Mile 1281. We race through the high forests of southern Oregon to reach our destination with enough light left for some pictures. The orange and yellow live oaks in the Siskiyou valley are stunning, but we don’t stop for photos this time. At the Mount Ashland ski area reality hits us: the forest road that leads to the terminus of our 1996 hike is not open in the winter. We check that the gate is locked, just to be sure. Pete dons the extremely groovy suit he bought for the trip anyway, and we get what pictures we can in fading light and freezing temperatures, all under the distant gaze of Mount Shasta. It would have dark by the time we made it to our destination even if the road were open.