2021 PCT Thru-Hike

Day 124

+5

Day 123

I woke this morning around 5:30 again. It was very cold and somehow with condensation I’d become very wet. It was not great. We all got up and headed to the well. I had cooked a hot breakfast which I never do. We were, like everyone else around us, hiking the road alternate. It would be 10 miles on a road and save us 6 trail miles. Thin Mint, AB, and myself all hiked up the road. My feet hurt but shortly it was over. I was feeling really down this morning. Like I wanted to go home for good. And like I should give up on HikerFeed. I was in a funk for sure. I talked a lot with Thin Mint and AB about it. When we arrived back at the trail there were almost 20 hikers getting dropped off in cars who’d ridden around the trail rather than the road walk. I sat and talked with Thin Mint for a while longer and then kept hiking. I started to feel a bit better. My mood picked up. Soon I was able to make a few phone calls and that cheered me up too. I realized I only had 3 weeks left as of tomorrow until I finished. I could do that. The trail climbed up a ridge where I had a view to the south of Mt. Hood. Then it wound up and I could see Mt. Adams. Shortly it came down and north and I could see Mt. Saint Helens and it’s crooked, blown of top. The trail was thick and lush full of pine. We passed through meadows and by lots of beautiful little ponds and lakes. Some were turquoise. The ground was soft and the climbs were minimal. The air was cool and despite a thick forest a nice breeze rolled through. Right before camp I ran into a father and son. They chatted with me and gave me a nectarine and a bag of homemade macaroons. Nice score. We camped by a beautiful lake tonight just us three. It’s cold and quiet and I’m trying to get better at adjusting to my new normal, which is ringing in my ears when it’s peaceful and quiet. I feel a lot better but I’m still ready to go home soon.

+9

Day 122

I woke around 5:30am today. The earliest day in a while. It was so very cold out but I stayed warm all night. Robin gave me her new insulated inflatable sleeping pad and I tried it last night. I have never slept on one before and it was okay. My back hurt a little bit but I can’t tell if it was from the slope of the ground or not. I left camp at 6:40. The trail was very cold and wet. Branches and grass soaked me all morning. A heavy fog was over the trail. I felt sad and wanted to go home. I’m too affected by the weather. The sun came out shortly after and I felt a lot better. I passed by a campsite where there were close to 10 tents still there. I stopped for a break about 9 miles in and loads of hikers were around. The trail was gorgeous today. It dipped down into lush, mossy forests with massive ferns and leaves. Then it climbed high with the most fragrant pines I’ve smelt yet. The sun was warm but the air was still very cold. I took another break then pushed on. We had two big climbs today but I was done with them. I hiked on and eventually came to the road where we’d camp. Panther Creek Campground. A woman gave us trail magic. I tried to drink a sprite but it was too sugary and gross. AB and I walked and eventually found a campsite at the campground. The large group rolled in after us. We finished 25 miles by 5:30. That felt good.

+9

Days 118 - 121

Trail days was a success. We had lots of people show up and lots of interest in the app. One person who bought a hat in 2019 came back and bought 5. Another person who has been an early adopter of the app came by to say hey and show me a bunch of mushrooms I could identify on trail. Someone went home with a brand new pack we gave away. I felt overwhelmed with all the friends that showed me so much support. I have made some great friends and met wonderful people and they all came to support me and brought others along. Robin was a great great help with the booth. I am happy and thankful for a great few days. —- I rode with Robin to the airport this morning. I said goodbye but this time it will only be for a few weeks. Much less than the last time. I had to ship home some stuff and then I had breakfast with Jeremy who picked me up at the downtown Portland REI. I snagged a new jacket and grabbed a stove for Roller. He dropped me back off where AB had waited for me at the cafe. I was ready to leave Cascade Locks. We left around 1pm and walked in the cold mist. I was not thrilled but I was happy for good company. The trail was thick and lush with green and ferns and water. We saw so many hikers and it felt nice to run into folks I hadn’t seen in a while. I saw Benni-Hanna who I last saw in Wrightwood, and Mugs, and Rhapsody. I last saw them on our ride to Acton around the closures. It has been so long. We all sat and ate dinner by a spring that was down a very very steep trail. Thin Mint showed up but went on since there were no good campsites. I think within a day ahead and behind us there are 50-100 hikers. The sky cleared but the temp significantly dropped tonight. I’m trying a new pad that Robin lent me. An inflatable. Should keep me very warm.

+9

Day 117

I woke early this morning from a sharp pain on my thigh. I thought maybe I rolled weird and pulled my hair out in that area but it hurt worse than that. I tried to sleep but the pain pulsated. I pulled my leg out and found a large welt on my leg. I had been bitten or stung. I took my blankets off and looked around and found nothing. This means somehow an insect crawled into my tent, into my sleeping bag, into my liner and stung me. Somehow I fell back asleep despite the fear of this insect crawling on my face. I woke back up to a misty morning. We made coffee and took it slow. It was cold and I didn’t want to get out of my tent. Soon, the tent was hit by an orange glow. The sun was out! I was so excited after a miserable day yesterday. I peeked out and saw an amazing sight. Rays of sunshine peeked around a tree and through the fog. It was gorgeous. We left camp around 8:30. An improvement from yesterday. The trail had loads of blow downs, which we knew about. They slowed us because we constantly had to climb up and over and up and over. And sometimes we’d have to go way off trail, bushwhack, then come back to the trail. The sun was out and we were happy it was warm and the air was cool. We smelt smoke and looked back at Mt. Hood and sadly could not see it at all from smoke approaching us. We couldn’t see Mt. Adams or Mt. St. Helens. Smoke was in every direction but around us. We stopped for lunch and I dried out my tent. I saw a bug crawling and walked over to my tent. Sure enough there was a Yellowjacket inside my tent which was zipped shut. This seems like the culprit for the mid night sting. I felt relieved it wasn’t something worse. From here we split off the PCT for the famous Eagle Creek Trail down to Cascade Locks. It was supposed to be a very beautiful trail with waterfalls and all sorts of views. It started extremely steep, losing 2k feet in 2 miles. Both our knees were feeling it. We finally joined a mellow trail and it gently wound us down. We saw lots of little waterfalls and creeks. This trail had a massive fire near it in 2017 and we could see the effects of it all. It was burned for miles and miles. Eventually we made it to Eagle Creek and followed along it. Suddenly the trail is on extremely steep cliffs and cables to hold as you walk by. I was terrified. I am very scared of heights. I had to have Robin lead, keep a steady pace, but not too fast. I didn’t really like it. I couldn’t look down or to the side. Just forward. We made it to the famous Tunnel falls where you get to walk through a tunnel behind a gorgeous green waterfall. Again it was scary but beautiful. We stayed on this trail for several miles and looked into a deep gorge below. Eventually we made it to the parking lot. We met an older gentlemen who offered us a ride to town. We happily accepted. I was proud of Robin for doing a big day and only taking one short break. I am now in Cascade Locks, the border of Oregon and Washington. I have just 505 miles left and hope to be done in just under a month. I’ll be in town for the next few days for PCT Days.

+9

Day 116

I was woken in the early morning hours by Robin. She said she thought it was raining outside since our vestibules were open and rain would get in. I have only had rain on this trail one time aside from thunderstorms. So I said it wasn’t rain, just debris falling from trees. Robin put her hand outside to feel the rain and it was rain. So we zipped up. The rain continues all morning long. I stayed in my tent for the longest I have yet. We didn’t leave till 9. It was cold and miserable. A classic Pacific Northwest day. Fog covered all the mountains around us and a light mist fell. We walked through a massive canyon where silty water runs to the Sandy River with glacial melt. We had to cross on a slippery log and a crowd of folks were too scared. So I went first and then they all followed. We had a pretty steep climb up into beautiful ancient forest. The trees were massive and majestic. Robin and I chatted lots and supplemented podcasts in here and there. We stopped for a short break but didn’t sit down since everything was wet. We pushed down to Lolo pass where we were met with amazing trail magic. Two groups of people were doing magic for us. There was a tent for us to sit in where we could stay dry. The rain was now pouring intensely. I shivered for the better part of an hour. I hate being soaked to the bone and cold. I ate food and tried to dry out. A woman turned on a propane fire and handed us umbrellas. I almost cried when I felt the warm air float up to my face and stay warm under my umbrella. We stayed there for about 30 minutes and pushed on. I was reluctant to push on but I knew we should hike a little more. Plus, the fire had dried me out quite a bit. We did another 4.5 miles and I was shivering and numb all over again. I couldn’t feel my fingers. We stopped and setup and got inside and lit my stove to dry out. I burnt my finger hair completely off trying to dry out my numb hands. We laid and napped since it was only about 5pm and we’d only done just over 12 miles. I didn’t care. These days suck. I’d rather be warm. We made dinner and relaxed. We have a 25 mile day into Cascade Locks tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be dry and 10° warmer than today’s 45° high. Plus, we’ll descend 2000 feet.

+9

Day 115

We woke today around 6:30am. I slept well but I was tired. I wished we could’ve slept in but I wanted to get moving. The lake was so quiet and beautiful. When we arrived last night the moon was reflecting off it so brightly. We broke camp and left around 7:30. The trail was beautiful and the air was cool. The sun peeked in through the trees and made the forest golden. I had Robin lead the way and set the pace since it was her first day on trail. Boy, was she slow! Just kidding. She kept a great pace. We passed by an old parking lot at Barlow Pass where I used to camp by myself 5 years ago. That was weird to see. At this parking lot we cross the old Barlow Road which was one of the routes of the Oregon Trail. I have always been fascinated by that so I stopped to walk down it a bit. We hiked on and took a nice break at a water source. Having company for a break was just so wonderful all over again. It made me realize how much I’ve missed having Rugy out here. Regardless, I was glad to have Robin out here. We pushed a little more and came out of the woods and had a grandiose view of Mt. Hood. Wildflowers lined the ashy trail. Each step was challenging as it ascended and our feet sunk into deep sand. We skirted a massive canyon where glacial melt roared below. Shortly we had a glimpse of Timberline Lodge. We stopped in for lunch and I saw Big Bird. I introduced her to Robin and we chatted. She’d been stuck in horrible smoke after she tried to jump ahead to Olallie Lake and instead got a ride to where we started last night. We looked in the distance and saw a massive smoke plume and smoke south of us and covering all of the eastern sky. I was glad we moved ahead and weren’t in that thick mess. Timberline Lodge is the lodge from the Shining. At least all the outdoor shots. I’ve been here loads of times before but it was fun to be back as a hiker. The place was overrun by dozens of us. We went to the famous buffet and sadly didn’t eat too much. My favorite was a Belgian waffle with thick, house made whipped cream, topped with strawberries. We ate until we were too full, rested for 30 minutes and hit the trail. Again the views were gorgeous. We followed along gorges and meadows and had excellent views of the peak above and then finally made it to camp. It was a gorgeous and lovely day. I was so happy to be out here. It’s such a wonderful feeling having Robin here and having fun. I feel like I haven’t in a while.

+9

Days 112 - 114

Robin got in at nearly 1am this morning after flight issues. I took her around town to get breakfast and run a few errands. I booked us massages with the best massage therapist I’ve ever been to. Someone I used to see when I lived in Bend. We went to see Mt. Joy and Trampled by Turtles later at night. — Robin and I decided to take one more zero rather than heading back out on trail. We were tired and since she got in so late we wanted to give time to enjoy a day off without all the errands of a zero. I didn’t mind. We ended up meeting up with Bougie, Clockwork, and JPRO for dinner and redeemed our free beer at Crux. — We woke late this morning and were so tired. We were able to arrange a ride to McKenzie Pass since that section opened up. It was only because I had a friend who wasn’t working today. We drove to Sisters and got lunch and coffee. We talked it over and we decided for logistics we’d just go hitch from 97 up to the end of the fire closure. Otherwise we’d have to hike 17 miles today and then figure out a 100 mile hitch tomorrow without the help of friends since they’re all working tomorrow. We were driven to Terrebonne by a friend who had no AC. It was 102° out and so he left us ar a grocery store and we tried to hitch for an hour. It was so hot and miserable and nobody even came close to stopping. Instead, someone said “I don’t envy you at all. It’s 102° out today”. Nice of him. Steven called and said now that it’s cooler he’d drive us. So he came around 6:30 and drove us the remaining hour and a half to the end of the closure. Again I felt bad about missing these miles but this is literally what the PCTA suggests on their website. So we were doing what we should. Robin and I hiked out 1.8 miles to a campsite I used to frequent years ago when I was in Portland. It’s so nice to have the company.

Day 111

I woke this morning after a rough sleep. For some reason I just couldn’t stay asleep long. I think it was because I was so hot most of the night. I left camp second to last. Big Bird left after me. The trail was beautiful and the air was already warm. The trail wound down a ridge and through a meadow. It climbed up and I stopped to lol back and had a gorgeous view of the sisters. I was glad to finally be out on this part of the trail. I hiked on and had amazing views of all the cascades around me and massive lava fields. The trail went through a large burn area from 2017 fires but fire weed grew brightly along the sides of the trail. A volunteer for the forest service asked to check my permit since there are new permit rules this year in this area. The last mile of the trail was on exposed lava fields with no trees and views for as far as the eye can see. It wasn’t fun to walk on but at least it was pretty around me. I made it to McKenzie pass and was offered a ride into Sisters by Big Bird’s ride. I gladly took it and made it back to Bend fairly quickly and showered at Cody’s before heading to my hotel to wait for Robin. I grabbed dinner with Planner and Thankful later at night. It was so nice to see them again.

+9