Oregon at Last

Hi all, I'm writing to you today from Ashland, OR. Thats right, I finally made it to Oregon after more than 1700 miles of hiking in California, and it definitely feels good to have passed a new milestone. In addition to being in a new state, I also have less than a thousand miles to go; its time to start counting down the miles intstead of counting up. I've been hiking with Lakewood and Ed still, and we managed to catch up with StraightJacket, who was ahead since Old Station. For the moment we comprise the "head of the pack" so to speak, though we aren't trying to rush things necessarily. That being said, we have been averaging 35 miles a day or so, a good size number especially considering that most of those come easily before noon. The terrain and trail is simply too easy and fast when compared to the Sierras that it is hard to slow down. The views are consistently amazing as we head into the high desert of this next section, an area of rolling hills of parched grass and carpets of wildflowers. Its surprising to think that just a few days ago the trail was inundated with cascades and surrounded by lakes as we headed through the Marble Mountain Wilderness, but then again this trail seems forever changing. Even though the Sierras were beautiful in their own right, northern California has been one of my favorite sections so far. Between the easy conditions and near constant views of Shasta and the surrounding areas, it certainly makes for great hiking. Unfortunately our time in Ashland has been cut short, and we have to peace out earlier than expected so I can't write more but, I think I'll be getting off trail for a day in Bend where Elise has a friend willing to put me up for the night, so hopefully I'll be able to update then as well. Talk to you later.