Month: July 2023

Start: 505.9

Stop: 531.2

Today’s miles: 25.3

Total PCT miles: 719.1

It started raining overnight, the light pattering turning into a more steady pour around 1:30am.. waking me up and causing me to fumble in the dark to close my tent vestibule. The place we were camping was also right next to a train track, so several times throughout the night, a long train would come barreling through. Each time, it would wake me, but then the steady hum and rumble of it, mixed with the rain, would lull me back to sleep. I actually slept pretty dang well.

We overslept a bit, only by 30 minutes.. so by 7am we were walking up the road, the majority of the tenters still fast asleep, I won’t lie, I was a bit jealous. We got breakfast from a walk up burger place: bacon, egg, and cheese bagel for me, yum. Then we headed to the restaurant we ate at yesterday so Margot could get a coffee, this little burger joint doesn’t make coffee. I was drinking a Monster (thank youuuuu gas station!), but Marquis got a coffee, too.

The alternate trail, with all the waterfalls, started leaving Cascade Locks on a paved path. It was easy moving and surrounded by damp greenery. As the paved path turned into an actual trail, the views opened up. We were following along a creek, slowly ascending. It was beautiful. The temperatures were a little cool, from the overnight rain, and the skies were still cloudy, making the walking really enjoyable. We passed several small waterfalls, surrounded by huge walls of rock that the trail was carved into.

We stopped at a swimming hole and waded in waist deep. It was way too cold to swim, since there was no sun to warm us up.. but it was fun either way. Marquis and I traded shorts after we got out of the water to dry off. I had bought a new pair from Walmart, because the ones I started in have gotten so big they’re making my hips chafe from bunching them up with the drawstring. The new ones though, I can’t handle the material once they’re wet-either by water or by sweat, which is crazy, I know, but it makes them just a little too tight for walking. How annoying.

I was only joking with Marquis at first, but then once I got his shorts on and they were comfortable, we agreed to swap for a day. Yay! I was walking so much easier in them! And he got a kick out of my shorts being so short on his long legs, it was quite hysterical! Not far after the watering hole, a hiker was walking towards me, so I stepped to the side of the trail to let him pass, and the entire ground of the trail crumbled beneath my feet and I slid right off the side of the trail into a bunch of briars and downed trees. Awesome.

That dude was mortified and tried to help me up.. but the briars were digging into my skin and I knew I just needed a minute to catch my breath and think through my options. I handed him my poles, asked him to put them somewhere “up there” and then told him he could go, I’d be fine. Then, once he was gone, I slowly started to climb my way up the soft dirt, with thorns digging into my hands, knees, legs. Dammit, I JUST finally had my legs heal, and now I have a whole knew set of open wounds. There’s a word I want to yell, and Samuel L. Jackson yells it best. Ugh.

Continuing on, after my mishap, the trail went behind a large waterfall, through a tunnel. It was truly something special. It almost felt like something from Iceland, not northern Oregon. Then, there were cascading waterfalls that Margot and I sat beside to eat lunch. It was peaceful, even with my new booboos throbbing and stinging.

The trail eventually went through a burn zone with several blow downs and some overgrowth, each bush scraping my new wounds making me walk slow and wince every few steps. Then, before long, the trail grade increased tremendously and we were climbing steeply up to the top of this mountain to reconnect to the PCT. As tough as the last 2ish miles were, they were totally worth it to see those waterfalls. I could have happily done without the blow downs, though. Especially the ones requiring me to sit and scoot under them, in Marquis’ shorts no less.

The three of us stopped to eat dinner around 7:30, at a water source on trail. We still had a mile or so to go, but we were afraid the campsites would all be taken, forcing us to continue another 3+ miles in the dark. We ate, laughed, and dug out our headlamps to make sure they were accessible. I really didn’t want to night hike again, but at least I wouldn’t be alone.. assuming I could keep up with those two.

There were several blowdowns along the way, causing us to clamber over or under and all in all slowing us down. It was close to 8:30 when we got to the first campsite area, and it was a deep discussion on how to proceed. There was already 5 tents set up in this small area. Margot’s tent is small, so she found somewhere she could squeeze in, my tent being the largest, I found a spot but the reason it was available was because it was really freaking slanted. It sucked.

Marquis said he was going to continue. We were concerned that if we got there, in the dark, over more blowdowns, and it was full too.. we would be screwed. He kept moving and we stayed. Instead of setting up right where the space was for my tent, I crowded the trail and had my tent basically set up right along it, my guyline for my vestibule just barely touching the side of the trail. It seems a little flatter, laying here.. but I have a feeling I’ll be sliding tonight.

Even as I’m laying here, utterly worn out, a couple just appeared from the direction Marquis is hiking.. there’s no way he’s made it there yet, and if these two pushed past it.. why?? Either way, I think they’re trying to squeeze in as well. There’s 8 tents in a “3” tent space. It’s amazing what thruhikers can manage, especially when we’re tired and just want to set up camp.

Speaking of tired, I truly am. And my legs are stinging from my scrapes-and-surprisingly, it’s quite cold. So, time to bundle up and get some shut eye before I go sliding down this mountain. Goodnight, y’all.

Y’all. A catastrophe has occurred. I don’t know how to move on from this. My. Garmin. Watch. Died. DIED. It is D-E-A-D. I woke up and my watch screen was blank, nothing I did would turn it on, even connected to power. I think the charging block I ordered must have fried it somehow, and I was so upset over this whole favorite watch dying business that I seriously wanted to cry. Over a watch. God help me.

We left around 8am to head back to Cascade Locks. Curmy brought Doc, and they hung out for a bit at the post office with us. One of our two box destinations doesn’t except USPS, so when panic set in, Curmy offered to take them to UPS for us. We quickly packed those boxes for him, put the address on and he and Doc were on their way, after hugs and goodbyes and lots of thank yous.

I mailed my darn tough socks back to their warranty program, sent my dead watch and it’s charger home (maybe it’ll be revived, I just couldn’t throw it away), and then my one resupply box to Crater Lake. While I was waiting in line to do all of this, Marquis appeared with a double shot espresso with one Splenda. I swear, I love this guy.

He and Margot shipped their boxes too, and then Margot realized her two packages didn’t show up. The lady told her to come back around 2pm to see if they arrived with today’s delivery. While she looked mortified and stressed out, I was happy and content to not hike out yet. Like, really happy. Looks like it’ll be a late day out!

We walked to a breakfast place and ate. It was a cute little restaurant right on the water. The food was good, nothing incredible but it definitely met my needs. We sat around awhile, not wanting to walk more than necessary. Eventually we had to, though. We left and moseyed through town to the opposite end where the marina is. We explored there, then sat at picnic tables talking, watching storm clouds roll in.

Annie and Riley came by and told us that the brewery offers a free beer to thruhikers. Enough said. We walked back to the middle of the tiny town strip and found the brewery, got our free beer (not Margot, she doesn’t drink alcohol), and waited for a table for lunch. When we were sat, we ordered burgers that were absolutely phenomenal. Man I love town days, and see-if her packages had arrived as they were supposed to, we’d have missed this. What a shame that would have been.

We walked back to the post office, only to be told that one of her two packages showed, but the other one probably wouldn’t come until tomorrow. Margot and the sweet woman talked it out and they decided that she could call the office in a few days and then if it did arrive, they could forward it for her to another city for her, for a small fee.

Once the plan was made over the lost package debacle, we sat on a bench and pondered our situation. It was almost 5pm. The trail out of Cascade Locks is several miles of uphill climbing, known for gorgeous waterfalls. The storm clouds were very ominous looking, rolling in over the mountaintops. What good would it be to hike out this late and miss the opportunity to see the beauty of the falls if it were pouring down rain?!

We decided to walk back to the marina, pay $5 to camp, and set up our tents in the PCT hiker area. There ended up being over 25 tents by nightfall, Annie and Riley being one of them. The day turned into an accidental zero, but one I was quite thrilled about. Another contributing factor was that we needed to camp at the 50 mile mark, regardless, so we can wake up and eat breakfast at the buffet at the Timberline Lodge. So, we might as well sleep here and get an early start tomorrow. Yeah, I really like this plan. And I’m also super tired, like my zero yesterday and today didn’t catch me up on any sleep. Haha. So it’s off to bed I go. Goodnight, y’all.

I was woken up by the brightness of the sun, and when I looked over, Margot was already gone. It was close to 8am. I really wanted to sleep longer than that, but I guess my body had other ideas.
In the living room, Marquis and Margot were chatting and I sleepily joined. We figured out what all we needed to get done today, happy that laundry was already checked off the list. Once Curmy was awake and ready, too, he chauffeured us around Porland.. starting with McDonald’s for breakfast. Something about it’s quick and easy fix for hunger on trail that just can’t be beat.

Next, we went to Walmart, Margot’s first time ever being in one. To all of our surprise, after being on trail this long, it was wildly overwhelming. Frequently each of us had to just stop and let the noises and crowds of people chill out a bit before continuing on. We resupplied our food for 3 stretches, one for now, and 2 to mail ahead. It’s more difficult that you know to think about what you may or may not want to eat in several weeks.

From there we ventured on to REI. I got some Peak Refuel meals and some new socks (my darn tough socks have holes now, they have a lifetime warranty, but I have to mail the clean hole ridden socks in to their company to get a voucher for a free pair.. it’s totally fine, I’ll wear them on future trips either way, so buying more now doesn’t bother me any, and I love supporting a great company. I find their socks to be amazing, last pretty long for socks worn every single day and in ridiculous conditions, and very comfortable, too. I’d honestly buy them even if they didn’t have the warranty.

I got a couple other odds and ends, including more picaridin. One thing that makes me nutty is the bugs-I have to have plenty of bug deterrent and killing options. Marquis and Margot got their fair share of things, too. Overall, our outing was successful. We went back to the house and all of us hung out on the patio outside, enjoying the nice weather and eventually organizing all of our stuff. Mid afternoon I ordered Taco Bell to be delivered, because why not?

We laid around and dozed here and there, with nighttime rolling in too quick it seemed. Curmy made us a delicious dinner of Asian lettuce wraps and noodles.. seriously delicious! Like, I want the recipe so I can have it at home, too. He really is such a good cook. I don’t know if y’all remember, but on the AT, Curmy and Cholula created the majority of their dehydrated meals. They’re quite talented in the kitchen.

We had ice cream for dessert and then relaxed in the hot tub before bed. We knew we’d have to be up early and I was already dreading it. These days pass way too fast. Way way way too fast.