It snowed during the night and dropped to freezing. Whilst I was fine with this some of the group expressed reservations about continuing, and I could see their point since our information was sketchy and it was still snowing, with possibly more weather coming in. Moreover we were scheduled to climb to 7000’+ so likely deeper snow.

So the collective decision was to return to the Highway and make our way to Olallie Lake, some 50 miles up the trail, where we knew for sure the conditions were acceptable to everyone.

It turned out a hitch was difficult, but after maybe an hour we struck lucky, with Ali not only picking us up but offering a night to stay! Ali and her husband Rick were incredibly kind, fed us burgers and gave us a nice place to stay in their guest cabin.

A busy day as we drove up to Bend and got a taxi to the trailhead on Highway 20 at Santium Pass.

Bend has probably the biggest concentration of craft brewers in the US, so we had a late lunch at the ‘Crux Fermentation Project’.

When we started hiking we expected snow about 10 miles in but were surprised to find it after 4 miles. With the likelihood of not finding a decent camp spot for many miles we stopped there.

We needed to get to the road pretty quickly to get back to Medford or Ashland to hire a car to flip North. So consequently we started walking at 5.30am and headed down a pleasant wooded trail.

Good time was made, and for the second part of the day we traversed lava fields, hard on the feet but interesting.

At the road we struggled for a hitch. A local tradesman passed us by and didn’t stop, but felt guilty later and turned around back to get us! Not only that he took us to all the places we needed! A star.

We booked a pickup at Medford Airport, but due to an error they didn’t have the car at all. Boomerang was insistent though and they ended up giving us a minibus instead! Loads of room.

We stayed at a motel and will head to Bend tomorrow.

Had a great breakfast at Morning Glory before getting an Uber out to the trailhead.

We started off about 11.30am for the short section to Fish Lake. North of there towards Crater Lake the snow is still annoying, and there onward practically impassable.

Easy walking, good weather and lovely views, with the bonus of ending up at Klum Landing Camp on Howard Prairie Lake – hot showers!

The wonderful Derek and wife who looked after us in Yreka have generously agreed to come and get us at the Highway 66 today and get us to Medford, for gear at REI, then to Ashland to stay the night.So we had to polish off 10.4 miles by 10am and so started early (5.50am). We made it comfortably by 9.30am to find them there with fresh strawberries and blueberries!We went to the nearby Green Springs Inn for a great breakfast and, surprise, another free beer!At REI I bought another pair of the wonderful Saloman XA Pros in wide fit. I will send the boots and winter gear to a friend in Reno (Kimberley). The Lowa Renegades were great in the snow and cold but too heavy and hot for the well made trails we are on now.We booked into the Timbers Motel in Ashland, pretty nice and not too expensive when shared between three of us. We were pretty smelly and dirty so laundry and showers were the next priority.

A nice 6.30am start, and a warm day on relatively easy track. In these conditions 20+ miles isn’t a problem.

Somehow I got ahead of Freddy but he caught me up where the trail crossed Interstate 5. The others were ahead.

We discussed dropping in on the nearby Callaghan’s Mountain Lodge, and as we did a pickup pulled up and asked us how we were, then offered a lift! Who were we to refuse.

So we sat at the bar with the barman Wally, who has been looking after this bar for 38 years! We had water and ordered milkshakes and coffee. It then turned out as hikers we get a free beer!

We dragged ourselves away, but not before Freddy bought beers to carry to camp for the others, who weren’t impressed with our detour….. until they got the beer.

I felt fully recovered today and the miles didn’t seem too bad. The trail was very beautiful, a big change from the desert of SoCal. There were lots of shady stretches in trees and stunning vistas when we got up high. There was snow on the ground in places, but easily walked or bypassed.

We got into camp at the civilised time of around 6.30pm (we left this morning at 7am) so there was time to eat and have a campfire.

After a decent sleep I felt significantly better, but still not perfect. Interestingly Boomerang, whose is usually a very strong walker, felt today like he had no energy at all. Maybe a bug?

I was low in energy but ground out the day.

The Chairman was on the same train so we reunited at the platform. A quick walk to the bus stop allowed us to catch the next bus to Yreka. We’re doing this because reports from the Trinity Alps say that it’s not really feasible to take that route because of snow.The next stage of the journey was to be a bus to Seiad Valley, but unfortunately that one only runs Thursday and Friday so no luck. So we had breakfast at the Black Bear Diner and then nipped over to Walmart for a quick resupply top-up.

While Energizer was inside, he was recognised from his Facebook posts by a local, Derek! So by chance we were driven back to his place, fed and even took a dip in their pool!Even better, Derek drove us to Seiad Valley! The downside was that is was now 4.30pm and 35°. We started a long, continuous 4000′ climb and for some reason about 2 miles in I felt really unwell and really felt I couldn’t move on at all. Luckily Freddy, the star he is, noticed I was taking a long time to get to the nearby spring. He left his pack and came back for me, taking my pack to the spring for me. Once I had doused myself with cold water for a while I felt better and competed the 10 miles, albeit arriving after dark.On the way we bumped into Ranger and Beerman, last seen at Kennedy Meadows too! And some Forestry Service guys maintaining the trail.

Stayed in the hotel for as long as I could, then got a Lyft to the ‘eat as much as you like’ Indian buffet. And I did.A quick resupply at the dollar store and Aldi followed, and then another Lyft to the Amtrak station.The San Joaquins service to Martinez was comfortable, but the Coast Starlight service I was connecting with was very late, so a long wait.By now it was nearly midnight, so the rest tomorrow.