Days 122 - 125

Sept. 4 - 7
Day 122 - 125
Mile 2113.0 - 2174.2
Below mt. Hood - Rock Creek

Day 122: Target practice

Today was an eventful day! Right after we woke up today we saw our first bear of the entire trip! It was a little black bear down in the canyon below us eating berries. I can't believe we haven't seen one yet.








We also had our most difficult stream crossing in the morning. We could find nowhere to cross muddy fork so we walked through the water. It reached just below my hips and I almost fell over once. After our easy sierra stream crossings i underestimated the depth and force of the current. We took the Ramona Falls alternate which was very beautiful!




About 12 miles in to our day at Lolo summit there was a cache with a few beers left. We took a lunch there and dried our wet socks and shoes out. There were spiderwebs all over the trail today and I kept thinking I was going to walk into one with a spider in it. Sure enough there was a full web spun at the perfect level for my face to completely catch it and I walked right into it. The brown spider was sitting right between my eyes. I was not very happy. Bears, snakes, bats, I am fine with, but spiders I just don't do. Later in the day we saw a breathtaking view of mt. St. Helens, mt. Rainier, and mt. Adams lined up. The lighting made it so that the mountains didn't really show up, but st. Helen's is on the left, Adams on the right, and rainier, which is the hardest to see, is in the middle.




We could also still see mt. Hood behind us and at the end of the day we felt as if it was no further away than in the morning, which was a little frustrating. We decided to take the eagle creek alternate. This is a very popular alternate and goes past many waterfalls, the most popular being tunnel falls, where the trail walks right behind the waterfall. We only walked a few miles into the alternate but the first 2 miles were really steep downhill and I slipped and fell and choked myself on the chest strap of my backpack. It was also very wet and green with spiders, some bugs, and slugs.




Day 123: Mexico? Like the country?!?

Since eagle creek is so beautiful and so easily accessed, there were a lot of day hikers on the trail this morning. One hiker seemed astonished that we had even spent the night outside. Imagine his surprise when we told him we had come from Mexico. He didn't seem to believe we had walked that far and thought we were talking about another Mexico at first. It still seems unimaginable to us even and we have decided that it is because it is difficult to compare to anything in everyday life. You can, for example, compare it to a 1 mile walk you may do everyday but 2650 days of walking one mile is still out of touch with everyday thought. You could compare it to driving 2650 miles in a car, but the thought of walking it is so different than the thought of driving it that that doesn't really make sense either. The only way your mind can grasp what it means to walk that many miles is to just do it. I know what it feels like to walk 2000 miles, but even now the only thing I can compare it to is itself. That is why it is still so hard for me to even believe or understand what we have done so far. I'm not sure if that makes sense but this is one of the conundrums that my brain thinks of while hiking.

We saw the amazing tunnel falls and I took a video that I will post when I get a chance of walking behind the falls.




There were waterfalls and rivers everywhere; it was beautiful.












We made it to cascade locks, our last stop in Oregon, by noon. We ate at the charburger and saw new and old friends. We were able to shower, get our packages, and resupply before our friend annie got here from Portland. She brought us laundry detergent and while we were waiting for laundry we all ate chips and salsa, swam, and talked. It was so fun to see her and catch up! It gave us such a boost.




Day 124: Bridge of the Gods

Today, after exactly 4 months of being on the trail, we entered Washington, the last state of the PCT. I was armed with new shoes and new socks and we both had clean hair. We sent everything home we weren't sure to need for these last weeks to lighten our load as much as possible. We spent most of the morning relaxing, finishing up chores, and enjoying our continental buffet breakfast. I don't think they plan for hungry pct hikers but we sure got our moneys worth. We chatted with other hikers, ate lunch, had shakes, and sat around until we finally left cascade locks at 5:00. We immediately crossed bridge of the gods over the Columbia river into Washington which was awesome!








Oregon was so flat and pleasant and the forests were mostly thin. Washington, in contrast, has dense forests, is much steeper and ruggeder, and can be very rainy and cold in September. We are excited to be here!

Day 125: Shelob's lair

Today was really tiring and were not really sure why. I think we just did not get enough rest in town and we were in a rush to get back on trail. There were a lot of spiders in the morning and even Nate was getting frustrated with dodging them. They just seem to want to spin their webs right in the middle of the trail at face level. There were no views today and we walked in forest all day but we still had fun. So far the forest seems the same as oregon forests.








By lunch we had only walked 9 miles. We were so sleepy that we joked about stopping at a campsite 6 miles away. When we got there, we grabbed water and spent some time throwing rocks across the river to try and knock down a spider web. We were so exhausted we just decided to camp there and get to bed early. The kiwis, weeki and shack, showed up. Later uhaul, tangent, Holstein, Destroyer, and Blackbeard showed up. We were asleep before the sun went down and slept great.




Oh, and the look on my face is from the stink of Nate's flatulence.

-Jenna
-Be Free

Day 118-121: Winter is Coming

August 31-September 3
Day 119-121
Mile 2003.5-2113.0
Old Santiam Wagon Road to below Mt. Hood

Day 118-Mt.Jefferson

We have been pretty bad about waking up on time this last week. Today was our best attempt in awhile. We only hit the snooze button for two hours instead of three, and we got hiking by 8:30 instead of 9:00. Very proud of ourselves for that. Part of the problem is that it has been pretty cold in the mornings so we want to stay snuggled up in our cozy sleeping bags. We also have motivation to get up because we need to get to cascade locks by the fifth in order to meet our friend Annie. We got hiking today and almost immediately met a southbounder named Leslie. She chatted with us and gave us each a yummy cookie. trail magic from another hiker! We crossed over highway 20 at Santiam pass and met some new hikers and an old hiking friend that we haven't seen since Kennedy Meadows North.




The hike today had a few big uphill climbs but most of the day was also through burnt sections of forest. We hiked beneath the mountain Three Fingered Jack




and had amazing views of Mt.Jefferson all day. At lunch we did the usual drying out our gear routine from the previous nights condensation. It was a beautiful day with no clouds to be seen.




Except those two little clouds above Mt.Jefferson. It is getting colder at nights but we have not been too cold yet. We have plenty of clothes and cold temperature gear and could make it through much colder nights than we've had. Later in the day we saw our good friend Jim again. We walked and chatted with him for awhile and then hiked on ahead. At dinner I ate a yummy Velvetta Mac & Cheese I got from the hiker box and Jenna had potatoes. It was a great night and we sadly have less than a week left in Oregon. Washington has a reputation of being cold and wet. Washington can destroy even the most dedicated thru hikers spirits and desire to go on. However, we are so excited for Washington as some day it is the prettiest section of the entire trail!

Day 119-Boot Skis

We got hiking today at our new normal time, 8:30. It was one of the snowiest days we have had the whole trip. There has been way more snow in Oregon than California. The walk today was mainly around the mighty Mt. Jefferson and then a straight shot for Ollalie lake store. The miles were slow today because there were some steep uphill climbs and the trail was somewhat rocky.




There was one crossing of snow that was actually dangerous. The snow had not melted in a narrow canyon and a river was raging beneath the thick snow covering. It was safe to cross now but it may not be in a few weeks.




When we got over one ridge there was a hill completely covered in snow. We could have looked for the real trail but we wanted to boot ski!




We could see smoke from the fire in Mt. Jefferson wilderness nearby. Luckily we did not have to detour around this area.




We did quick miles through forest into Ollalie Lake. We made it to the small store they have there before they closed. They had some yummy snacks and soda and we sat outside and chatted with Uhaul, Tangent, Holstein, lunchbox, and Ninja. I accidentally spilled some chips on the ground and of course ate them.




We hiked on a little from the store and camped on the side of the trail. It was a great day and we have had nothing but great views lately.

Day 120- Cruising!

Today we woke up at 5 and actually got hiking by 6:30. There is such a thing as miracles! We had the mindset of trying to accomplish a 40 mile day. The reasoning behind this was to challenge ourselves and see what our bodies could do. Also, the terrain was easy and perfect for speed hiking. Most of our morning walk was through the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.




We had some breakfast sodas that we carried out of Ollalie and did 20 miles by 1pm where we ate dinner. We don't usually eat dinner at lunch like some hikers because it takes extra time and we just don't like doing it. However, the advantage is that you get some good calories for the rest of the day which is what we needed. We hiked on and continued to tack on the miles. We took one water break and sat a few minutes with other hikers. The terrain was mostly flat and forested with a few lakes here and there. After the water break we hiked with Ninja. We took one more tiny break and still kept pushing. Once we hit 40 miles our bodies suddenly started to hurt. Also, once we hit 40 miles for the day there were no campspots, but some great views of Mt.hood.






Just had to keep walking till there was a flat spot. At 41.4 miles of walking for the day we finally found an semi-okay spot to put the tent. We set up and instantly went to bed. We were so tired and exhausted we could barely move. Our feet and knees hurt for awhile so it was kind of hard to fall asleep. The current speed record for the PCT is about an average of 42 miles per day. That's just the average, these speedy guys often do more than that! It is hard to imagine doing that many miles day after day. It is amazing though! We went to bed happy with our accomplishment and sore.

Day 121-Redrum

After our long day yesterday we slept in a little bit. Actually, we got hiking a little before 9 which isn't too bad for us lately. The miles were easy and we crossed over highway 26. It was only 12 miles from where we camped to Timberline Lodge, so we did the miles pretty quickly in order to get to a meal. The last part of the push into Timberline was sandy and steep which made for some slow going. We couldn't be too frustrated though because we had some amazing views of Mt. Hood.











We got to Timberline lodge just in time for the 75th anniversary of the lodge. The lodge was used in some of the beginning scenes in the movie the Shining as well as several other movies.




We looked at some of the booths and went and got all you can eat lunch at the Cascadia Dining room. It was a bit pricy but it was very yummy and we got our money's worth. We sat around the lodge for a bit and got hiking again by 4. There were a lot of people so we were both feeling a bit discombobulated/overwhelmed and were happy to be back on trail. We stopped after a few miles down the trail and had a great view of Mt. Hood from our tent.




Also, we walked to a nearby ridge where we could see Mt. St Helen's and Mt. Rainer.




It was a very pretty walk today and we are so happy to be out here in the wild.

-Natey

Day 114 - 117: beauty and the beast

Aug 27 - 30
Day 114 - 117
Mile 1939.7 - 2003.5
Near Willamette Pass - old santiam wagon road

Day 114: The tunnel

Today was forested for the whole day. The scenery was trees.
And more trees.




And more trees.




Sometimes the trees were near small lakes.




Even though the scenery was monotonous, the temperature was nice all day and there were not too many bugs. At one point we walked through a burn section. While that is usually not desirable, we were happy because we at least got views of the distance.




We entered three sisters wilderness which is supposed to be full of views, lakes, and 3 beautiful mountains (the sisters) so we are eager to wake up tomorrow and see great views that give us a change from the forest tunnel.




Day 115: Discombobulated

The southern part of three sisters wilderness proved to be filled with more trees and lakes and no views.








While the trees are pretty, we felt like we could have been anywhere in Oregon and we felt as though we were walking in circles. We were on the search all day for just one view and we barely even saw the sky above the branches. It was easy to become confused and even Nate, who is usually a walking compass, had to pull his compass out to make sure we were actually heading north. One hiker who slept near us even walked 2 miles in the wrong direction this morning before realizing it. Near the end of the day we came across another burn section which finally gave us the beautiful view we were looking for.




It was a pretty cool day and we both needed our jackets on a few occasions. As we were looking for a spot, it looked like it might rain. It didn't but the wind picked up and it is a mighty cold night. We are so happy to have our warm sleeping bags.

Day 116: A perfect day

Today was amazing! We slept in because we woke up with condensation and we were waiting for it to dry a little. Within an hour we finally emerged from the green tunnel and entered wickiup plain.




We were both so happy and we commented on how both of our spirits were increased 100 fold. We had views of the south and middle sister.




We took a lunch break right under the middle sister and it was the most amazing lunch spot we have had yet. There were big flat rocks to dry our stuff out on, the views were stellar, and the temperature in the sun was perfect.




Later in the day we walked through an area with a ton of obsidian and passed the north sister and little brother.




We walked through a really cool lava field that was extremely painful to walk on and caught glimpses of mt. Washington, three fingered jack, and mt. Jefferson in the distance. It was one of the most incredible views of the entire trip.








At the end of the day we passed highway 242 and entered mt. Washington wilderness.




Today was just the day we were hoping for and we are so happy to be here.

Day 117: big lake youth camp

When we woke up we saw that Jim had camped near us. We hadn't seen him since Chester so we were glad to see and talk to him! We both had condensation and talked about our frustration at how bad it has been lately. We started the morning off by walking on more painful lava rock. The majority of the trail was in another burn section but we had close up views of mt. Washington as we walked around it.








As we looked back, we also had views of north and middle sister that we passed yesterday.




We passed mile 2000! I can't believe we have come this far already.




We made it to big lake youth camp by 1:00. We were able to get sodas, resupply, dry our wet bags and tent out, shower, do laundry, and enjoy an incredible taco salad meal! The cooks even gave us each an ice cream cone because we were hikers! We talked to panama red, ninja, and lunchbox then hiked a few miles out of the camp where we found a spot under the most tree cover we could find in order to avoid condensation.

-Be Free