Day 97- 98 (August 14-15th)
Mile 2149.5 – 2149.5
Today: 0 miles
Total PCT: 1694.3 miles
Though we only planned one zero in Cascade Locks, an unbearable heatwave caused us to extend our stay (and to move accommodations to somewhere with air conditioning). We spent the last two days eating ice cream, hitching to the nearest Walmart, buying and mailing resupply boxes for all of Washington and generally chilling out!
Once we got air conditioning, life got a lot better. One last night in Oregon before me move on to the beautiful state of Washington!
Day 99 (August 16th)
Mile 2149.5 – 2175.1
Today: 25.6 miles
Total PCT: 1719.9 miles
First day in Washington!! This morning we crossed the Bridge of the Gods from Oregon into Washington. With no pedestrian lane, the bridge was one of the more dangerous parts of the trail, but luckily traffic wasn’t too heavy and people were moving slowly.
We are still in a major heatwave and the heat definitely took its toll– and it didn’t help that we hiked nearly the whole day up hill! Fortunately around 5pm there was a nice deep Creek with a swimming hole for us to rinse off our thick layer of sweat. We had dinner at the creek and enjoyed our break, but ultimately we wanted to hike another 6 miles today. I left the creek around 7pm and began my trek up to our actual campsite. It was slow going and I soon had to pull out my headlamp as the sun set and darkness fell under the thick canopy. I made it to camp around 9:30pm and found a sea of tents. Fortunately, there was still space for me, so I set up and crawled into my tent for another hot night. Since it’s so hot, it is a great night to tent without my fly. This combined with the new moon makes for great Perseid meteor shower views!
Day 100 (August 17th)
Mile 2175.1 – 2200.5
Today: 25.4 miles
Total PCT: 1745.3 miles
Okay, that total PCT distance is starting to look fake. And so is the number of days I’ve been on trail! How could I have hiked over 1700 miles in 100 days? It hardly seems possible!
After a tough week or so of trail days, today was a much needed change. Despite the high humidity and some big climbs, I felt strong and happy to be on trail. I took lots of breaks today to enjoy the rivers and to recover after huge climbs.
I saw the Tram every 3-5 miles for water and snack breaks. I slept in until 6am. I got some trail magic in the form of an apple in a brown paper bag set beside the trail with a little sign saying ‘Trail Magic’. I got to camp before 7pm! And there was a pit toilet at camp! š It really is the little things.
Day 101 (August 18th)
Mile 2200.5 – 2226.5
Today: 26.0 miles
Total PCT: 1771.3 miles
T-minus 1 day until our dear Corpsi turns 27! In order to ensure he can have a beer in town on his birthday, we slowed down our pace these past two days– and it has been wonderful! It is so lovely to be able to stop and sit in a beautiful place for 15 minutes without worrying about what time you will arrive at camp. It is so nice to see my friends so much during the day– at second breakfast, lunch, and during several impromptu breaks during the day. Sometimes we just sat next to a lake, in the sun, in silence eating huckleberries.
And more time to swim! Today, I was about 2 miles away from camp when I ran into Salty who asked if I wanted to hike 0.3 miles off trail to a lake for a swim. Obviously, I said yes and we left a sign to direct the others to follow if they wanted. We ended up having a really lovely swim and arrived at camp around 6pm, feeling clean and refreshed! And with so much time to enjoy the evening! For dinner I ate another of the delicious homemade dehydrated meals that my sister made for me and that my handsome, lovely, partner mailed to me.
Since we are staying one extra night on trail than we expected, we are all reaching the bottom of our food bags. After dinner and my post-dinner snacks, the only food left in my bag was 2 granola bars, a couple handfuls of spicy peanuts and my electrolytes– exactly enough to get me the 5 miles to the road into town tomorrow morning! My backpack was so light today that my foot pain was much less severe and the frequent breaks gave me lots of chances to massage them. Overall it has been a really lovely couple of days and I am so happy to be out here!
Day 102 (August 19th)
Mile 2226.5 – 2231.6
Today: 5.1 miles
Total PCT: 1776.4 miles
This morning I awoke peacefully at 5:15am, so that I could sneak over to Corpsi’s tent before his alarm and wake him with a loud rendition of “Happy Birthday!”. His scream of terror fueled me for the quick 5 mile hike to the shuttle into the town of Trout Lake.
It was an icy cold morning, so while waiting for the shuttle, we cuddled up on Thunder’s foam pad, using my ground sheet as a blanket. While we waited, Corpse opened the birthday present that his girlfriend and family mailed him (which he has been carrying since Cascade Locks). Letters! And chocolates! We perused the menu of chocolates until the shuttle arrived.
From there the day was very relaxing. Trout Lake consists of a very hiker-friendly general store, a couple of restaurants, a campground, and a church. We sat in the hiker oasis beside the general store all day– doing laundry in their free washer (after a creek pre-rinse), eating ice cream, and cuddling with the incredibly friendly resident cats. Anytime you sat on the ground, one of them would crawl into your lap for a cuddle.
We ate at the restaurant, shopped at the store, showered at the campground, and are now camped behind the church. This evening we hitched a couple miles down the road to get pizza. On our way home, we thought we wouldn’t have much luck getting a ride as it was getting dark. But the very first car to go past was a bus of rafting guides heading to a concert who happily stopped and picked us up. They cheered as we got on and off the bus and sang a cacophonous rendition of “Happy Birthday”!
We then went back to the church and sinned by drinking a six pack of beer on the picnic tables out back. Corpse will be leaving us in about a week to rendezvous with his girlfriend– ending a nearly 2000 mile odessey together. In honour of this, and his birthday, he wrote a speech which made me tear up and Thunder flat out sob. Oh Corpsi, our sweet, sentimental boy. Happy birthday to you, mi vida!
