Arthur on the PCT

 Arthur got back on the trail Sunday after more than a week off the trail due to his changes of plans. After taking a train to Sacramento and then a bus to Truckee, he spent a few more days near Donner Summit regrouping his supplies and planning for the next leg of his journey.  Right now his plan is to hike south through the Sierra's to Mt. Whitney, which will take about a month. From there he'll figure out if the conditions in Washington State are favorable.  Today (Wednesday) he is south of Lake Tahoe and entering sections of trail he has never hiked before. The first few days back on the trail were rough, he says, but he's getting his trail legs back and is excited to experience new scenery.  It's a perfect time of year for this section of trail. I'm hoping he'll have enough signal to send photos soon.

 Arthur got off the trail Wednesday and the next day got a ride to Trail Days, a festival with music, events, food, raffles, all to celebrate the PCT. He had a great time and reunited with some friends, and anticipated hiking north into Washington with them to continue their hike and leave the smoke of Oregon behind. But then the smoke descended on Washington. Now it seems that most of Oregon and Washington are socked in with smoke and terrible air quality indexes. So now Arthur is going to make his way back south to the Sierra, where the snow has melted and the river crossing have calmed down, making conditions ideal for a through hike.  He's getting a ride to Portland where he will spend a couple nights with our good friend's sister and her family, and then he'll get a train to Sacramento. From there he will transfer to Truckee and spend a few days at Donner Summit -- from where he started north at the beginning of July -- gathering supplies, and then start heading south.

Arthur exited the trail due to smoke today. He said he was hiking in it for three days and starting to feel worn out mentally and physically. Luckily he got a ride to Sisters, OR, and is staying in a hotel tonight. We discovered a Facebook group that coordinates rides and other support for PCT hikers in central Oregon. In the morning he is getting a ride to Trail Days in Cascade Locks, less than 200 miles north. He'll meet up with some friends from his time in the desert, recover from smoke and long days of big miles, and if conditions improve, he can get a ride back to the trail in Oregon. 

Saturday, Aug 12: "Did 33 miles today, smoke not bad. Got incredible trail magic (watermelon, burger and ice cream!). Mosquitoes this evening are a waking nightmare they're awful" "Mount Thielsen, also called 'the lightning rod of the cascades'"

"Did 25 miles yesterday and 29 today. Rocky old lava fields this afternoon hindered progress some. Lots of forest tunnel, but views of mount mcloughlin we're pretty. Will probably do 30+ tomorrow and be at crater lake on Thursday afternoon."

Arthur crossed into Oregon on Friday. Where I5 meets the trail, our good friend's parents picked him up and took him to their house in Medford where he got a much welcome shower and night in a bed! He sent a number of photos from his time in far northern California: "Seiad valley was prime state of Jefferson territory. They had all sorts of state of Jefferson logos and sentiment everywhere"

Arthur was in the town of Seiad Valley today and had cell service for the first time in a bit so I got photos! He said this has been a beautiful section of trail with blessedly few mosquitoes. This famous spot offers free pancakes of you can eat this massive amount in one sitting. Only seven people have succeeded in 14 years.  Seen in Seiad Valley