Ore-GONE!
Well, Oregon is a wrap! The rest of the Beaver state was incredibly beautiful and surprisingly challenging. As we progressed north, the trail became what I’d always dreamed Oregon to be- lush, green, mossy, and full of rushing streams, clear lakes, and waterfalls. The grade and condition of the trail was definitely easier than much of the PCT, but for some reason it didn’t feel any easier for me. I think that at this point of a thruhike, 2,150 miles and 3.5 months in, the cumulative fatigue is wearing me down both physically and mentally. Hiking can quickly become the daily grind when you’re exhausted and pushing to meet deadlines. Early mornings, late nights, and always more miles to go before we can sleep took a toll on my mind. But, it was all worth it because we made it to Cascade Locks on the 18th, in town for a wonderful and fun vacation in Portland with Mom and Jean! It’s been a much needed break I’d been looking forward to for weeks.
After Crater Lake, we hiked towards Shelter Cove Resort. This section of the trail was part of the course I ran on Waldo 100k last summer. It was really cool to relive the race hiking with Alpaca, who paced me for the second half, and I could actually appreciate the views this time around! We stayed in a sweet ski hut on Maiden Peak with our German hiking friends Backwise and Sneezl, and Leopard Sauce read love poetry to us. The next days were full of flat walking and endless lakes, some of which I went swimming in. We stopped at Elk Lake Resort for breakfast and got hooked up with free tubes to float around on the lake. It really felt like summer vacation in that moment! Our next town stop was Bend, and we spent a great evening eating delicious food, sampling some of the excellent craft beers, and celebrating our trail friend Mikey’s birthday.
We had a sweet hitch back from Bend, where our driver Charlie took us to his friend’s farm and let us harvest our own carrots, tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers! The farmer, James, thruhiked the PCT last year and understood how stoked we were to pack out some fresh veggies. I even had some dehydrated hummus I made on the trail to dip them in, a real treat. The next day and a half was a bit foggy and rainy, and I didn’t even realize what we were walking into until we had hiked past Mt Jefferson. When the clouds lifted and I turned around to look behind me, my jaw dropped. Mount Jefferson park was absolutely stunning.
From there we pushed on to Timberline Lodge, where we had the best breakfast on the trail. It was an all you can eat breakfast buffet for $15. I had four plates- a hot plate (eggs, sausage, potatoes, biscuit and gravy, etc), a Belgian waffle plate (piled high with chocolate chips, fruit and homemade heavy whipped cream), a bowl of homemade yogurt and granola, and then a plate of pastries. This was my best eating effort on the trail yet, I think my Dad would be proud that I actually got my money’s worth!
The last 50 miles of Oregon flew by in another day and a half, and it included one of my favorite sections of the whole trail so far- the alternate Eagle Creek Falls route into Cascade Locks. The side trail passed probably 6 or more epic waterfalls, one of which you even got to walk under. It was perfect hiking weather, and the excitement of seeing Mom and Jean trumped all the exhaustion I felt from the last week. I ran down the path into Cascade Locks, feeling like I was finishing an ultramarathon. The last two days have been a lovely break in Portland, filled with good things to eat, drink, and of course great company.
Portland is such a fun city, and we’ve been fortunate to experience some really special rides in unique transportation. We got a ride in the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile, the RAGE bus, and the Planter’s Peanutmobile. Thanks to the Gleanings Foundation, the team is about to enjoy brunch, our favorite meal!, at the Screen Door in the city. Then, it’s back to the trail into WASHINGTON! Just about 3 weeks left to this wild and life-changing adventure…
Miles of Misadventures 