So now it is time to pick up some of the times skipped from Ashland Oregon back to Seiad Valley in California.  So I am traveling south for 3 days to get those miles.  Back on the first day, I was told by “Don’t Panic” that this section was free from snow.    Turns out he was very wrong but really how is one to know unless you talk to someone who has been there.  The information about snow and how much is just very bad and something I think the PCT organization should address.  Perhaps in the past it has been pretty cut and dry in that if you get to Kennedy Meadows with begins the High Sierra by June 15 the snow will probably be acceptable.  A lot of hikers are just bouncing around trying to find sections where their is no snow or at least a safe amount of snow.

So I start out on a beautiful day at Mount Ashland area and start walking south.  After a bit of a walk in thick forest I come out into the open to the meadow below.  There are streams crossing the trail all through this meadow from melting snow.

After while there is yet another view of Mt. Shasta.  At elevation Mt. Shasta is just the outstanding feature in view.

I look out in the direction is will be walking and see some snow and I wonder for a little bit if perhaps the report of no snow might not be correct.  Still does not look like much.

A little after taking this picture, there is a hiker coming from the south and he confirms there is snow and at points a lot of snow and there have been at least 2 injuries caused by it.  Hum….. oh well, I am not turning around.  It is just too beautiful and how bad can it be???

By 9:15 I run into the first snow on the trail but really just an outcropping.

Not too much longer I take a picture of the valley.  Just so beautiful in this area.

At about 9:45 I run into more snow but really not an issue because the snow is not very deep or very long and it is easy to either just walk though it or around it and the trail can be seen on the other side without any issue.

Then another view of the valley in the picture below.  The valley and the rows of mountains in the distance just caught my eye.  So amazing.

So there is snow here and there but no issue.  At about 10:30 I look out and notice Pilot Rock.  This is where I was a couple days ago where the Peregrine Falcons breed and I took a picture of the rock wrapped in clouds.

About 1:45 I get to an area that is a little more challenging.  There is a big mountain of snow above the trail and some outcroppings that come over the trail.  It is pretty steep at this point and so going over the snow was a bit more dicey.  Slipping would not be good.  But the sun had been working on the snow for awhile and so it was pretty easy to just dig my feet into the snow with each step so there was no worry of sliding.  After I crossed the snow I took some pictures of the area because it was just so amazing.  The streams coming down from the snow above, the valley below, the mountains in the distance.  I probably stayed there for about 30 minutes just loving my time there.

After I leave that area I take some pictures of the beauty around me as I head towards a place to camp for the evening.

Around 5:30 I get to a spot that is a great camping site with plenty of water.  So I set up camp and had some dinner and basically just sat around and realized how blessed I was to be able to experience this

 

Wildflowers from today:

Lenora’s Story:

Today is a real big day for me.  First I drop Don at the trail and head back toward Ashland.  Not a long drive and I am parked and ready to explore a little after 8:30 am.  A bit early I discover as most of the area around Lithia Park and the Shakespeare Festival buildings does not open until 10:00am.   I find a coffee shop and have the most beautiful cup of latte I have ever been served.  I take out my cross stitch and settle in next to a serious computer surfer to relax until shops open.  It is a fun place.  Patron of all ages from stroller occupying babes to silver haired couples wander in to sample the coffee and fancy pastries and I stitch and people watch for almost two hours.  I have a plan.  Explore the town for 2 hours, lunch by12:30 and see the production of ‘Julius Caesar” at 1:30.  A big day for this gal from the wilds of Southern Utah.  I roam far afield and manage to drop in on knitting, sewing, clothing, candy, jewelry and bead shops in a little over two hours when the alarm reminds me of the treats yet awaiting me.  I hustle back to the play area to find the sushi restaurant I had picked to enjoy lunch is not opening at all today so I find a lovely spot for a small salad and a large glass of White Cabernet before the play.  So far, so good.   I am enjoying my day.

Did I mention that  I am a small town gal from a traditional conservative background?  I was raised, from early years on the magic of traditional presentations of classic Shakespeare at the Shakespeare Festival of Southern Utah.  I have continued this love watching festival plays in Atlanta,  Georgia, Austin, Texas and Arlington, Virginia.  I have never seen Julius Caesar and I confess I haven’t reread the play in years so I have a high school students impression of what I am about to see.  (I confess Jan, that I did not do my homework and reread the play before attending. ) This is something we always did as kids before going to the festival each summer from the age of 12.  Imaging my surprise when I enter the theater to see, not Roman columns or street but a stark black and gray broken backdrop to the stage.  Actors wore some modern kind of dramatic ‘mask” and dressed like street thugs with skin tight black jeans and working style shirts.  The setting of the play and the presentation was influenced, the director said in the playbill, by modern dance and the unsettling political climate of today.  I must admit the dialog was faithful to the words of Shakespeare and I found myself mouthing familiar lines, when I wasn’t laughing out loud at what I realized belatedly were valiant attempts to portray the angst of the political climate as seen through the lens of today.

To say I was disappointed is an understatement.  I decided to pass on the opportunity to treat Don to Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 or Merry Wives as I was not sure what further disappointments this ‘modern” interpretation of the classic and timeless beauty of the rich language of the Bard could possibly subject us to.  I fear the Southern Oregon mindset is just a little too modern for this small town girl raised on the classics.

All in all it was a good day and I returned to the hotel to see that Don had made steady progress this day and so a good day was had by all.