Version 2.0 - Heading Back Out

My aborted first attempt this week could more accurately be titled "Hitchhike Across Oregon".

After bailing out day 1 because of snow, I had to hitchhike everywhere. My car was in Sisters at the planned end point of the trip, and my friend Sam had dropped me in Ashland at the beginning and then headed back to Portland. So when I arrived back in Ashland cold and wet the night of day 1 (via a heroic rescue pickup by friend Tim - thank god the cell phone worked!), I was without wheels. There is no better way to appreciate our complete dependence on the car in America than to be without one and try to do stuff. Just normal stuff.

In three additional days on the road with my pack and two sets of skis, I hitched seven rides, going from Ashland to Klamath Falls to Fort Klamath to Crater Lake to Chemult to Bend. On the final leg, after considering the benefits of an impromptu 30 mile run, I broke down and spent $45 for a cab ride from Bend to Sisters.

Anyway, the good news: hitchhiking does work and is a great way to meet people. The bad news: sometimes you have to walk for hours before someone stops. And some of the roads I am on do not see much traffic.

This time I am operating out of my car. I will leapfrog ahead on each section, hitching or running back to retrieve it afterwards. Shouldn't be too bad. This will also allow me to reconfigure gear as conditions require each day. I'll be much more mobile and self sufficient.

I am also going to change my approach. The pack had to go - it was weighing me down too much. I will now have just a small day pack, planning to hit the car or a motel each night. No camping. That eliminates a lot of hassle and weight.

One other possible change: skiing at night. The weather is warm right now. To get the maximum time on the freeze, I may need to ski at night. Being in the dark will introduce opportunities for getting lost on sections I do not know. On the sections I do know, darkness won't be a problem. Tradeoffs.

Yesterday morning on a perfect frozen surface I was able to cover as much distance in just over one hour as I did in seven hours on Sunday breaking trail through new snow. I need more speed.

Plan is to head back to Ashland Saturday, catch the evening show of "Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter" at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and start again on Sunday morning.

Stay tuned.