Hello Everyone,

Well, I made it to Camp 25, the beautiful Ellis Motel, in Tulelake, CA. I only trekked 14.34 miles today because I did not start until 11:30 because it did not stop raining until about ten.

Yes, I am laying on a bed, but have my sleeping bag laid out on it since my bag feels so much like my own comforter at home. My down sleeping bag is a Sierra Design, Backcountry Bed, which has no zippers, and an opening with a sewn in comforter that can be used in various positions to cover the opening. It’s like sleeping with a regular bed comforter. It has a sleeve on the bottom that holds the sleeping pad so you don’t slip off, a pillow pocket, and an opening at the bottom so you can stick your feet out if you get too warm. I don’t like mummy bags and picked this as the most comfortable for long term sleeping and it’s been better than I ever thought. It’s only rated at 20 degrees, but I have a liner just in case it gets colder.

Last night it was in the forties and I left the door open as usual. For some reason I woke about two and five minutes later it started to rain fairly hard and the wind was still blowing. It was the first test of my new tent and there were no problems. It was actually cozy listening to the rain and found myself thinking that I might have to stay in my bag and tent all day. Not too bad, I could just read. I felt like a kid on a rainy day thinking I won’t have to go to school. As it turned out, I stopped raining about ten, though the sky still looked dark.

I decided to take a chance and covered the Wheelie with its rain cover and I packed both my GoreTex rain jacket and pants where I could quickly get them. It was in the low fifties and a real change walking in cold weather. The wind picked up and I actually had to add another layer as a windbreak. It was refreshing to walk in cold weather.

I stopped at a small market in the community of Newell. There were no customers in the store and the owner was sitting outside talking to a friend. I asked if it was a quite day and she said it has been for last 10-15 years. Her family has owned the store since 1975 when business was booming, but she thought since Reno has gone downhill and then as far as a destination for people in Oregon, and the new Indian Casinos locally, very few people travel this way.

When I finally reached Tulelake I walked through the old downtown and saw what was left of a once thriving town too. It reminded me a little of Adin, in that it was once the agriculturally business center. The downtown looked a little run down and there were many closed up businesses. Sad to see these small towns decline.

I stopped at the local market, the biggest in town, and bought my dinner for the night thinking the motel was just around the corner. As it turned out, it was another two miles outside of town. So I lugged another few pounds of drinks, fruit, and dinner, so I must have looked like a real homeless person carrying my plastic bags.

I was going to stay in a motel tonight because it was suppose to rain again and because the whole area is farms and ranches and there are no real places to camp. I had been told by many people to stay here because the other motel, the first one south of town, was a crack motel. This came from the motel owner in Adin, the firefighters, and the store owner. Well, it is not the Hilton again, but it seems to have clean sheets? No tub to soak my bones. They did supply two bars of soap. No water pressure in the shower! Really, no water pressure! It was a trickle, not even enough to rinse my hair or body. It would have been better to use a cup from the sink faucet. And then, just as I was settling in, I hear the train that runs right behind the motel blow it’s horn. Yes, there are tracks within 200′ behind the hotel, with crossings, so the train has to blow it’s horn! I didn’t see the tracks! Oh well, what do you expect for $54, including tax. I just look at it as part of my trek adventure and experience and laugh about it! If it was too nice, I wouldn’t remember it.

I do stand corrected about my remarks about Harley Davidson riders (Jerry and others). Today I had three Harley Riders actually wave hello to me. That’s a three hundred percent increase from yesterday! And I actually saw two with dark hair too. I also met a nice Harley rider that came in as I was checking in. He was very nice and said hello. The owner asked him how many? And the rider said about three days and over three hundred miles. Then the owner asked if it was kind of cold? The rider said, “yes it is kind of bold of me to be riding at my age.” I wondered, was he hard of hearing, or just the effects of listening to that modified exhaust system for over three hundred miles, or both? I had to leave quickly.

Tomorrow I will hit the road again, unless it’s raining. It’s about 26 miles to Klamath Falls, which would be a long day and maybe the only choice since it may not be practical to camp outside of town. I will update my blog tomorrow to let you know. Klamath Falls was my goal to reevaluate my troublesome left foot. So far this leg of my trek has been a great experience and adventure since it was through new and unknown places. I have to admit that I was a little nervous about it at first, but it was better that I could have imagined. At this point I have gone about 370 miles in 25 days. On the first leg, I trekked 353 miles in 24 days. Total so far from my front door in Santa Paula to this point is about 723 miles.

As always, please keep sending me your positive thoughts and prayers. Please excuse the typos, grammar, spelling, etc.

Ted