Here I am. Still walking through Oregon. I got my hiking partner back and we only want to kill each other every other day.  Oregon tried to make a nice trail, but fell short when they made most of the trail follow hwy 101. Walking along the highway is one of the most unpleasant things. Give me snow, give me a 4000 ft climb, anything but road-walking. Walking along the road raises your anxiety, is harder on your body, and harder on your spirit. Then it starts raining.

I spend most of my time these days coming up with reasons not to quit. There are too many temptations here. Food, hotels, that convenient bus that keeps driving by. On the PCT, you’re forced to be in the wilderness and just accept it because you have no other choice but to walk to the next town.

 There is no cell service out there, no internet, no cars, and less distractions. Here, just one phone call and you could be home…dry…next to a fire.

The coast does have its pleasant aspects. It has showers. I never have to go more than a day or two without a shower. All the state parks that allow camping have hot showers. I also don’t have to carry a lot of food. This is why I’m constantly perplexed by why my pack is still heavy.

I get rained on, at least to some degree, nearly every day. I wore so much rain gear yesterday that I ended up sweating through all my clothes and was drenched at the end of the day anyway. The other day I had to walk around with wet, salty feet because the waves wouldn’t go out long enough to let me run by the cliffs.

Today, the weather will be much worse and the day will be spent hiding in the tent to let my stuff dry. This is what I get for refusing to let go of summer.

The towns are neat little beach cities with gorgeous art and sometimes really good food. Cannon Beach has been the best for both of those. But in Pacific City, while having lunch at the Pelican Brewery, we had the pleasure of watching two humpback whales play less than 100 feet from shore. Then two deer ran across the sand.

The forecast for the foreseeable future calls for more rain. I hope there are more whales to keep my spirit up.