Goat Rocks

The Gorge into Cascade Locks - Mile 2155 - 9/17

This was, by far, one of the prettiest sections of trail that I have been on in the past few hundred miles, and it wasn't the official PCT (common theme). The Eagle Creek side trail is taken by almost every PCT hiker and after hiking down the gorge into Cascade Locks I understand why. The Indian springs sidetrail to the eagle creek trail was two miles strait down steep steep steep ridges and then came out the beautifully graded and overly scenic eagle creek trail. The Eagle Creek trail follows the river down the gorge with waterfalls and swimming hikes galore. I also hiked behind a waterfall, Tunnel Falls and crossed over multiple high elevation bridges over the river down the gorge. There were plenty of dayhikers out and about and with such a beautiful area I understand why. Coming down into Cascade Locks I walked past the Bridge of the Gods which crosses over the Columbia River into Washington which I'll be hiking past tomorrow. For now it's time to stuff my face with town food and hang out in Oregon for one more night. Washington tomorrow!!!!!

Ramona Falls - Mile 2138.1 - 9/16

Planned for a big day on rough terrain today but it's supposed to be quite scenic so it should be rewarding. The morning was rough finishing hiking around the rest of Mt. Hood and the elevation drop began a bit when I took the wonderfully graded and very scenic Ramona Falls. The trail is the old PCT but because they restrict horses from this trail, it is not the official PCT. Personally it was better because there were no horses, no huge piles of crap to hike around and the trail wasn't as worn down from horseshoes stomping the trail apart. Ramona Falls was absolutely beautiful. The hike after lunch was a huge uphill which wasn't as bad as it looked and I hiked into the bight to get to the campsite. One more day of hiking left in Oregon !!!

Timberline Lodge and Mt. Hood - Mile 2112 - 9/15

Got up with motivation to get to the lodge and fill my belly with all sorts of tasty buffet goodness. The terrain in was a bit rough the closer you got to the lodge. This was because it was sitting on the base of the massive Mt. Hood. Timberline Lodge is pretty well known as the lodge that was used in the film The Shining. It's a huge and grand building which is always a fun thing to stumble upon when hiking.

We arrived in time for the lunch buffet which consisted of steak, salads, fruits, breads, and a bunch of deserts. I ate and ate and then ate some more. It took around three hours to get me slightly motivated and moving after all that food. I was soooooooo full. Disgustingly full. On the border of throwing it all up full. I think you get my point. I got my money's worth! We got our resupply packages and charged our phones (mainly stalling to digest) and hiked out around five. We made it our or five more miles before setting up camp on the edge of a ridge on the side of Mt. Hood looking out at Mt. Jefferson in the distance as the sun set. Pretty sweet day. T-minus two days until the Oregon/Washington border!!!!!!

Timothy Lake - Mile 2093 - 9/14

Got up and hiking earlier today and cruised through the morning. The terrain was the same lush Oregonian forest scenery that I have grown very fond of. After a mostly downhill morning I took a late lunch about fifteenish miles in.

The afternoon consisted of hiking around the massive Timothy Lake which beckoned me to stay and swim the rest of the day but unfortunately I have some mile to put down so I trucked along. Past the lake I continued uphill into the night until I reached a campground with wonderfully cold and clear spring water. I'm excited for Timberline Lodge tomorrow, there's an all you can eat buffet with my name on it!

Snow??? - Mile 2067 - 9/13

So heading out an down presented interesting morning challenges. Snow hiking in the morning meant icy hiking. I wear sandals and these sandals have over 800 miles of wear on them, it was more like snow sliding than hiking. The first snowfield I slowly walked across the second I said screw it and sat down and slid down it. That was the much easier option. This mornings hike is about as much snow that I have hiked around and across than pretty much all of California. It was nice to so something different.

Lunch was spent at the Ollalie Lake Store which had pretty much nothing as far as snacks or non-trail food but did have a beautiful lakefront view of Jefferson. The rest of the day was spent going around buttes and I ended up camping at the saddle of one of the buttes.

Up To and Around Mt. Jefferson - Mile 2043.5 - 9/12

After being in town for a few days, it takes a few more days to get into the wake up early and hike schedule. That being said, the mornings hike was under the tree canopy and on a ridge so nothing terribly exciting. Near the end of the ridge, the trees opened up to a view of the massive Mt. Jefferson right in front of me. Looking at the map I saw that I hike right up to it then around the western base which was beautiful. My lunch spot was at Milk Creek, named after the milky grey glacial water coming off the mountain. After lunch I crossed over the glaciated Russell Creek which was a unique experience to walk over a glacial snow valley knowing that a river is rushing underneath you.

In the afternoon I hiked around and through the Jefferson Park area of the mountain which is a flat lake filled base of the western edge of the mountain which gave some pretty dramatic views of Jefferson while the sun was setting on it. As nightfall approached we hiked up the next ridge and planned on going down but in pitch black we saw snow/ice fields ahead going down and decided to tackle that challenge in the morning. Luckily there was a campspot on the top which provides some perfect stargazing for the night. Snowfields tomorrow morning how exciting!

Hunters and Huckleberries - Mile 2022.2 - 9/11

So I finally made it out of Bend Oregon after spending roughly a business week there hanging around and enjoying all the town had to offer. Thanks again to Spins' brother Jeff and his girlfriend Sarah for letting us stay with them and for their hospitality.

Sarah drove Spins and I up to the town of Sisters and we all had breakfast at the delicious local bakery. After stuffing down a few thousand calories of sugar, we hitched out to the trailhead. There were a bunch of cars for a Tuesday at the trailhead and as I hiked along I saw more and more hunters out and about. Seeing a bunch of guys hanging around the woods with rifles in their hands is slightly unnerving mainly because my pack is a tan deerskin like color. I bought a bright hunters orange hat in Bend figuring I'd need it in Washington for hunting season but looks like it came in handy immediately. The majority of the hiking today was an old burn area so it was exposed which allowed the sun to shine on some tasty huckleberry bushes. I ate then until my mouth was stained purple and I was happy. It was starting to get dark and we pushed a bit further until Rockpile Lake.

Pictures from Mt. Theilson to Bend, OR

Crater Lake - Mile 1854 - 8/31

I woke up and to my surprise, IT WASN'T COLD! Sign of a good day. The three of us ate breakfast while watching the sunrise over the foggy Crater Lake. It was a beautiful moment even with the bit of fog and the day was setting up to be a great one. The rim trail along the lake was very steep for PCT standards and with 6 1/2 days of food and 10 miles worth of water, my muscles were feeling every step. Unfortunately, the smoke/haze filled the crater so that you could barely see the other side but the entire area was still as majestic and surreal. Hiking around the lake a curious chipmunk, who was very well fed, ate food strait from my hand which was was novel. Past the lake Spins and I ate lunch at the water cache and filled up 4 1/2 liters (9 lbs!) of water for the next 17 miles of waterlessness. I hiked in a pretty heavy meditative zone for the next eight miles until I crossed highway 138 and took a break. Another, unknown to me, water cache was there. DAMNIT I had to carry all that extra water weight for nothing. It was funny to watch a few other hikers arrive there and see the same frustrated look when they saw cache. My feet held up surprisingly well for how heavy my pack currently is. Another two miles and I set up camp a little early but I put in good time considering how much I hung around Crater Lake in the morning. Hopefully tomorrow morning is as warm as this morning was, it makes it so much easier to start the day earlier.

Mazama Village - Mile 1834.5 - 8/30

Got up and out early, the thought of town food always motivates me to do so! Cruised through the eleven miles an walked the highway for a mile down into the touristland of the park. I got my package, took a shower, and did laundry, the essentials. There was quite a pull to hang around, the beer was cheaper than soda at the campground store. Flagman got breakfast at the restaurant and recommended the food which was good because you don't know how good or bad national park food is. I hung around the store in the afternoon shooting the shit with Flagman, Navi, and a few others then hit the restaurant for a big ol' greasy burger. When I went back to the store I found out that one of the workers in the park set up a water cache ten mile ahead to cut down the 27 mile waterless stretch. I also learned that the trail north of Crater Lake had been reopened because the fire crew got the wildfire under control which was good news so Spins, Navi, and I headed up to Rim Village for a little cell service (and more town food). The three of us hiked another mile or so onto the rim of Crater Lake and set up camp so that we'd have a great spot for sunrise.

Lucifer and Devils Peak - Mile 1824.3 - 8/29

Still really cold out this morning and Navi strolled by early followed by Flagman around 7:30 am which, for him I pretty late. Got moving and my feet still were a little sensitive but feeling better. I tried to keep a slow pace and walk lightly for the day to see if that would help. I caught up to Navi who was moving quite gingerly as well and is going through similar pains in her feet. Before lunch I climbed up Shale Butte to a beautiful exposed view. I continued on the ridgeline and crossed over and down Devils Peak which was a fantastic outcrop. The later half of the day consisted of walking through a relatively recent burn area which probably occurred in the last two years. After about 18 miles my feet were at it again. My frustration turned to anger and I stomped out the last bit of the day. Spins and I set up camp and a few hundred feet away Flagman was set up. 11 miles tomorrow and I'll be at Mazama Village in Crater Lake National Park where I sent my six and a half day resupply box to get me 160 miles to Bend. There's also a restaurant there and I've been craving a big ol' juicy burger. Sweet things to dream about.

Mt. McLoughlin - Mile 1795 - 8/28

Woke up to the bitter cold again. Flagman was gone hours ago but Diesel wasn't as motivated to get out at 5 mostly because of the cold and condensation. The morning hike consisted of big sprawls of boulder fields which I found out was at one time lava flows. It was a very cool environment to hike through. After a few miles I turned the corner and a huge mountain faced me. Two dayhikers I talked to informed me that it was Mt. McLoughlin. It stood towering over everything surrounding it. The volcanic mountains of the cascades are really dramatic in the landscape. As usual, it was a bit hazy from fires but after hiking around it the wind blew most the smoke out and made for a great view. I had lunch/nap around a curious young buck who took off when I woke up. Towards the end if the day my feet started aching really really badly. My arches were super sore and the balls of my feet felt bruised. The last few miles to camp were a struggle but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Brrr - Mile 1770.4 - 8/27

It was dark as hell and freezing cold. I rolled over to hear stomping and saw a light heading past. Flagman flew through and I figured he camped around the highway a halfmile back. Only problem was it's 4:30 am! So he was my first alarm clock to get up early, my phone going off a half hour later.

"Spins it's time to wake up and it's cold!" Her reply, "it's still dark out"... We both slept in until thee sun came out and got to hiking around 9am. It was still quite chilly and I hiked for a bit before getting near a lake campground with a water fountain, the first water in a bunch of miles, and last water for a few as well. For as forested as Oregon has been, water is few and far between. The rest of the day was relatively uneventful and because of my late start I had to hike into the night to get the 26 miles I planned done. The destination was a shelter with a well which is a rarity on this trail. I was excited for the shelter and guaranteed water (the well water was the only water for a lot of miles in each direction). It was a little before 9pm when I got in and a candle was burning on the picnic table outside the shelter. Navi and Diesel were finishing up dinner and Flagman was out cold in the shelter. The shelter was full (of people and mice) so I tented. Flagman planned on heading out at 3am and Diesel planned on waking up around 5am so I should have no problem waking up earlier tomorrow morning. Also its getting really cold out at night and in the morning, don't get me wrong I enjoy it when I'm in my sleeping bag but my fingers don't as much when I have to pack up.