightening them too much, but all they did was walk further down the path.

So, I spent a good portion of the morning herding cattle. It involved a herd in front on the trail with me behind them gently saying, “You've got to move cows. I need to go down the trail. Just go up the hill, or down the hill. I need to go forward.”

Herding cattle.

I thought I was in the clear when most of the cows went down the hillside.  Unfortunately, the stupid babies stayed on the trail. That involved me accidentally getting in between a horned cow and her calf. She moo’d and started coming onto the trail. I stuck my poles out at her, telling her to go around. Thankfully she did.

Unfortunately, when she picked up the calves, they started walking the trail again. I was getting really annoyed by then. This was never ending.

Eventually,  it did come to an end. The herd, including the babies this time, all went downhill. They made sure to moo their displeasure at me as I walked by.

Thr smoke makes for some interesting lighting.

I followed the trail around for a couple miles until I came upon a picnic table and spigot. It was on the property of what used to be the Mt. Ashland Inn, and now looks like a private home. There was a man there who gave me a friendly wave.

I set my stuff on the picnic table and the man came down and told me to let the water from the spigot run for a while and it will turn nice and cold. He also said it was OK to let it run as his well ran deep. There had been some notes about the property owners not liking hikers, but that was definitely not the experience I had. The man said he section hikes and knows how difficult water could be at times.

View from the trail.

After I had gotten water, I headed down the trail for about 5 more miles towards the exit for Callahan’s Lodge, where I could hang out and eat lunch or try to hitch a ride into Ashland. I got to the intersection where the turn off should be and saw a dirt road without clear signage.

I checked the notes in the Guthook app and people claimed the side trail to the lodge was steep and confusing. It was recommended that you use Old Highway  99, about a mile further down to get either to the lodge or into town.  I had seen a similar note somewhere else, so I headed to that crossing to exit.

I-5 from the trail.

When I got to Old Highway 99, there were no cars coming or going. I started down the road towards Callahan’s. It was recommended that you walk this road with your thumb out.

No cars were coming in the direction I was headed. I saw plenty of cars going the other way and I started to get a little angry. I hate road walking. It is unpleasant and dangerous. I had one car pass me in the correct direction, but I didn't notice it until it had passed me.

Finally, I got to the turn that would take me under I-5 to Callahan’s. It was also and entrance ramp north to Ashland. Then I saw a car behind me. When I saw them also make the turn towards the northbound onramp, I timidly stuck my thumb out and waved. The driver waved back and pulled over.

The passenger asked where I was headed, and when I replied “Ashland” she said “Hop in.” I thanked the two women profusely when I got in the car. They told me that they stopped because I reminded them of themselves when they were “20.” I didn't bother to correct them.

I talked to them along the way and it sounded like they were hippies when they were younger, moving to the area in the 70s. You would have never guessed it from looking at them. They looked like a couple of youthful, stylish grandmas who were off to some trendy lunch somewhere. The car was incredibly clean, which I  was definitely getting dirty.

The dropped me off at the Rodeway Inn, which is a cheap motel right next to a laundromat and a grocery store. It is far away from the charming downtown of Ashland, but had the things that I need.

It was only about 11 am, but the Rodeway Inn let me check into my room. They were cleaning it when I was in the office and I could go in when they had finished.

I immediately took a shower. It was a long, hot shower, scrubbing all the dirt off. After that, I lounged around, enjoying the air conditioning before heading to the laundromat.  They laundromat dispenser was out of detergent, but a nice man offered me some of his. When my clothes were clean, I grabbed some lunch and headed back to the hotel.

I spent all afternoon doing some combination of blog entries, stretching out my tight muscles on the hot shower, or doing research on the upcoming fire closures.

There has been a lot of rumors and misinformation about the fire closures so it is pretty confusing. Luckily, the rumor about the trail and the road being closed on my first closure detour was not true. The fire detour after that is more complicated, especially because new fires keep springing up, changing or closing routes. I'm not sure if it is possible to get past that one on foot. I will have to check the current conditions when I reach Crater Lake.

Eventually, I went back to the grocery store to get my resupply for the upcoming stretch, and partially repackaged it before going to bed. I have a feeling I am not going to be getting out very early tomorrow, so I left most of the packing until then.