Today was a productive day in Ashland. Despite staying up way too late with Amigo, Sleeping Bag, Tank, and Satay, I woke up a little after 6 and didn't fall back to sleep. It was hot. Tourist, Nugs, and I went to a bakery for breakfast and then I walked them to the PO where we parted company. It was hard to say goodbye to those guys......I've been with both for over 1000 miles and probably won't seem them again on the trail. Fortunately, Nugs lives in Portland and I plan to visit him as soon as I'm settled in Seattle and Tourists' folks live in the Seattle area, so I'm confident our paths will cross again as well.
Enter Team Slacker, currently drinking in a parking lot after getting kicked out of the laundromat! In fact, I was just informed that my hike has been changed for the better! Anyway, Mellow, Smiles and Shameless rolled in around mid-morning and immediately convinced me to stick around for another night and hike out tomorrow. It was great to get back together with those guys....they get the miles done but don't take anything too seriously. It's always an adventure!
After wasting time at the hostel and motivating myself with a couple cups of coffee, Shameless, Mellow, Smiles and I ventured out on the town. Our first stop was the gear shop that I had visited yesterday. After leaving the gear shop, we split up. Smiles and I trekked on to Safeway where we resupplied for the upcoming stretch to Crater Lake. Smiles also picked up food to mail to Shelter Cove Resort, a later Oregon stop with limited resupply possibilities. I'm banking on it, but I may regret this later. After shopping, we headed to the PO so Smiles could get her package mailed out and then moseyed back to the hostel. It was definitely awesome to spend some girl time with Smiles while taking care of chores!
We reconvened with Mellow at the hostel. The washing machine was out of commission after springing a leak last night, so Mellow and Smiles wanted to head to the only laundromat in town which was naturally all the way across town. I had already done laundry but wanted to the Rite Aid next door in order to pick up a new memory card for my camera, so the three of us set out together hoping to get a hitch or catch a bus. The bus worked out perfectly and we're currently chilling outside the laundromat. Shameless is here too.
Funny laundromat story....We were hanging out in the laundromat when this little lady asked us to watch her teeny tiny but very fluffy dog who was sitting in a bag. The woman was practically gone before we had a chance to respond, and we assumed she would be back right away. Well, the minutes started ticking by and there was no sign of her. We wondered what she was thinking leaving her angel in the hands of four homeless (some of whom were intoxicated) hikers, but things seems to be going well and Fluffy stayed put in the bag. Fast forward a few minutes......A man with three cumbersome suitcases suddenly opens the door to the laundromat, and Fluffy decided it's time to make the great escape. Within seconds, she's streaked out the door and is in the busy strip mall parking lot. Fortunately, we were able to track her down and were rolling with laughter while doing it. You just never know what's going to happen out here, but you can always count on something!
Pizza dinner soon and then back to the hostel. More hiking tomorrow!
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