July 10, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 1809.6) to hwy 62 (mile 1818)

Miles: 8.4

Total miles walked: 1411.7

It started raining around 10 pm and didn’t stop. It was like a crescendo, moments of hard rain transitioning to softer rain, then pausing before a gust of wind brought another bought of heavy rain. This repeated all night.

We were cozy in our tent. No puddles this time. Just cold air.

When our alarm went off at 5 we bargained with Speed to leave at 6:30 rather than 6. It was only 8.8 miles to the highway and Nana (Laurie’s godmother whose name is Joanna). We had asked her to meet us around 10 am. It was more appealing to walk fast to make up time rather than wait around in the cold.

We left camp at 6:30 exactly. As we walked it started to rain, then sleeted then snowed. Our hands and toes were aching from the cold.

Laurie led the charge, walking fast in an attempt to get warm.

We didn’t talk much, all of us uncomfortable and wishing the sun would come out.

As we walked up a hill Andy mentioned “I need to slow down, I am starting to sweat.”

That opened the door for Speed, “Tell Dribbles to slow down. We will be an hour early.”

“I am just so excited” chimed in Laurie as she slowed down.

We walked at a comfortable 2 miles per hour embracing the rain and sleet and smell of wet earth.

The ground was soft and the walking easy. Although, everything feels easy when you know you have a shower and homemade pie in your near future.

From 100 meters away from the trailhead Laurie spotted Joanna. She waved and Joanna waved back.

“Nana!” Exclaimed Laurie as she attempted to run down the trail, as much as anyone can run after walking 540 miles without a day off.

We all hugged and Joanna went into trail angel mode – offering watermelon, soda, beer, chips and brownies.

Unfortunately with the cold, all we wanted was a heated car.

We ate potato chips as we reconfigured the car to fit 3 wet hikers plus Joanna and all the food.

We made it work and drove to Mazama Village (the campground at Crater Lake) where we picked up our resupply boxes, said goodbye the Speed and left him with a bag of brownies.

Given the rain and snow, we opted to postpone the sightseeing and drove to our motel in Prospect hoping they would have a room ready. Within 30 minutes we were in our room unpacking wet and stinky backpacks and clothes.

We showered and enjoyed a gourmet picnic on the bed – hummus, veggies, tomato and mozzarella with olive oil and PIE!

Joanna had made a gluten free strawberry rhubarb pie for Laurie and blackberry, blueberry and peach pie for Andy. We were in heaven!

We hung our tent in the bathroom to dry while we made a field trip to the laundromat.

Laundromats provide a lot of entertainment and allow passer through-ers (like us) the opportunity to get a sense of a town.

The people who came and left the laundromat were friendly. They offered their opinion on the quality of the laundromat and gave advice on which washers and dryers to avoid.

Unfortunately, each time the advice came too late. But it didn’t matter, we were happy to have some sembelence of clean clothes.

The sun came out as we waited at the laundromat. Joanna took a nap in Laurie’s lap as we worked on our blog posts.

We attempted to upload them but the wifi was too slow. We returned to our motel and tried again. Again, it wouldn’t work. We were both frustrated.

This keeps happening. After the most recent WordPress update the uploads fails unless we have strong wifi; not even 4G will suffice.

While attempting to upload we chatted with other people staying at the motel and B&B. One woman asked what has been the best unexpected aspect of the trip.

We both paused.

Our answers were similar; the Northern California sunrises, wildflowers and the joy of meeting other hikers and people in town.

Around 7 pm we returned to our room and had dinner in bed. Andy has been talking about Thai curry for over 1000 miles and Joanna surprised him with red and green curry. It was delicious!

Thanks Joanna!!

Then we had pie for dessert. It was another feast. Laurie felt so full she thought her stomach would explode. So much fresh and delicious food – neither of us wanted to stop eating!

We feel so deeply grateful for the support of our families. Thank you Joanna for all the yummy food!

By 8 pm the rain had stopped. Laurie and Joanna took a short walk to a waterfall. Unfortunately the mosquitoes were out in full force so they didn’t stay out very long. Even towns can’t escape the July mosquito frenzy!

It’s been a great day and we’re hoping the weather clears for tomorrow when we go to Crater Lake!

Tonight we are grateful for visits from family and Joanna’s homemade pies.

Everyday the trail offers a new challenge and delight. Some things are the same since we started hiking over 3 months ago and some things have changed. We thought it would be fun to share the list we created of what has and hasn’t changed over 1325 miles.

What hasn’t changed:

Laurie hikes with her head down. She frequently runs into tree branches because she is staring at her feet rather than looking ahead.

Andy walks looking up – at the clouds, trees and signs. Unfortunately this means he frequently trips over logs and rocks.

Laurie still laughs when Andy trips.

We both still attempt to clean our feet as much as possible before going to bed.

Laurie still smells her armpits every morning and night hoping someday the smell will disappear (or maybe she will stop caring).

Laurie still hates the heat, it makes her grumpy and sluggish.

We still have nightly discussions on which side of our proposed campsite is higher and thus, where we put our heads.

Blogging is still as time consuming as on day one.

It still takes us 45 minutes to one hour to pack and start hiking each morning.

What has changed:

Walking 15 miles feels like a morning jaunt rather than an entire day’s activity.

Laurie walks faster, particularly in the morning or when there is someone in front of her.

Andy has lost hair on his quads (boxers and pants pulling on sweaty legs), Laurie has gained hair on her legs.

We love one another more.

We have many food fantasies.

We believed but now know there are many generous and kind people in this world.

Thru hiking isn’t glamorous, no matter how much major retailers try to market it as such.

Laurie has lost her love handles (but not her cheeks 👍)

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This adventure is not without its hardships but it has been quite amazing. It has brought us closer as a couple and allowed each of us to step away from a traditional life and truly live.

We look forward to another 1325 miles and sharing the stories and lessons with you as they come!

July 9, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 1786.9) to bushcamp (mile 1809.6)

Miles: 23.7 (22.7 PCT miles + 1 mile after taking wrong turn)

Total miles walked: 1403.3

The rain continued throughout the night. When our alarm clock went off at 5am we did not want to move. We had all agreed to be hiking by 6 unless it was raining.

It was raining.

We talked to one another through our tents and pushed our departure back to 6:30am. It’s really hard to motivate and get out of a cozy sleeping bag when you have to put on wet clothes, wet socks, wet shoes and wet rain gear…. and then carry a wet tent.

The sky was gray and gloomy when we started walking. From the get go we were climbing over logs. Our already wet feet were now cold from the wet plants.

It wasn’t fun. We were cold and wet and we had a long day of hiking ahead of us. This is where thru hiking becomes a mental game. It is a challenge to find the beauty despite the discomfort. We both had to dig deep within ourselves to find a smile.

“The wetness is only temporary” Laurie kept reminding herself.

The hardest part was dreading walking in the rain for another day and getting into a wet tent with damp sleeping bags. We didn’t know what the day would bring- more rain, sun? Only time would tell and in the meantime we continued to slosh down the trail.

At one point Laurie stopped to pee. It was pouring and as soon as she dropped her pants the mosquitoes swarmed. Dirty water ran down her legs from her raincoat soaking her underwear. This was her low point of the day.

“If it continues to rain day after day, I am going home” stated Laurie.

“I totally understand.” Replied Andy. “I will have my dad ship me my solo tent.”

Andy later shared that he has enjoyed the challenges of the last few days. This is what Mother Nature gave us and we deal. It feels satisfying to know that we are able to cover the miles with smiles on our faces despite the wet weather and blow downs.

The herd may not have to deal with these conditions. Andy takes satisfaction in knowing that he is working hard and is able to continue north, despite the challenges.

The rain was a constant drizzle for the first few hours. Around 10:30 the sky lightened and a little bit of sun peaked through.

“Come on sun” we chanted looking up at the sky pleadingly.

Around 11 am we reached the high point of the day, near Devils Peak. The clouds were starting to lift and we had a view of a lake across the valley.

“Look, we can actually see things again!” Exclaimed Andy enthusiastically.

The sun popped in and out of the clouds as we descended. We encountered some snow but nothing compared to the Sierras. We took our time and got down with only 1 slip. It was actually fun to be back on the white stuff.

Once back on dirt trail we saw a nice campsite and stopped with the intention of drying out the rain fly. As soon as we stretched it out, the sky clouded over. We packed up the sopping wet fly and continued down the trail.

Around 12:30 at one of the last creeks before Crater Lake, still 20 miles away, we heard voices. Speed and another couple were sitting on a log eating lunch while they dried out their tents. We joined the lunch party after stretching out our tent, fly and Tyvek groundsheet.

We hung out for about 30 minutes, attempting to dry ourselves and our gear in the occasional bouts of sunshine.

Laurie sat on a rock with her palms facing towards the sky, letting the warmth of the sun rays penetrate her hands and gloves. It felt magical.

Around 1 pm we packed everything up and continued down the hill. Thankfully the sun continued to peer through the clouds.

We continued to climb over, under and around trees all day. The only real break was when we were close to Devils Peak walking on shale. In the morning especially, it was hard to find a groove when we had to stop every 10 yards to get over a hurdle.

We walked through a large burn area with thousands of small fir trees. It felt like we were walking through a Christmas tree farm.

By late afternoon Andy was so used to walking over logs that he nonchalantly led us over a pile of logs across the trail. Laurie was staring at the ground, listening to a podcast and blindly followed.

It wasn’t until we came to a junction that we realized we were not on the right trail. A sign for the PCT pointed back in the direction we had come. Rats.

Andy was beating himself up because the detour cost us 1 mile, more time and more effort. This is the first time we have taken a wrong turn this whole hike. Andy wanted to get to camp before the rain and walking too quickly and not paying attention led to his mistake. We turned around and retraced our steps.

By the time we got to camp our clothes were dry. Our socks and shoes were still damp and quite stinky but SO much better than the night before.

We ate dinner sitting outside with Speed. Such a treat and something we didn’t think was possible given the mozzies yesterday. It quickly got cold but thankfully because of the drop in temperature, there were very few mosquitoes.

Around 8 pm we crawled into our tent and sleeping bags. Tonight may be one of the coldest nights on trail, at least in a long time. We hope it doesn’t rain!

Tomorrow we will meet Joanna, Laurie’s Godmother, where hwy 62 intersects the PCT. We are excited to see her and explore Crater Lake. None of us have been there before.

Our bodies are excited for a break. In less than a month we have walked over 500 miles with no rest days.

Now, it is time for bed. Tomorrow has another 5 am wake up call. Sigh.

Tonight we are grateful for sunshine to dry our tent and a stove with which we make warm meals.