Intermission 3 - Seattle, Ashland, and Mt Shasta

When we reached Seattle, we helped the hikers who rode in with us find accommodations. I had booked a hotel near the airport, so Shapes insisted on driving me personally from his home in Marysville. We picked up some food on the way back and we hugged goodbye, as we had different plans on how to tackle the remaining miles on the trail.

Bandit and I had planned to reconnect once I reached Seattle, so we hung out with one of her friends. Interestingly, I found out her friend was not only a coworker, but someone I had guided through the interview process a year before. I also met up with another coworker who had just started on my team who lived in the area.

Surprisingly, all of Northern California and most of Oregon had reopened. With this in mind, I originally planned to fly to Redding or take the train back to Dunsmuir/Mt. Shasta. Checking on a whim, however, I noticed that a rental car from Seattle to Redding was just a few dollars a day. I rented the car and first drove down to Ashland.

I would return to Ashland before too long via the trail, but this time was just to plan for my final leg of the journey and to spend the night before continuing back to Northern California. After dropping off my car in Redding, I got a ride back to where I had left the trail in Mt. Shasta. I took an extra day to rest in Mt. Shasta, as a heat wave brought 100 degree temps and intensified the fire and smoke along the trail.