[pct-l] Ashland available through Amtrak

[Sandra Smith]

You can now go to Ashland as well as Medford, OR, on an Amtrak bus  
(very nice buses, much nicer than Greyhound's!) as part of your  
Amtrak train ticket (service only available to train riders).  Yes,  
Coast Starlight is never on time (I was 7 hrs late in each direction  
San Diego to Seattle last month) but it is a relaxing way to travel,  
has plenty of space for backpacks, and you can bring your own food.   
The connecting buses meet the train, no matter how late.....just  
figure in the lateness as part of the schedule.  (If you call the  
local stations, they can tell you about how late it's been  
running....it's due to the freight company that owns the tracks in  
this area....the Cascades and other Amtrak trains are usually on time.)

In fact, you can also get a surprising variety of places on this  
train-bus combination system;  we just hiked part of the California  
Coast Trail (consolation hike because the Sierras were so deep in  
snow in June) by taking a combination of trains, Amtrak buses, and  
the Redwood line from Martinez to Crescent City, and last year I used  
in a couple of times at each end of the Oregon PCT.

Sandy from the Olympic Mts.