Trail Day 98: Etna to Prudence’s Place

15 miles road walk detour

I worked diligently on catching up on blog entries while everyone else packed up. Pretty much everyone at the hostel was getting a ride to Ashland, skipping a huge chunk of trail because of the forest fires. The only one besides me who was left was One Eleven,  who had shown up late last night. He was going to stay the night as well, but I was going to try to get out of town to start my road walk detour.

Eventually, he left to get food, leaving me all alone in the Hiker Hut. With the increase in internet speed, I was able to miraculously catch up on blog entries. Then, I switched my focus to the fire detour route I would be taking today.

I checked the route info that Songbeard had sent me, and then went to the fire closure website. I found a problem with the route. The website said the fire closure had extended to Lovers Camp Trailhead, which is the last part of the detour that leads to the PCT. I took that as the trailhead was closed and decided I would have to road walk all the way to Seiad Valley.

When I got comfortable with the route I would be taking, I packed up my bag and headed to Dottie’s to fill up on calories with a bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a blackberry milkshake. I found One Eleven there with some other thru-hikers that I recognized, but didn't know their names.

These guys were absolutely freaking out. There were insisting that there was no way around the fires closures, and if they tried to hike the roads around them that they would die in a blizzard in Washington in late October.  They asked me what I was doing. Even though I told them about the alternates I was taking, they decided they would flip all the way up to Washington  instead. I finished my lunch as quickly as possible and hit the road in an attempt to distance myself from the stress these guys were projecting.

My road walk began by following Highway 3 for about 5 miles. I hated every second of it. It was after 2 pm and incredibly hot. Cars were whizzing by fairly frequently and 4 of them stopped in the middle of the highway to ask if I needed a ride. Every time one stopped, my resolve to walk a continuous footpath to Canada weakened.

Highway 3 during a rare lull between cars.

Finally, I turned off the highway, walked through the tiny town of Greenville, and headed down Quartz Valley Road. Here I had 2 more people pull over to offer me rides. The second one also offered me a place to stay for the night, excitedly telling me about a hiker from Belgium that he had just hosted. His place was only 1.5 miles away and I had hoped to hike a little farther than that today.

Smoky Quartz Valley Road. 

I kept walking and there was a lull in traffic, so I decided to make a 1600 mile marker. The real marker was on a closed section of the trail, but I had definitely walked 1600 miles by that point.

1600 (ish) miles.

Just as I had set up my camera when a car pulled over to offer me a ride again. It was a nice woman who seemed really concerned for me walking the road. We chatted for awhile and she offered me the ability to stay the night at her place, 5 miles down the road.

I  considered it carefully. I was not seeing any good place around the side of the road to camp. There barely was a side of the road. I knew there was a campground further down the detour, but it was a group site so I was unsure if I would be able to set up a single tent. I would also be arriving in the dark and the campground itself was down a side road.

A guaranteed place to sleep and a bed sounded really nice. After talking with the woman, named Prudence, I felt like I could trust her. I agreed to have her host me for the night. She gave me a description of the intersection to her house and I predicted how long it would take me to walk there. She would need to pick me up at the driveway and shuttle me the rest of the way.

She also offered to take my pack so that I didn't have to carry a heavy load the whole way. I took some of the bigger items out of my bag, knowing there was a chance I would never see them again.

After I started walking again, my mood got better. I was excited to have a bed for the night. I was able to appreciate my surroundings a little more as I walked through small clusters of homes that were technically “towns,” as well as past pastures full of cows.

Heading down Quartz Valley Road late in the day.

Moo.

Cows and smoke.

I was enjoying myself too much because when the time came that I predicted I would be at the end of the driveway came, I was still a mile away.

Fire influenced sunset. 

As I neared the correct place, I saw Prudence on the road again. She had gotten worried and had come looking for me. I saw that my gear was all still safely in her back seat. I walked the remaining distance, and got a ride to her cute little cabin.

She gave me a tour of her cabin, let me shower, do laundry, and cooked me dinner. We had grilled chicken strips, cucumbers, tomatoes, and banana bread. For dessert she brought out some ice cream she had been saving. She was really excited about the ice cream.

We chatted for quite some time until I was too tired to stay awake. I got to sleep in a comfortable bed with tons of pillows and a plump down comforter. It may have been the most comfortable bed I have slept on on the trail.