Our hotel didn’t have public laundry machines. I’m sure we could have just set in the lobby for a few hours and they would have offered to do our laundry for free, but we chose another route. After trying, unsuccessfully, to find a laundromat anywhere near us, Bear came up with the idea of asking at the hiker hostel.
By sheer coincidence, we were only 1 block away from the former Ashland Hostel. We had heard great things about the newly named House of a Thousand Cups, but we’re afraid to stay in a hostel this year because of Covid. We went by and we’re impressed with the new owner, Heinz, and how clean the place is. For the average hiker, this is a great bargain and very clean. Heinz was very helpful and let us do laundry saving us a lot of time and hassle.
Heinz attempted a sobo thru-hike last year. He was carrying a heavy pack and eventually got wore down and developed a hernia. He had made it to Ashland. He spent lots of time at the Ashland Hostel while recuperating. He liked it so much, he decided to buy it when the owners said they were closing it.
Other than laundry, we got resupplied and ate. We spent 3 days in town eating…pizza, steaks, Indian food, Thai food, burgers, ice cream, ice cream, and pizza. Ashland has lots of great restaurants situated around the plaza area and Lithia Park.
Last year, Ashland was on our plans to take an extended zero because of all the great things we had heard about it. Every year, it hosts a Shakespeare Festival from February to October where at least 10 productions take place. They even have a replica of the Globe Theatre. This is Covid year, so all productions have been cancelled. Even without Shakespeare, the town is bustling, but local merchants are complaining about the lack of business.
Ashland has become a favorite relocation for Bay Area residents. They can sell their spot in San Francisco and come up here to pay cash for a “lower cost of living.” As a result, the housing market is way out of our price range. This is pretty apparent when there are almost as many real estate agent offices as restaurants in a small town of 20,000 people. We did like Ashland, but not so much that we’d want to relocate here. Bend is still winning that race.
Ashland does have 14 city parks. All but two are dog friendly in an attempt to give wildlife an opportunity to come into town. We have seen more deer in Ashland in these 3 days than we have on a month on the trail. They are not afraid at all.
The owner of the shuttle service posted on FB that she was thankful for the hikers that have come through town who have made it possible for them to remain open in such a tight year. Perhaps other people will pay more attention in the future to the economic impact long distance has on communities. We have been very welcomed throughout OR this year.
We did enjoy our rest break, but it’s time to get back on the trail. We’ve arranged for a return shuttle around noon on Monday and we’re only planning on a short 10 miles (all uphill) to get us reintroduced to hiking after 3 days. I did weigh myself at House of a a Thousand Cups and saw that I had lost almost 15# on the day we arrived. I’m sure I restocked my fat stores, as well, while in town.
EFG