August 25th to Sept. 2nd!
Aug 25th: Headed up to Trout Lake in WA with the two vehicles (to leave the truck at Forest Rd 23) and by the time we got ourselves back to Cascade Locks (on the OR/WA border) it was late afternoon already. We met two volunteers with the Trail Keepers of Oregon at the PCT trailhead in Cascade Locks–they were heading up the trail with their pulaskis to take some promo photos. We crossed the Bridge of the Gods–not as scary as we thought, since the speed limit was 20 mph–and camped just a few miles up the trail on an old abandoned road. We were in the middle of a blackberry patch!
August 26th: Hiked among the green, green, green. Ferns, firs, brambles and vine maple. Bridges, water, and lots and lots of up and downs.
Got to Rock Creek for the night–in the rain–and ran into a hiker we last saw way down in Southern California at Tule Creek. I can’t type her trail name here–it’s too rowdy and I’m too embarrassed–but it was great to see her! We met Aria (a soprano) and Hammock Girl (rescued a guy with her hammock), who we kept running into for several days. Just 15 miles today, because of the storm.
August 27th: hiked from Rock Creek to Panther Creek–about 18 miles I think. It’s so exciting to have water all the time now! We hop-scotched with Hammock Girl and Aria again. We ended up camping near an official USFS campground, and although our tent was a ways off in the woods it was nice to be somewhat close to civilization (garbage cans, water, pit toilets). We situated our camp off trail near a huge fallen fir. We moseyed around the official campground early the next morning to see if anyone wanted to offer us pancakes but it was too early–they were all still waking up.
August 28th: hiked from Panther Creek up and around some huge elevation to Crest Horse Camp (Rd 24). 18miles today? We performed some very necessary grammatical corrections on the trail:
We were not doing as many miles as we had hoped, and Chris was having some possible health issues. As I was striding into the camp I ran into Elaine and Jerry walking along the lava trail with their glasses of wine. Pony Boy (who we also had met way back in Southern CA) was trail angeling here and offered a huge table full of treats, including watermelon! Plus cereal and milk, and cold drinks. We also got to see Pele (last saw her in the southern Sierras after a rattlesnake encounter) and Puffy. Everyone–especially the young men–have become so fully themselves and so, so gentle. It was a social evening. We had a great visit later with Elaine and Jerry at the edge of their tent site.
August 29th: We hiked from Crest Horse Camp up some significant elevation and through “Indian Heaven” to a huge parking lot off yet another forest road–about 17 miles. We didn’t understand the parking lot. It was supposed to be a large group campsite according to Guthook (GPS trail ap) but was probably really meant to provide parking for huckleberry pickers in the area. We could see Mt. Adams on the way here!
Believe it or not, somehow our food planning went awry…well no. Chris brought enough food. I, the minimalist, did not. Chris was still feeling puny, and I was starting to feel significantly underfed. We’re starting to muse about leaving the Goat Rocks Wilderness area and the trail northward to next summer–feeling reluctant to enter into the roadless wilderness areas in Northern WA in this calorie deprived, energy deprived state. The trail from Crest Camp was absolutely gorgeous–all sparkling lakes and green dappled trail. We camped in a tiny meadow, just north of the parking lot/group campsite.
August 30th: Hiked from the parking lot to Rd 23 and the truck! About 15 very fast up-and-down miles for me (I had just one bar left–and no other food–and I knew there were almonds, cookies and Gatorade in the truck!).
What to do, what to do!? We drove down to the small town of Trout Lake, looking for a place to stay, rest, and eat. The two motels in Trout Lake were full, and feeling ourselves moving away gradually from our trail lives, we drove down to Stevenson. At some point–in our tiny motel cabin on the banks of the Columbia–we knew we were done for the year. It was a calm decision, probably driven by dreams of ready access to food and the knowledge that we were scheduled to finish shortly, regardless. (We never thought we’d be getting to the northern terminus–our week in Washington sort of felt like bonus miles!).
And then, the coast! Three days in Lincoln City, a day of reconnoitering with both vehicles (we had left the truck in Stevenson), then back home to Bend. We stopped about a week and a half short from when we originally thought we’d wrap things up.
And…home again! We had a few days before I was due to start work–it was time to dust, check on the community garden plot, get reacquainted with fiddles, guitars, the dog and the kids, see friends, and…do laundry. Four months, four days, 1400+ miles. What a journey!
Three and Some Trees 