I'm excited to hike again. Oregon is a new chapter in this journey. After running out of water prematurely I walked the road to reach the next source quicker. There a couple offer me a ride to the restaurant a few miles ahead which I kindly refuse in favor of walking. Before getting to the restaurant I find a shower in a state campground which I am all to glad to utilize. Freshly cleaned I take the mile and a half side trail toward fresh food. Throughout the day the smoke has been bothering me off and on. At the restaurant I learn of another fire closure just north of Crater Lake. I speak with some other hikers who feel similarly uncertain but will reassess at the next main road junction some thirty miles ahead. I call Bougie to learn about her plans. She and a friend are renting a car to jump up to Bend. They offer me a ride out of the trees the next morning if I want. Still uncertain I accept.

After getting off the phone with Bougie I meet some new hikers who had just self evacuated from the fires. Hearing first hand their experience made the already real circumstances all the more so. They planned to hike as far as possible through Oregon and invited me to join them for it. Without much certainty either way I decide to camp with them the night and decide in the morning. The uncertainty takes a toll on me making sleep difficult. I want to hike Oregon but understand it to be potentially unsafe in the smoke. I'm afraid that my reasons for skipping are not pure given my guilty desire to conclude this trip. Maybe morning will bring clarity.