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. 

July 26, 2016

Timberline Lodge Junction (mile 2094.4) to Muddy Fork (mile 2106.4)

Miles: 12

Our total miles: 1700.1

Laurie woke up to her alarm at 5:10am. She tried to go back to sleep but her mind was racing. Towns do this to her. 

She gets anxious and has trouble just being. We both hoped this trail would help change that, and maybe it has, but old tendencies still surface.

Since she couldn’t sleep, she got up, got dressed and went to watch the sunrise. Mt Jefferson stood proudly above the clouds, turning a pale pink when kissed by the morning sun.

When Andy woke up we packed up most of our things but left our food bags hanging so curious critters wouldn’t chew through our tent. We headed down to the lodge around 6:45 to charge our electronics before the breakfast buffet opened at 7:30.

We had heard wonderful things about the Timberline Lodge breakfast buffet from day hikers and thru hikers. If it were only from thru hikers we would have been skeptical since the word buffet holds more value than the food itself. But since the myth was validated by day hikers we chose to check it out. 

Breakfast was good and we ate lots. 

Eggs, sausage, potatoes, smoothies and pastries for Andy and whipped cream for Laurie. We left content but not overly full.

We spent the next few hours talking with friends and family. We chatted with Cakes, a woman we last saw around Chester (mile 1335) and Coke, a German man we met descending Mt Whitney. Once again the trail has an amazing way of bringing people together.

With 2.5 days to walk 50 miles we felt no sense of urgency. Apparently the lack of urgency leads to slow going. Originally we had planned to be hiking by noon but that quickly transitioned to 1pm.

We finally shouldered our packs around 1:15pm and headed north once again. It was hard to gain momentum since we were stopped every 3 minutes to yield to hikers walking uphill towards us. 

We saw all types of backpackers today – overnighters, section hikers and a few SOBOs (southbound PCT’ers). We saw people carrying dogs, lawn chairs and tiny backpacks.

The trail felt like a highway. We stopped to talk with one woman, Debbie, who was coming back from 2 nights out with her granddaughter. She asked to take our picture and said she was so impressed by us.

It is strange and funny that people treat us like celebrities. We feel like it is a priveledge to be out here. We are no more special than a grandmother and granddaughter finishing a 3 day journey around Mt Hood.

We crossed Zigzag creek by walking on two planks of wood- one much more stable than the other, then descended some more. 

The trail dropped a total of 1000 feet. We took Debbie’s suggestion and veered to the right at the Paradise Park junction. With a name like that how can one resist?

Our maps showed the junctions with Paradise Park Loop trail and PCT but not the trail itself. It didn’t matter though, we were up for the adventure.

We switchbacked out of the forest into a sea of greenery. Paintbrush, daisies, cat’s ears and other small white flowers lined the trail. 

At a junction we took a narrow trail up towards the base of Mt Hood. Laurie, like her mother, likes to hike uphill and rarely turns down an opportunity to do so. The trail was steep but neither of us could resist the temptation of hiking up for a nice view. 

We stopped partway up the Paradise Park trail, not knowing how far the trail went, and recognizing we still had miles to make before daylight faded. We paused for a few moments to take some pictures and cool off in the wind before heading down. The day was warm and with all the uphill walking we were both drenched in sweat.

We headed back down to the loop trail and eventually back to the PCT. We walked past many more wildflowers, streams and awesome looking campsites. This little detour was amazing and we were so glad we hiked it! 

Once back on the PCT we continued to descend. Laurie turned to her audiobook for distraction and Andy took the lead.

We popped out of the trees overlooking a very large and deep valley around Sandy Creek. Suddenly our very well groomed trail turned to sand. We were walking on a foot wide flat spot on the edge of a 1000 ft drop off. There were footprints and no other trail in sight. We both gripped onto the evergreen trees and Laurie avoided looking down.

This can’t be the PCT we remarked to one another. But where did we go wrong?

Rather than turning around and walking back up the sketchy sandy ridge, we kept going down. We pushed our way through bushes following a very narrow sandy path. We looked at our gps which confirmed we were off the PCT but only by 150 ft.

We bushwhacked our way back to the trail, stepping over logs and pushing back branches.

After 10 minutes Andy spotted the familiar 18 inches of dirt. Thank goodness! Our familiar friend- the PCT!

We happily continued down the trail, dropping another 2000 feet before reaching the Sandy Creek crossing. We managed to keep our feet dry by walking on a pile of logs.

Less than a mile later we turned right onto the Ramona Falls Alternate. The trail (which used to be the official PCT) led us slightly up and then down to the beautiful Ramona Falls. We arrived around 5:30pm and had the place to ourselves. Laurie bathed in the water and Andy washed his face and feet. 

Water poured over the dark and mossy rocks. It smelled like wet earth and provided a nice coolness to the hot evening. Another worthwhile detour! 

After leaving the falls we crossed the river on several bridges comprised of singular logs and one handrail.

Around 7 pm we joined back with the PCT and immediately saw tents. Golden Horse and Ben were on one side of the trail and Lois and Paul on the other. We had planned on hiking further but given the time and need to catch up on blogging we opted to stop.

We set up the tent, chatted with everyone and ate dinner. Surrounding us was a carpet of green. As the sun set we were cozy in our tent. The air was warm and we admired the tall trees through the mesh of our tent.

Tonight we are grateful for opportunities to talk with friends and family and the willingness to take risks and diverge off of the PCT.