It’s taken us 45 days to get here, but in this episode we’re finally deep into Oregon—the last state on our TransAmerica Trail trip. We wake up on the 4th of July at Parish Campground in the Malheur National Forest with a whole lot of optimism, because we’ve got about 600 miles left to the Pacific and only 5 days on the clock (by our math, we only need four… if the trail cooperates). The problem is, this trip has taught us you never really know what the TAT is going to throw at you next. We roll through Pacific Ocean Spur Tracks 2, 3, 4, and into 5, and Oregon gives us a little bit of everything—ridge-top forest roads, mountain passes, closed-in scenic sections, and slow rockier stretches where we’re crawling at about 5 mph. We talk wildlife watching in the tall grass near streams (and we do spot coyotes, deer, a pronghorn, and what we believe were two female elk). We also deal with cold mornings (heater on at 60°, and a chilly night that pushed us into the Jeep for extra layers) and absolutely unreal dust inside the Jeep—worse than anything we’ve ever had back home. By the end of the day we’re around 130 miles, still pushing west, still hopeful, and still feeling the pressure of the timeline.