Woke up at six. Not much sleep really due to the brake noise and downshifting of eighteen-wheelers on the I-5. Deeper sleep perhaps between 1-5. I was having breakfast with Hops and Blue Butterfly, two other Nobos, when, half way in, Jason and Cassandra joined us. Good time for more trail tales. Relaxing. Hops had to hit the trail at nine and I was going to do the same at 10 after breakfast had settled. Our little party was about to break up when Steve and Kristen arrived. Awesome to have five of the eight known Sobos together. They had made good time, but Steve's feet are shot. His shoes were a little too tight and he developed compression blisters, which will effectively take them both off the trail for two or three days of recovery. Time only for a short chat before they caught a ride into Ashland to look for new shoes. I said my goodbyes to all of them with a certain sadness and depressed spririts. This goodbye might be for good as I'll be at least a day ahead of them all. Trekking required a lot of uphill climbing out of Ashland, but my legs felt strong after the break and it wasn't nearly as hot as I thought it would be. A handful of springs still putting out a minimal flow, the mountain gardens surrounding them still beautiful, yet past the peak season of blooms. I'm camped at Sheep Camp Springs with a Brit, Alex, from West London. I've heard that there are people from over fourteen different countries on the trail this year. So far, I've met people from Canada, England, Israel, New Zealand, France and Germany. Adrienne, a.k.a. Machine, is a half day ahead. I'll put my energy into tracking her down as her note at a cache today seemed as if she wants confirmation that there are other Sobos out there. I'm four miles from Cali. Tomorrow morning I'll cross into my home state. Yipee!
24 Miles
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