Ashland is a great town. The first evening we saw a free show on the green: a great folk music ensemble and a dance performance. Tracy was less enthralled by this cultural experience and turned to me mid performance:
Tracy (in a loud stage whisper): Is this speaking to you?
Me: ( I presented my "Shhhh, this is not the time" face. )
Tracy: It's leaving me cold.
Tracy: I'd rather talk to a bunch of two year olds.
Fortunately, the next evening I was able to coax Tracy to see a performance of A Streetcar Named Desire and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. We bumped into Astrid, Israh and their friend from Ashland in the foyer beforehand and were surprised to find we were sitting in the same row only two bodies away from them.
Tracy found a coffee shop with good coffee and we had great healthy meals at the hostel from ingredients bought at the local coop. We also managed to take a bus trip into Medford to exchange my sleeping pad which has been deflating during the night for the last month and get Tracy's crown fixed at the dentist. We were also able to tick off a few tasks using the library computers.
If you are ever looking for an inexpensive place to stay, then the Ashland hostel is great. Super clean and peaceful, friendly and has a very welcoming vibe. We met a number of hikers there, including Kazuyo, Unicrock and Scat Tracker. We also got Muk Muk's first hand account of when she was stalked by a mountain lion for four hours!
It was fantastic seeing Katie again and we caught up a little on the latest scoopage since we last hiked together over an Indian buffet lunch. We also met Cherub who was in Ashland briefly to recover from foot injuries. We hope she not only gets better but catches up with us.
Katie was fortunate to meet a really lovely lady named Barbara at the post office. She offered us a ride to the trail head. Today we had a great conversation in the car before being dropped off.
In this section of the trail we are walking through old lava rock beds. We also bumped into Jesse, now called Caveman whom we met at around mile 700 and never saw again. Great to catch up.
Ashland was great, but it's always nice to be back on the trail.
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