PCT Day 83

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PCT Day 83, 03 August 2022 (Wednesday)

“Not Moving Day”

Start Location:	Ashland	Destination:	Ashland
PCT Miles Day 83:	0	Cum PCT Miles:	1,501.2
Non-PCT Miles Day 83:	0	Cum All Miles:	1602.9
PCT Miles Remaining:	1,151.4
Elevation Gain Day 83:	0	Cum Elevation Gain:	256,619

I was hoping to get to Portland today.  My first choice to get there was to rent a car, however, there are no rental cars available in this area for at least the next couple of days.  Without a car, the only other reasonable option is to take a county bus from Ashland to Medford, and then a Greyhound bus from Medford to Portland.  However, the two Greyhound buses for today were sold out.

So, the soonest I could get out of Ashland on the bus is tomorrow--I realized too late that there is a small airport in Medford where I possibly could have caught a flight to Portland.  Some hikers are trying to hitch from Ashland all the way to Portland, but that is a very long hitch, and didn’t seem like a great way to get there.

Given that my plans have changed, I did do some resupply shopping today, and am all ready to go once I get to Cascade Locks.  Only one minor hitch.  Somewhere on the drive between Shasta and Ashland my back started getting sore.  It was actually very painful for most of yesterday, and I could barely even bend over without putting a hand on my knee for support.  This is not a good thing if you want to backpack 20+ miles a day.  However, today the back was feeling much better, but still far from perfect.  I’m hoping tomorrow it will feel even better.

After being on my feet 12 to 14 hours a day for almost 2 1/2 months, I think my body is not reacting well to all this sitting and laying around.  I am a little bit worried that sitting on a bus tomorrow for over six hours is not going to be great for my back.  So, we’ll just have to see how things feel when I get to Portland.

 

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