From Mt. Shasta

Day 31: Up and out of Raineir a little after 5. I stop at a lookout point around 6:30 for breakfast. Headed to Eugene (aka Tracktown) to start the day.

First on the list is Pre’s Trail, in honor of the late, great Steve Prefontaine. I get there about 10 with a plan of getting in a couple loops of the roughly 4.2 mile course.

The trail went by Autzen Stadium, but there is construction near by so only a portion of the area around the stadium is accessible.

The trail also goes by the Willaemete River as well as some grasslands.

The trail is incredibly flat, allowing for some pretty consistent or progression miles, whichever is to your liking.

I’m a little over halfway through the first loop before deciding to finish in under an hour and have to pick up the pace.

There is a headwind the last couple miles, which slows me down but I keep pressing harder and just dip under the 60 minute mark.

After the run I head to Hayward Field. It was renovated a few years ago for the World Championships and has to be the best track specific stadium in the world.

The gates to the track are shut as there are athletes practicing, but there is a museum that runs the length of the homestretch that tells the history of Oregon Track & Field. It is really well done, and I’d recommend it to any running fan.

My last stop is Pre’s Rock. Marking the place he died 50 years ago after a vehicle ran his car off the road. There are shoes, notes, racing bibs, and medals. I wish I had brought something. But, even if I was willing to part with the shoes I have, I’m not gonna leave a pair of Hokas at the memorial of a Nike runner.

After leaving Eugene, I start the drive down to Crater Lake National Park.

It’s not too far and I make it to the park a little after 3. I decided to set up my tent at my camp on the south end of the park before heading to the swimming area, which required some backtracking but I’d rather not have to do it later.

The trail down to the lake is about a mile and I’m not too long into it before I realize that wearing Birkenstocks was a bad move. Too late to turn back I keep going and make it down.

The crowd has thinned which is great. I set my stuff on the rocks and hop in. The water is crystal clear but freezing cold. I’m only a few strokes into swimming before the cold really hits and decide it’d be more comfortable to keep my head out of the water.

I wouldn’t call it swimming, but I float around on my back so my legs can also feel the warmth of the sun.

After about 25 minutes I hop out and air dry on the rocks. The sun feels great and I hang out for about 30 more minutes before heading back up.

I walked back with a couple guys from Knoxville and discussed various trips we’ve taken. They are driving to the coast and are out of water, so I gave them some from my storage container, and wished them a good trip.

By the time I got back to camp it was after 7 and I didn’t even bother cooking opting to eat directly out of some cans before getting ready for bed.

Day 32: Another 4:30 wake up without the aid of an alarm, but I got a lot to do today and I’m happy for the early start.

At the lower latitude the sun comes up a little later and I have time to break down camp and drive up to the Watchman Overlook for sunrise.

It’s gorgeous and a group of us watch it rise over the lake with barely a word spoken. Everyone knew the moment was more special in silence.

I intended to hike part of the Rim Trail to an observation tower, but the trail was closed on both ends due to unsafe trail conditions. Unsure what the conditions were, but trusting the NPS, I started the drive down to Redwoods National Park on the Northern California coast.

I make it to Redwoods and am on the trail a little after 11. It starts with a pedestrian bridge crossing over the road.

The trail started in the Lady Bird Grove which was pretty crowded, but thinned out when I turned down Berry Glenn. This was a smaller out and back trail and I was on a steep descent.

I saw a few hikers who were on the way up and the discomfort on their faces reinforced how tough the climb back up would be.

After hitting the bottom I took a breath and started the climb back up. I really pushed the pace holding around a 17 minute per mile pace for about two miles that included about 1,200 feet of elevation gain. Really fun to put in that type of effort. Finished off the roughly 5.5 mile hike in an hour and 45 minutes and after doing a little car organization was on the road just after 1.

I’m meeting Sam in Redding to drop off the rental car I’ve had for the first portion of the trip. He beat me to Avis and we transfer all my stuff to his car as I say goodbye to the car that got me to the other side of the country.

A total of 8,010 miles over the last 32 days. Not bad.

Sam and I grabbed some dinner at a carnival in Weed, CA before myheading to his place in Mt. Shasta.

Planning to take it easy the next couple days and got the Wimbledon final tomorrow.