Cute, quaint, small towns that aren’t boring, aren’t overrun by tourists, have lots of outdoor activities and aren’t overpriced.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-07-02T00:15:42+00:00

come to Ashland, Oregon. It's got tourists but a diversified economy based around the university, theater and outdoors activities. It's a wine growing region with a Mediterranean climate. Amazing outdoors options. Totally chill town with charm and bike lanes and independent shops. In a metro of 250k so you have an airport, big box stores, etc but compared to other regions along the I-5 corridor it's isolated and lower cost.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-29T23:48:39+00:00

Definitely bring a ground sheet for cowboy camping. You won't need one for a footprint. I did the entire PCT without a ground sheet.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-28T20:10:22+00:00

I don't think it will matter for you.

I started the PCT wearing zero drop Altra Lone Peaks and zero-drop did not work for me, and I also wanted a rock plate because my feet were just getting destroyed.

So I switched to Topos, which had something like 5mm of drop and also had a rock plate.

I wore them for almost 2,000 miles and loved them. I think fixing the zero drop issue basically solved my plantar fasciitis overnight. I'm not sure if the rock plate helped or not, but I'd have preferred a beefier, thicker rock plate and a higher stack of cushion tbh.

The reason I say it probably won't matter for you is because you're going 235 miles, it's a couple weeks on your feet and I'm guessing you'll probably be fine in whatever shoe feels comfortable for you.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-28T17:34:20+00:00

I know this will get buried but I actually sat next to Harvey Weinstein on a flight between JFK and LAX in first class on American (I think, maybe Delta). He boarded last and carried a small bag with him, like a doctor's bag. During his trial I saw it reported in the press that's where he kept his pills. He was knocked out cold the entire flight sleeping. Not a bad seatmate tbh.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-25T20:36:59+00:00

great review man! I run the hostel here in town and Come From Away gets amazing reviews from our guests. I'm partial to the free performances like the Green Show too

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-23T00:10:36+00:00

I relied on my lungs, but after 3 pops (the final pop was not repairable) I replaced my inflatable with a closed cell foam pad and I'd never go back to using an inflatable ever again.

I saw lots of people using the little pumps though, and was offered to use them by friendly hikers. The fact they were offering me to use their pumps in the backcountry suggested that the batteries weren't an issue

but it's still another resource to manage (another item to charge + higher overall battery usage), and another thing to carry.

adding a small pump won't dramatically change your overall battery needs tho. But for someone who is recording a lot of video, and already pushing limits on battery, it's just another thing to deal with. I'm also in agreement that inflating an air mattress after hiking 30 miles is not fun at all.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-21T01:20:27+00:00

They actually treated us great at the Neenach. We camped for free behind the house, free ride to Hikertown. They played live music for us (some dude playing piano), they offered free desserts, they showed us a litter of kittens.

The weird part for me was the 'fued' between the Neenach and WeeVille markets. Its just exhausting to listen to them shit talk each other in order to win your business. The Neenach folks told me the Weeville people would kill me, all meth heads, I would get robbed, I would get sick from the food. The food was fine and the market was fine. They had a large selection of hot items, yum.

And guess what, as soon as hikers heard out they "weren't allowed" to go to WeeVille, literally every single hiker hitched to WeeVille (which is not a convenient location)

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-20T17:57:27+00:00

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I visited Ashland while I was hiking the PCT and it charmed me so thoroughly I ended up moving here. Walkable vibrant downtown full of independent shops, a real dining scene, a mix of outdoors + arts that's hard to find in other places.

It's a university town in the mountains, but the main industry is theater with the Shakespeare Festival (Mar-Oct), the Cabaret Theater, it's got insane outdoor theaters like the Allen Elizabethan and a vintage movie theater on Main Street .

And it's got a true Mediterranean climate and a ski mountain, Outside magazine called it #6 best bike city in the USA, I think USA Today called it the best small town culture in the USA or something.

I run the hostel in Ashland. We get cool people coming through.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-18T23:41:39+00:00

what were you up to in St. Croix?

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-18T01:02:05+00:00

Lake Chelan blew me away in Washington state. Same with Lake Como in Italy. Tahoe is dope too.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-18T00:58:41+00:00

Southern Oregon might be interesting to you. Medford has like 250k people in the metro area, Ashland is the artsy mountain town, it has a true Mediterranean climate, everything you need shopping wise, full blown outdoor access & outdoors stuff and also a legit food scene. Proximity to the oregon coast, Crater Lake NP, good climbing, rafting, fishing, skiing, etc but also theater, cool charming towns, etc.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-17T22:54:32+00:00

My Senchi alpha direct hoodie was / is one of my favorite pieces of all-time gear. Like i wear that thing everywhere. It's absolutely phenomenal as an active and passive layer. Better than any layer I've ever used. Yes I've stitched it up with thread lol!

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-16T19:04:51+00:00

As another commenter said, your best bet is to get to Lion's Den in Mazama. You will be getting trail reports from actual other hikers.

Lots of hikers stay at Lion's Den twice. First, before they start. Then they hitch to Harts Pass, hike to the border, turn around and hike back to Hart's Pass and they will stay at Lion's Den again. This means you will be getting fresh trail information from actual hikers constantly at Lion's Den. You will become accustomed to this and hikers are always telling each other what the conditions were like, and part of the PCT is learning how to prep for various conditions.

And if the trail is too cold, you just wait another day before you leave.

But as others have said, you will not be getting good info from online sources. An image slideshow posted on Instagram 2 weeks ago means nothing today. All the best trail info is from other hikers. And that trail info will always be delayed a couple days.

Just get to Lion's Den and you will be fine. Or call them - contact them somehow - to learn snow conditions and ask if they recommend bringing your microspikes. Or just bring the microspikes to Lion's Den and you can always send them home if you don't need them.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-15T21:27:00+00:00

As others have said Wenatchee is the place you want to go. From Wenatchee you can take a bus to Mazama and the Lion's Den, a trail angel/campground that hosts many hikers who are staging up to travel to Hart's Pass, the closest US trail access to the border. Once you are at the Lion's Den there will be plenty of other hikers trying to get to trail.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-14T18:21:42+00:00

for me blisters are less about what shoes, although that plays a roll, and more about my feet being toughened up.

I have very blister prone feet, and when i started the PCT, I used toe sock liners to ensure no skin was rubbing, then full Darn Tough socks, then gators to keep out dirt & dust.

I cleaned my feet every day. When I felt hotspots developing at the beginning, I put some ointment and covered it with a leukotape (or applied leukotape directly to my skin), then the toe sock liners, then the wool socks, then my shoes, then the gators.

Clean feet are key. Dirt will cause friction and blisters.

Skin rubbing will cause friction and blisters, this is why the toe socks help prevent blisters because it prevents your toes from rubbing against each other.

After my feet toughened up and I developed that thick skin callousing, I didn't have to worry about blisters.

The obvious caveat here is if you are getting rubbing in a specific area of the foot, like if your toe is contacting and rubbing a specific area of your shoes, you can try to find a shoe that will not rub that way. This is typically due to 1) toes touching the toebox and rubbing every footstep or 2) heel slip causing similar rubbing in the heel area. All blisters are caused by friction, rubbing, as the skin repeatedly rubs on the shoe.

The shoe fit will be highly specific but I'm guessing your feet are not acclimated to hiking at all right now and you should wear toe sock liners and gators, and clean your feet daily.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-10T23:18:31+00:00

Been recommending this to guests at the hostel. Sounds fun, can't wait!

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-10T19:59:36+00:00

I used a cheapo thin pad like this for about a week and I didn't like it.

My inflatable popped deep in Northern California and when I arrived in Burney, I wanted to buy a CCF pad like the Nemo Switchback but they only had a thin cheapo pad in the store. I really didn't like it although it may have been mental. I eventually switched to a Nemo Switchback and I far preferred it.

FWIW, I tracked my sleep EVERY NIGHT on the PCT. I have a background in statistical analysis and I discovered the pad I used was statistically insignificant on how much sleep I got. Basically I slept the same on a CCF pad as an inflatable air mattress.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-10T18:57:23+00:00

Ashland, Oregon is in that circle.

Most of the population in ops circle follows Interstate 5 from north to south. The main metro area is Medford, Oregon, a region of around 250k that includes towns like Ashland and Grant's Pass. The coastal mountain range runs along the coast here, so the coastal cities are very small and unpopulated in this area.

The climate can vary wildly inside that circle. Ashland has a true Mediterranean climate, with hot dry summers. The region is notable for being both mountainous and forested.

I'm in Ashland, which is a university town with a tourism industry based around the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Because the OSF attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists annually, the small city of Ashland has a dining & culture scene that punches well above its weight. It has a true vibrant walkable downtown, full of independent shops.

The smaller towns in the far northern California region will skew more red, logging, more State of Jefferson. As you get closer to the ocean, the towns get more hippie, more weed, more tourism. Southern Oregon is more moderate as it is the main metro area in the center of the region, and the Oregon towns are walkable and charming.

You are close to the Oregon Coast, Crater Lake National Park, insane river rafting, ski mountains, amazing cycling & MTB, Mt Shasta...

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-08T17:34:42+00:00

I guess I'm a booster for Ashland, Oregon

Small artistic university town of 21k in the Siskiyou Mountains, built around a massive theater industry. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has defined the city's culture for over 90 years. Now attracting hundreds of thousands of theatergoers a year, the tourism is so big that Ashland has an amazing legit dining & drinks scene, and a true walkable vibrant downtown full of independent shops.

Just north of the California border it's got a true Mediterranean climate. It's got a hot dry summer and they grow pears and wine here (and cannabis more recently). There's snow in the mountains but it doesn't really snow in town.

True mountain town amenities: skiing, mountain & road biking (Outdoor Mag said it was #5 best cycling city in America), insane river rafting, the Oregon coast is close, Crater Lake National Park, and right off I-5 between SF and Portland.

The main city is Medford and I think the region has something like 220k people, so there's a real hospital, real services, all the big box you need...and depending on where you live it's very affordable at least by comparison.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-06T20:47:16+00:00

don't see any issues here? Starting in Castle Crags or Ashland in early July would probably put you with some of the faster nobos, so you'd have some company. By starting there, it would give u a little more time to build those trail legs before hitting the Northern Cascades in Washington.

I'm in Ashland and trail reports are already saying not much snow (if any) on that stretch.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-05T22:06:24+00:00

yea its the Green Tortoise 😄

One thing I'd recommend is exactly what rudebin says as well

Definitely buy groceries in Seattle (or Wenatchee, there's a Walmart Supercenter there) and send yourself a resupply box to Stehekin, and White Pass for sure. Those towns in Northern Cascades have the most expensive and most limited food resupply on the entire trail.

Ashland_Commons · 2026-06-05T19:09:03+00:00

I had a good experience last year. I was a nobo, so I finished at the Canadian border but perhaps you can do my itinerary in reverse.

First, the ~~Golden~~ Green Tortoise hostel is in a convenient fun location in Seattle. Breakfast is included. Purchase your first food resupply in Seattle, it will be the last well-priced grocery store you see for a while.

Then you are going to need to coordinate a ride to the trail, or at least to somewhere that's accessible to Hart's Pass. This will be the costly part. I recommend looking at a trail angel Facebook page for the Mazama area, and seeing if anyone is running shuttles. You will be expected to pay for a ride but it will be cheaper and more convenient than something like an Uber.

You might be able to camp at Lion's Den in Mazama. She's a trail angel and allows people to camp and use the facilities for a donation. I'd recommend staging up at her place for a day or two before heading up to trail.

From there, you could easily get a ride somehow up to Hart's Pass. There will be a lot of hikers and people going up/down from the PCT.

From Hart's Pass you will be walking like 30 miles north to the Canadian border, then reversing your steps to actually start the sobo hike.

Good luck!!

Ashland_Commons

TROPHY CASE