Day 116: mile 1702.6 to Callahan’s Lodge to Medford

​8.9.18. 16.1 miles.

I didn’t set an alarm this morning and just decided to wake up naturally since my parents wouldn’t be arriving until later in the evening, so there was no real rush to get to town.

I started hiking around 6:30. There was a moderate climb to start the day, which I got up pretty well and quickly, and the rest was rolling up/down and then just mostly down. I was dragging though. For some reason I think I thought that the hike was shorter than 16 miles. And even if the 16 miles are kind of easy, 16 miles is still 16 miles. My feet, especially my arches and Achilles have been hurting since Etna, and I think it’s bc my shoes are on the last leg. So my feet were hurting and it was just a drag getting to the road.

I did have 2 instances of trail magic along the way though! Some coolers of soda, yogurt, bananas, and then some sodas left out in the sun by the road. Oh well, warm soda is not the end of the world. Plus, by the time I got to the road, I just had a little road walk to do to get to Callahan’s.

I got to the lodge around 1:30, and ordered lunch. I was pretty hungry. I got a caprese sandwich and baked brie bread bowl! So good. I hung out at the lodge the rest of the day. I met a few hiker I’d been following on social media: Rachel, who hiked last year and is back to finish miles she needed to skip bc of fire closures, and Twerk, who takes amazing photos of hikers! He also hiked ~900 miles last year, but is back to do a true thru. I got to talk to both of them for quite a while and it was so nice! They were hiking out though, so sadly they’ll be a few days in front of me. Maybe I’ll see them again though!

The rest of the afternoon I planned my Oregon resupply and ordered some dessert. Just as I was paying my bill, my parents arrived! I hopped in the van and we drove to our hotel in Medford. I took a shower, ate my Chinese food, read some backpacker magazines my mom brought, and then fell fast asleep.