Day 117 – another whirlwind zero

August 3, 2016November 25, 2016 / Andy, Laurie, Miles & Ani / 5 Comments

July 29, 2016

Miles: 0

The title pretty much sums up our day. Except for sleeping in until 7:30am, we were either glued to our phones or running errands.

It was hot in Portland too – in the 90s – and this didn’t help. We felt sluggish and unmotivated. Laurie”s feet and ankles got so swollen she had cankles.

Of course it wasn’t all bad though.

There were some great moments. Like breakfast – which consisted of grilled cheese sandwiches and huckleberry pie leftovers.

Diana drove us to REI (thanks Diana!!) to replace some gear and buy small plastic bottles. Andy has been craving hot sauce and oil/butter with his dinners and Waldo (whom we hiked with weeks prior) used bottles that he got at REI.

When we returned to Diana’s home we baked another pie. This time an apple pie using apples from Diana’s mom’s tree. So great!

After planning visits with friends, talking with family and friends and blogging it was 5:30pm and time for dinner.

We had heard great things about Pok Pok – a Thai restaurant near Diana’s home – from Fixie and other locals and wanted to try it.

Karen, whom we hiked with a few weeks ago, was meeting us there. Unfortunately the restaurant had a 45 – 60 minute wait and we don’t stand around a wait very well. We removed our names from the list and went a few doors down to Bollywood Theater.

We enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and short lines of this Indian restaurant. Friendly staff and good food..it’s all we need really.

After dinner we went back to the house and put our packs together. We are leaving at 6am tomorrow morning to get an early start and don’t want to sleep too late tonight.

Once done packing we sat outside on the porch and inhaled our apple pie and Tillamook vanilla ice cream.

We really like pie and ice cream! And apparently have bottomless stomaches.

And we are really happy we found a locally made gluten free pie crust that tasted good.

After another wonderful shower we went to bed, hoping to get some good sleep despite the heat.

Tonight we are grateful for Brad and Diana for opening their home to us and delicious pies.

Huckleberry pie for breakfast

REI stop #7

Dessert pie and ice cream = perfect zero

Day 116 – it was a big day

August 3, 2016November 25, 2016 / Andy, Laurie, Miles & Ani / 4 Comments

July 28, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 3.3 on Eagle Creek Alternate) to Bridge of the Gods (mile 2144.6)

Miles: 12.6

Our total miles: 1738.3

We woke up sticky. It was warm and our clothes were still damp. It didn’t matter though, soon enough we would be damp too.

We were hiking by 6:15am. It was a gentle downhill the entire time. We walked in a lush green tunnel, passing streams and pools of clear water.

We followed a river downstream watching it widen and then funnel through narrow rocks creating small waterfalls.

About 2 miles in we stopped to admire a number of cascading pools of water that culminated in a waterfall. If only we had more time Laurie may have gone for an early morning dip.

We carried on, walking on ledges with moss and hanging ferns. Whoever designed this trail did an amazing job.

As we approached Tunnel Falls Andy was giddy with excitement. He has been reading blogs and has seen pictures of these major PCT landmarks for over 8 years. And now we have walked here!

The falls were spectacular. Gallons upon gallons of water falling at least 150 feet down into a clear and rocky pool. The trail led us through a tunnel behind the waterfall.

We were thankful to have this magical place to ourselves.

We admired from afar, laughed out loud trying to set the timer on the camera and take a picture and passed through the tunnel multiple times.

It was surprisingly quiet in the tunnel. The rock blunted all noise.

As we walked on we ran into 2 trail runners. They asked if we were out for the night. This keeps happening – apparently we don’t look like thru hikers. It can’t be our lack of smell, because that is quite present.

And Andy’s beard is legit. Must be that we are still healthy looking rather than gaunt individuals in short running shorts.

As we got closer to the trailhead we saw more and more people. We inhaled their sweet scents of perfume and deodorant. Laurie enjoys the smells but Andy is repulsed.

We took a side trip down to a punchbowl. We were not sure what was at the end of the long path but it looked clearly used and we were ahead of schedule.

We walked down to a rocky beach. At one end was a narrow canyon and a waterfall. Moss lined the rocks. We were surrounded by beauty.

Laurie took off her clothes to jump in the water. It was chilly but not cold. As she slowly edged deeper and deeper Andy informed her people were coming.

Rats!

She grabbed her underwear and put them on. After all, we were getting closer to civilization and it may not be acceptable to skinny dip with young people around.

Laurie swam around and was tempted but did not swim up to the base of the waterfall.

By the time we left, there were at least 50 people on the rocky beach.

At the trailhead parking lot we met Lois, Paul, Golden Horse and Ben. They were eating an early lunch on a picnic table.

We chatted and hiked together 3 miles along a bike path into Cascade Locks. We picked ripe and sweet blackberries along the way. So good!

Andy picked up our resupply packages at the post office while Laurie joined the others in getting ice cream.

We walked together across the Bridge of the Gods to awaiting family and friends. It was both exciting and sad. This marked the end of Oregon. We walked across the entire state of Oregon!

The end of California didn’t feel as real since we had skipped a portion. This felt like an accomplishment. This hike was finally feeling real, we may actually complete the whole thing!

Golden Horse and Ben’s families were cheering as we got closer and waiving signs. Laurie had tears well up in her eyes.

It was impressive watching these 17 year old men hike day after day, embracing the literal and figurative ups and downs of the trail and loving it.

We took pictures and said our goodbyes. Diana picked us up and drove us back to her house in Portland.

Here we sorted through laundry, played with her two 7 month old golden retriever puppies and went grocery shopping.

We had picked a lot of huckleberries and had our hearts set on making a pie. PIE!

Unfortunately it was hot out so using the oven wasn’t ideal but we did it anyway.

Neither of us are good bakers, we tend to stray from recipes, adding or subtracting from them as we see fit.

With the guidance of Diana locally and Joanna (Laurie’s godmother) from afar we made a delicious huckleberry pie with a crumble top.

We went to bed with happy stomaches and hearts. It feels wonderful to visit friends along the way and we look forward to a zero tomorrow.

Tonight we are grateful for ripe huckleberries and beautiful waterfalls.

Tunnel Falls

From left to right: Paul, Lois, Dribbles, Shuffles, Golden Horse, and Ben

Day 115 – to hike or to eat?

July 30, 2016November 25, 2016 / Andy, Laurie, Miles & Ani / 10 Comments

July 27, 2016

Muddy fork (mile 2106.4) to bushcamp (3.3 miles on Eagle Creek Alternate trail)

Miles:22 (18.7 PCT miles + 3.3 miles on alternate trail)

Today started out with an adventurous stream crossing. Andy went across Muddy Fork last night to get water and knew it would be more challenging with packs on.

Laurie saw this crossing for the first time at 6:15 in the morning.

Muddy Fork is murky, which makes for a tricky ford. But there are two large trees one can use to get across. You ‘simply’ step on one of the trees that is about 5 feet above the water while holding onto a rope rigged on the other tree.

We got across just fine by taking our time. Laurie chose to hold onto the tree rather than the rope and kept asking andy if her feet were on the log as she took steps.

It looks like Oregon isn’t going to let us go without a few more surprises.

We climbed for a few miles under the canopy of tall trees.

Half way up our climb we came upon huckleberry bushes full of burgundy dots. Unfortunately they were sour, probably because they don’t get much sunlight.

We carried on, slightly disappointed.

Having walked only a half mile, we were stopped in our tracks again by more huckleberries. These were in the sun and delicious!

We dropped our packs and got to pickin. After 15 minutes we had purple lips, purple tongues and purple hands. We also had a Talenti jar full of delicious huckleberries.

At this point we decided we should make a huckleberry pie when we get to Portland tommorow. So we kept picking (and eating).

Fifteen minutes later we pulled ourselves from the bushes, shouldered our packs and got hiking. We had hoped to hike at least 24 miles today to leave only 10 miles for tomorrow morning into Cascade Locks, but after hiking only 2.3 miles in the first two hours, we knew this was going to be a tall order.

We hiked down the trail with happy bellies fantasizing about the pie we would make in town.

The trail was more of a rollercoaster today, but it didn’t matter whether we went up or down. We had huckleberry bushes teeming with ripe berries waiting to be picked.

“I can’t pass these up” Laurie said as she stopped for the umpteenth time.

“How could the others pass these up?” Wondered Andy as he dropped his pack to join in on the feast.

Because we set reasonable mileage goals for ourselves everyday we can afford to take multiple breaks and still get to camp on time.

After filling another Talenti with huckleberries we hiked again. Our bodies don’t like stopping and starting because they get stiff, but today it’s worth it.

“Looks like we have to eat lunch as we hike today” Laurie said.

“Yeah, not too many shoes off breaks either” said Andy.

“I have to pee” he continued.

Andy stopped to pee, but was mumbling to himself. As Laurie got closer she realized he was picking and eating huckleberries while peeing.

Ha! Very classy.

From camp last night it was 18.7 miles to the junction with the Eagle Creek Trail. We figured we’d be there by 3:30, not bad considering how little it felt like we had hiked.

Around 130pm the trail opened up and we were treated to more views of Mt. Hood, this time looking south. It was hot and we were sweating buckets but we didn’t care. We stopped for a few moments to appreciate this mountain’s beauty.

Within a week we had walked to and around Mt Hood. This hiking business is pretty amazing. Laurie keeps scheming to find a way to make a living while thru hiking.

A few hours later, we once again escaped from the thick forest and walked along a rocky ridge. Looking north into Washington we could see Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainer. It was simply incredible.

We are realizing that even though the Pacific Crest Trail doesn’t go up and over many peaks, it offers grand views of many of them.

At 3:15 we got to the junction to find Paul and Lois setting up their tent, and Ben and Nate hanging out alongside them.

We told them we were going to continue on a few more miles and that they were welcome to join us.

Paul and Lois were done for the day but the boys came with us.

The trail was very steep at first. No switchbacks, no mercy. Just knee crushing downhill.

The heat today didn’t help either, especially when we crossed over onto the shade less side of the ridge.

After about a half mile we reached a junction and the trail improved. It was gently graded, smooth and wide. It felt like we had entered a temperate rainforest. We were moist, the air felt moist and we were walking amidst a sea of green.

We coasted along until we reached a campsite not on Guthook’s maps (Halfmile doesn’t list any camping options or water sources on his maps or app).

The boys were ready to stop but we wanted to keep moving at first. It was only 5:30pm and we had a goal in mind.

After doing the math and realizing we have 12.5 miles left for tomorrow we decided to call it a day.

This place is beautiful and we are happy to stop early. The trees are tall, it’s very green and not very buggy. Oh, and the creek is only a tenth of a mile away.

Tonight is the last night on trail for Ben and Nate. They are going to be seniors in high school and have other plans before going back to into the classroom.

Nate has hiked all of Oregon with several partners while Ben has hiked over 200 miles. We are very proud of these guys. They are strong hikers and have done an amazing job. It’s a pleasure to share tonight with them.

It really goes to show that everyone out here is ageless. Paul and Lois are in their 50s, we’re in our early 30s and ‘the boys’ are in their teens. It’s one of the aspects that makes this trail very special.

After eating dinner and getting clean in the lukewarm river, we lay in our tent admiring our surroundings.

The sun penetrated through the tall trees, coloring the forest in many shades of green. Staring up we admired the pattern of the branches spiraling out of the trunk. All of this with a nice blue backgtound. If only we were artists, we could try to recreate this image.

It’s truly fabulous here. There is no noise other than that of the creek. And us of course, as we shift on our pads until comfortable.

Once again it’s passed hiker midnight and time for bed, our last night on the trail in Oregon.

Tonight we are grateful for giant trees and shade.