In a Jefferson state of mind. Jefferson would be the 51st. state of the United States if it existed. Broadly speaking Jefferson would encompass northern California and southern Oregon. As a concept Jefferson has had its advocates from the forties onwards noting that this vast area can be considered a territory in its own right. Small towns and rural enclaves are separated by huge tracts of wilderness.

 It came to mind in an idle moment when I wanted some background listening and turned the dial on my internet to Jefferson Public Radio. This NPR station is so named because its transmitters roughly correspond to the geography of that imaginary state.

 I have backpacked in the region several times (subject of numerous entries in this diary). My first visit in 2016 began in Dunsmuir where the Amtrak Coast Starlight stops once a day. From there I headed to Mount Shasta. Then in 2017 I travelled on to the next stop Klamath Falls -about 75 miles further north- to get to Crater Lake. In 2018 I used Dunsmuir as a starting point again to trek out to Mount Eddy.

 I met a bunch of good people. Some were very liberal in their views and some were very conservative, all were friendly and helpful. I think it's a place where people are shaped by the landscape as much as they are by politics, in a Jefferson state of mind.