Some days just lack motivation, today felt like one of those days. A warm morning led way to an afternoon where as soon as I got into the sun I couldn’t wait to go back into the trees. The sun was so hot. I was so grateful for the thick tree cover for most of the day. The underbrush has been thick and leafy as well when we entered Washington. All the trees still tower over head.
At our lunch stop, the flies were so annoying and were biting. I felt so hot and tired to go 12 miles to camp. Somehow, we dragged ourselves along. I had to try and hydrate a lot this afternoon and eat more to stave off the dehydration and hunger.
2200 mile marker picture!
The humidity has been wrecking havoc on my hydration.
Eating dinner in two different stops helped keep up the energy levels to camp.
Hello Washington! The forest often appears to be a tropical rain forest with moss hanging from towering trees and various shapes and sizes of undergrowth. It has been lovely so far! We even had a cooler of cold drinks for trail magic today. We had a few different climbs today but the longest one at 3,000 feet was at the end of the day. It was also a 10 miles water carry! About three quarters of the way through the climb, it cooled off and began to have a pleasant brew. I was so glad to have it get cooler.
All in all, at the end of the climb, we felt strong to have made it through all the climbing and still get to campsite at a decent time.
The first day in Washington! This morning we set out from the campground by the river in the town of Cascade Locks. It is such a beautiful place with super nice camping on grass with a potta potty. We walked by the coffee shop on the way to the bridge and stopped for a latte before leaving. It was a great start to the morning! Then we headed to the Bridge of the Gods which spans the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. It is a huge bridge with a metal grate as the bottom road so it is a bit terrifying to walk across. There is also no walking lane so we were glad we waited until early morning on a Sunday with little traffic to walk across.
This is the first time I have ever been to Washington and I am so excited for it!
This is also the first state border crossing we have gotten to walk across on the PCT!
On the far side of the river, we paused to take some pictures with the Bridge of the Gods sign. While we were there, a man driving passed pulled over to talk to us. He said he was a geology teacher and he gave us a bit of info about this area. According to his story, this is called the bridge of the gods because about 5 or 600 years ago there was a massive landslide which caused a natural bridge over the river damming the water but creating some cascading waterfalls where it is now Cascade Locks. The Native Americans named it bridge of the gods at that time. He said it is the most studied landslide in the Pacific Northwest.
Columbia River
The rest of the day was spent climbing a few thousand feet up along the ridge of this old supposed landslide. The first few miles we were feverishly dodging poison oak which sometimes was hanging over the trail. Cascade Locks is the lowest point on the PCT and there is always poison oak at the lower elevations.
After a long day of climbing we were happy to settle into camp near a babbling brook and meet some more hikers along this section!
The beginning and end of today were both quite fun (mostly) and enchanting but the middle was a bit annoying. We woke up last night to drizzles of rain. Packing up a wet tent and damp sleeping bags wasn’t great. Clouds had moved in overnight and brought an overall dampness to the air and also rain. As soon as we had gone a couple miles down the trail, the evidence of rain spattered trail vanished. We were still mostly in a cloud but it was clearing up. The Eagle Creek alternate trail is known for its many waterfall views including Tunnel falls. We had been excited to see tunnel falls since learning of it. About five miles into our morning, I looked up to see a corner in the trail and behind the corner I could hear the loud misty sound of falling water. Tunnel falls is a very tall waterfall where the trail has been chiseled out of the rock to walk around the waterfall basin and behind the falls. The path is narrow and full of slippery rocks and over is edge is about a 50 foot drop into water. I was a bit nervous but also astounded by this neat trail. It was like a tropical rainforest with ferns and so lovely!
Tunnel falls
Once we got past the falls there were several more along the way. There were also about one hundred tourists along the trail as we got nearer to the trailhead. It was a really narrow trail with some poison oak along the side so it was rough to get over to the side of the trail to let people pass without getting a rash.
Once we got into town, we got some diner food which was needed and tried to figure out what to do in town. There was no laundry in town so I did sink laundry which was annoying but we ended the day with some French fries at the brewery. All is well that ends well, I reckon.
I was slow packing up and getting ready this morning. We had a few miles going down hill then a tall climb and the rest of the day were gradual ups and downs. The smooth ways the trail has gone up and down hills in Oregon has been healing to my knees. Today is our last full day hiking in Oregon so I am soaking it up and enjoying it while also so excited for Washington!
Along the trail there have been several opportunities to take some alternative trails to get the best views. One of those was walking along the rim of Crater Lake. Today was a trail down to Ramona falls. The cascade falls glided down dark basalt cliffs with a cool breeze wafting from the base. It was absolutely beautiful! I am so glad we took the scenic route! Most of these alternates meet up with the pct further along the trail. The mileages are usually similar so we don’t miss out on the final total of trail miles overall.
Ramona falls
After the waterfall, I used my plant ID app to check out some of the plants in the rainforest like section of trail. I passed some sicklewort lousetop plant which sounded like something from a potion in a Harry Potter book. I also noticed a Canadian Bunchberry and was excited to see a plant label Canadian since it means we are getting close! We also passed some delicious blueberries!
The last couple miles of trail were an exposed ridge walk with clouds curling up the ridge and billowing over the top. It was super neat to watch the clouds roll in but still be able to see the sun shine on the valley where we are headed tomorrow.
Today we ate at the legendary Timberline Lodge buffet! Before we began the trail I had heard about this buffet. It was talked about on blogs and in YouTube videos. The food was delicious. I ate five plates of food and drank three glasses of soda! Then a few hours later, still ate dinner. The buffet did not disappoint and watching Mount Hood rise up in front of us this morning and peak around corners of the trail was astounding. From our campsite we could see the setting sun’s glow on the mountain and it was beautiful!
Timberline lodge
I was happy to get to talk to mom and Allison today as well. There was surprisingly great service at the lodge and for a couple miles after so I could hike out and talk with mom. We are getting to close to Washington and to so many other neat parts of the trail that are iconic! I am excited for every step ahead of us. Except for maybe the 60 miles south after getting to the border! Since Canada isn’t open to walking traffic yet and the nearest road has had a mudslide, we have to backtrack 60 miles on the PCT to get off of it. Hopefully the mudslide will be cleaned up by the time we get there so we can just back track 30 miles instead.
The last few days have been showing us what I am calling “the green cathedral”. On the AT, people call it “the green tunnel” because of how the rhododendron trees curl in close to you along the trail. In Oregon, we have walked through many green forests but the firs and evergreens are huge and towering above our heads like a cathedral. I love the tall trees and the wonderful fresh smells of the forest. It has been quite humid the last few days but being in the shade of the trees has been a welcome reprieve. The springs and streams we are crossing are cold and some are even glacier fed. This also makes the humidity feel less stifling. All in all, the Oregon forests and volcanoes have made me into a Pacific Northwest fan!
We awoke to a completely soaked tent, wet sleeping bags, and my shirt which was hanging up in the vestibule was damp and cold. The meadow depression we were camped in had collected all the wet moist air which is great for the fragile alpine plants but not great for us. Kevin hates packing a wet tent and was loathe to get up in the cold weather. It isn’t like I liked it either. But we knew we could dry our things out later in the day so we got a move on. So far, we have always been able to dry things out during the day and that has been a massive change and fortunate thing about this trail.
A couple miles into our morning, we both heard some rustling in the bushes across the gully and turned to see a bear headed toward us. Before I could finish my aggressive “hey bear” yell at it, it had turned tail and ran. It probably hasn’t seen people in a long time. This was our first bear sighting on the trail! I was afraid we would go the whole way without seeing one!
Do you think this is a dog or mountain lion?!
Nine miles into our day, we stopped at Lake Olallie. It is a USFS day use area with a great view of Mt Jefferson and a little store. I got some soda, a popsicle, and candy. We spread all our wet things out to dry in the warm sun and hung out for quite some time.
After hanging out for awhile, we made a plan for our miles to Timberline lodge! A giant hotel/restaurant built by the WPA (like the CCC, created by the New Deal during the depression) Their breakfast and lunch buffets are legends on the trail. Since we made our mileage plan a bit shorter, we only went 21 miles today and are going to bed early with the hopes of catching up on sleep!
Today we got to be one of the first thruhikers of this year to legally walk through the recently opened Lionshead fire closure from 2020. On Friday, the PCTA announced the Mt Hood wilderness area had reopened their section of the trail. The first time since the fire in 2020. We are very grateful to the firefighters, trail crews, and advocates who worked hard to get this part of the trail open.
The first part of the day was through a thick shaded fir forest with some ridge top sweeping views of Mount Jefferson. Then the burn area scars became more prevalent. Thankfully, the really exposed and hot sections weren’t too long. We did have one intense river crossing at the Russell Creek. This creek is formed from run off from two glaciers higher up Mount Jefferson. It goes through a narrow canyon so the water is faster and deeper than necessary. After rock stepping across we emerged with semi wet feet.
The last part of the day was a 3000 foot climb. It has been awhile since we have had to do that long of a climb. At the top of the ridge, the view of Mount Jefferson was phenomenal and we could see the crevices on the glacier. It was a big challenging to find a campsite on the other side of the ridge without dead trees or a wind tunnel. But finally I am warm in my sleeping bag and feeling sleep tug at my eyelids.
Today was filled with the process of returning to trail. We had to drop off the rental car at the Redmond airport since they were open on Sundays. It was great to hang out in the airport for awhile to charge our devices. I never realized how perfect airports are for hikers! Bathrooms, outlets, drinking fountains, and restaurants, all while indoors and air conditioned! Then we took an Uber to the town of Sisters, OR. The farmers market was going on in the town square and there was a booth with gluten free dairy free pastries and it was heaven. So far Oregon has had fantastic food in all the towns! There we met Mick who gave us a ride to trailhead. Thanks Mick!
The trail was exposed and warm for the first couple of miles but soon cooled off in evening. It felt great to be back to the trail with 653 miles remaining, but also the body felt sore and not wanting to move. After a good dinner, we headed to bed.
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