Woke up at 4:30 and got moving a little before 5. Had to hike the first 30 minutes or so with my headlamp. 

At around 9:30 I met Lint, I heard about him when I was at Tom Levardi’s place on the AT. He’s one of only a few people to triple triple (hike the AT, PCT and CDT three times each). I used his website as research for gear and trail and I also followed him on IG so it was kind of crazy that I ran into him. He was just doing some trail maintenance and going for a run. We shot the shit for a while before he gave me his number and said he’ll give me a ride once I got to Callahans. 
I got there by 11:45, made good time, ran the last 2 miles. Met up with Lint and his giant white van, turns out he slack packed Rafiki, 2% and Pillow Talk who were behind. These were the same guys I met a few days ago, all cool dudes. We waited for them and headed into town. So glad I didn’t have to hitch
We went straight to an Indian buffet and gorged on food. From there we went to the outfitter where I bought a Thermarest Z Lite pad to replace my deflating NeoAir. It won’t be as comfortable but it’s lighter and I’ll save time morning and night. I cut off three panels of it to make it shorter and lighter. It only cost $29 because they had a hiker discount. 
I got a room at the Rodeway Inn, $75 a night. The room was surprisingly nice and clean. I went to the Supercuts to try and get my head shaved. It was an hour wait and would have cost $14.99. I went to the Rite Aid and found clippers for the same price so I bought those instead along with a pack of mint Oreos, Monster energy drink, pint of B&J and some shower products. 
Went back to the room and devoured the ice cream and then shaved my head almost bald. Drank the Monster and headed next door to do laundry. They had real detergent at the Rite Aid for less than $2 so I bought that and dumped half the bottle in for my clothes. I used the leftover detergent and washed my long johns back in the room. I always wear them when I wash everything else so they never get cleaned
Spent the rest of the day watching TV and using wifi. Went to Subway for dinner, took another shower and relaxed on the bed eating mint Oreos. I’m going to enjoy my time here

Slept in until 5:45, warm night and warm morning. Got to Lookout Spring about a mile in and it was a very slow source, took over five minutes a liter so we all got held up there. 

Had a ton of elevation gain today, these last hundred miles or so were pretty tough. At 6PM I arrived in Oregon for the first time in my life. I still remember leaving from Campo like it was yesterday. Only two more states to go. 
Ended the day at 8:30, kind of chilly out with some good winds, hope I don’t freeze. Only about 19 miles to Callahans where I plan to hitch into Ashland. I’ve been thinking about this zero day since Sierra City, over 500 miles back. I might wake up earlier to get there sooner but the cold might keep me in my bag.
I got a bad raw spot on my left foot today. Not sure how it happened but it hurts every time it touches anything. I guess it’s good timing with my zero coming up
I can’t wait to get a new sleeping pad, the past couple nights I had to wake up and blow it up again. I heard the outfitter in Ashland might exchange it for free, that would be amazing if true. If not I’ll probably get a regular roll out pad that most people have. 

So I found out last night my Neoair has a hole in it somewhere. It sucks but I’m not too mad because that thing lasted me the entire AT and over half of the PCT, so I got my money out of it. I’ll try to fix it in Ashland. 
Anyways, I hauled ass about 38 miles to Seiad Valley and got there at 6:20PM. It was really hot and humid. When I got to the store I immediately plug in my phone and proceed to stuff my face with a pint of ice cream, soda, chips, candy etc. I bought a little resupply to get me to Ashland and updated my blog. 
I made great time so instead of staying in Seiad I stepped off at 7:45 to do a little more. There ended up being zero camping opportunity going up the hill so I hiked until 9:10ish. This is my first forty mile day. I’m camping with three other dudes, saw them before going into Etna. Aside from Junco and Sonic they’re the only hikers that I’ve seen multiple times and have gotten along with. They hike pretty fast. 
Gonna go as far as I can tomorrow to make going into Ashland as short as possible. 
I’ll be in Oregon tomorrow!

Couldn’t sleep last night, probably because I slept well in town. Woke up with morning dew all over my stuff. Started hiking at 6, had a ton of little climbs today. 

Second half of the day was really dry and hot. After about 15 miles I finally got to a water source and I sat there and drank over a liter and ate some cheese it’s. I hiked until 9PM which is later than I normally like to stop but I think I’m going to try and pull big days until Ashland. Really can’t wait to get there and zero. If I can do a small day into there it would mean more time to relax. 
I’m hoping I can make it to Seiad tomorrow before the store closes. 

Slept great last night. So nice to sleep indoors on a bed. Passed out around midnight and woke up at 9. Went and got breakfast and then headed back to the grocery store and bought a resupply to sent up the trail to Oregon. Went back to the room and showered for a third time, packed up my stuff and watched some TV before I left. Always hard to get out of town after a night in but it’s only five days to Ashland where I plan on taking only my second zero day. 

Got a ride back to the trail from the motel owner and started hiking around 1:30. Did almost 20 miles and of course there were people where I wanted to camp. Didn’t see a single they hiker the entire day, just my luck. Pushed about one more mile and got to a parking lot where I decided to cowboy camp on the pavement. First time since day one in the Sierra, hope it doesn’t rain. 

Woke up at 5AM. It was pretty cold. Actually threw on my down jacket and started hiking with my rain coat and gloves on. Broke camp at 5:30. 

Made it to highway 3 by noon. Felt nice to be done hiking by then. The hitch was difficult, very few cars were driving by. There were four other hikers there that needed to get into town but they were just sitting there and not trying to hitch. I walked about 50ft away and threw up a thumb. Eventually got a ride at 12:45. Got a room at the Motel Etna for $65, kind of pricy but whatever, I need some kind of break. 
First thing I did in town was head to the local burger joint where I destroyed a nice burger, fries and a banana split. From there I went to the dollar general and bought some food. Went back to my room and did the usual hiker chores when in town. I got to use a real washer and dryer for free, so I threw in a ton of detergent and fabric softener. From there I sat on the bed and watched TV and used the wifi which was really strong
At 8 I went to a restaurant and had a huge plate of pasta and some pie, it really filled me up, felt great. Check out is at noon so I’m going to get every minute out of my money, plus I need the rest. 

Couldn’t sleep last night, probably because of all the sugar I had. Got back on trail at 8 and decided to push it as far as possible to make it a short day into Etna tomorrow. 

I hiked until 10PM. It got really cold the last few hours. It’s been really hot at night lately so this was a pretty big change. I originally planned to cowboy camp but it was so chilly I pitched my tent. 

Got moving at six. Trail was real easy today. Pretty much just booked it to Castella where I had to take a two mile side trail to Ammiratis Market. Got there at 7PM. They had B&J ice cream there so of course I grabbed a pint along with a tall can of Coke. 
A big family came up to me and asked me questions about the trail. They were pretty amazed of the whole thru hiking philosophy. After that I started planning my resupply. I had originally planned to carry five days to Seiad Valley which is about 150 miles away. I’ve been feeling really burned out on the trail lately so I decided to carry only two days to Etna, I hear it’s a nice town. I could use some time off, even though I’ll probably still do 20+ going in. 
I resupplied and also bought a pre made burrito they had there. It tasted great. Also bought a 32oz Gatorade, it was the lime cucumber flavor which tasted like shit. 
Walked back about a half mile to a campground. Tented in a spot designated for thru hikers. There’s other people close by, hope they’re not loud tonight. I only have to average about 29 the next two days to get to Etna so that will be nice. 

Got moving by six. Pretty normal day of hiking. It was really cool out, nice and cloudy. The sky looked like it was going to rain but it only sprinkled on me for about ten minutes, got lucky. 
Pushed a little further today. I was intending on staying at a particular camp spot but of course when I got there I saw people had a already taken it. All the tent spots I passed were open but it’s always the one I plan on staying at that is occupied. It was 8:30 so I was kind of pissed I had to keep going. But I lucked out, just .2 more and I found a trail previous hikers have made and it led me to a nice tent spot. 

Got moving by 5:45 and made it to Burney Mountain Ranch by 8:45. There was only one other hiker there who was leaving, so I was the only person there which was cool. I immediately bought some sodas and snacks out of their fridge and used the wifi. Took a very long shower, first real one in a long ass time. Then did laundry, the detergent they used smelled really good. I haven’t done laundry since 300+ miles back in Tahoe. After that I resupplied three days to get to Castella, only 92 miles away. Before I left I got lunch which cost ten bucks, it was a taco salad along with other stuff. 
Left at 2 and cruised about 18 more miles. Felt very refreshed leaving there. I felt clean and my clothes were clean. This is probably the cleanest I’ve been inside my tent and sleeping bag, it feels pretty good but won’t last long sadly. Tomorrow will be my first full day of hiking without stopping anywhere in three days.