Month: July 2023

Start: 485.2

Stop: 505.9

Today’s miles: 20.7

Total PCT miles: 693.8

Some mornings I catch myself wondering how “bad” it would be to just refuse to get up and hike.. I was sleeping so good, I just did NOT want to wake up! But, I could hear Margot and Marquis packing and the fear of being left behind kicked in. We did get to sleep in though, since we got in so late last night.. I got on trail around 8:30.. it was glorious!

Well, except for the fact that it was already hot. It felt muggy, which normally it’s more of a dry heat. The first few miles were rolling and strolling through greenery and along a small river bed. Marquis was finding and picking berries and teaching me about them.. salmon berries, huckleberries, and some others, one that looked like a raspberry.

Before too long, we started the climb of the day. It was hot and brutal, but mostly bug free. At one point a man told me I was cruising, so that felt nice.. but once he was out of my line of sight I was paused and sucking air like my life depended on it (because it most definitely did). There was a stretch without water, and naturally, me being the weirdo I am.. I accidentally chugged all of my water before starting the downhill. Yikes.

I was sweating like crazy, parched like I was in the Sahara desert, and there were people everywhere. Yep, it’s a town day, and a Saturday. I figured I’d cruise for real on the descent, but it was actually more difficult than the climb.. lots of rocks and exposed mountainside, blaring sun and all the sweat. Good times. When I finally got to the water source, a small stream that Marquis was at, I chugged the first liter I filtered, then filtered two more to carry with me.

I didn’t end up getting to the main road until just after 6pm. That 20 miles took forever today! I passed an older man really struggling with his gear, a way overloaded pack, and he was moving very slow.. I stopped to talk to him a second and he admitted he was out of water, so I gave him half a liter of mine, knowing one way or another, if I needed more water I’d be getting to it quicker than him. I was pretty concerned for him, but he said that was all he needed and he’d be getting back to town tonight to go through his gear and unload what he could.

Just past the road before the Bridge of the Gods, Lizard’s dad set up a trail magic area! Lizard, her dad, Pamela and Henry, Marquis and a couple I didn’t know were all hanging out and sipping some cold sodas and eating some fruit! How awesome! Since we needed to wait for Margot before crossing the bridge, I happily took a seat and had a 7Up. I haven’t had one of those in forever!

We chatted a bit and they started packing up, Marquis and I got Margot a little “to go” goodie bag and then she came around the corner! Good timing. We said bye to everyone piling up in the truck and headed towards the bridge that separates Washington from Oregon with the massive Columbia River flowing underneath. We passed a guy and a woman in front of the bridge, we get to talking a little bit-and he’s Outside Jay! One of the very very helpful trail angels that helped facilitate my Facebook post back in Northern California when I was questioning the safety of continuing in the snow or backtracking!
NO WAY!?!

We chatted a few minutes and then he took some pictures with and of us! He’s such an incredible human. He said bye to us and we went onto the bridge-that lack’s a pedestrian sidewalk or protection in any way from oncoming traffic. Across the middle it turns into grating and it hurt on my crocs lol.. oh well, it was BEAUTIFUL! Across the other side, we walked a bit further to be met by Curmudgeon and his doggie, Doc. We hugged and caught up a few minutes, chugging a Gatorade, and then piled in the car to head towards Portland.

Curmy told us Cholula was in Europe, and I was instantly sad, I was so hoping to catch up with her, too, although I assumed she wasn’t coming to pick us up with Curmy and Doc because of work or some other commitment.. I guess being in Greece is a pretty good reason for not coming though, I wish I was back in Greece, too!

Curmy gave us a tour of their home and we unloaded our stuff and started our chores. After 20+ miles of tough terrain, I was personally beat. We showered and did laundry, sat outside on the patio and took in the beauty of their gorgeous backyard.. a garden, blackberries, and a hot tub! Not to mention the best pupperoni running around, keeping us all happily entertained.

For dinner, Curmy made us bacon burgers and potatoes with a fresh salad-umm.. can we say heaven?? I never order salads at home, but something about the veggies and greenery is just so dang delicious on trail. I need to try to eat more salads in my future! His meal was immediately demolished by us hiker trash, eating every last bite-and it left me feeling like a whale afterwards, a full and happy whale.

Margot and I are sharing the bed in the spare bedroom, and Marquis is sharing the couch with Doc. Tomorrow we’re going to zero and get our resupply boxes made for some more difficult to deal with towns in Oregon, and hopefully there will be a lot of being lazy, too. I know I’m exhausted, I’m pretty sure they have to be as well. So, with that, goodnight 🙂

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.

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.