Hello all! We are both still healthy, happy, and walking! Due to a lack of time and Internet availability, we were not able to download any photos. We will add them at a better time. Hope all is well with all of you, and we will be in touch as soon as possible.... this may be more miles than usual in Washington without a blog. Northward....
8/22
Towns are always hard to get out of, and Bend was no exception. We scrambled this morning to finish up all the little things on our list and only managed to make it to McDonalds twice! We wanted to walk this section with our friend Honey Buzz, so we were also waiting for him. Luckily, a trail angel gave us a ride to the trail (in a Porsche!), and we hit the dust again at 1 PM. After a gentle, quick climb, we rode ridges all afternoon with excellent views of Mt. Jefferson to the North and the Sisters and Three Fingered Jack to the South. Descending easily, we made camp next to a crystal clear lake, and stayed up late cooking and chatting.
23 PCT miles, 2030 S->N
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| Trail Angels |
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| Three Fingered Jack |
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| Mount Jefferson |
8/23
Honey Buzz, Bert, and Ernie rolled out of their tents after the alarms were "snoozed" a few times to the dominating Mount Jefferson looming above. We cruised down to rushing, silty, glacier fed Russel Creek. Despite the hype of this possibly challenging crossing, we all easily crossed comfortably in our own way : Honey Buzz like a hippo half under water, Bert tap danced across small boulders, and Ernie bounded across the entire creek like a cat afraid of water. After crossing through the lush, lake spotted meadows of Jefferson Park, we climbed to a ridge top with phenomenal views of Jefferson to the South and Mt. Hood to the North. Then, back in the snow, we skied and slid down the ridge as we peered North to soon-to-come, Mt. Hood. It wasn't long before we ran into legendary thru-hiker, Scott Williamson, who is heading South on the trail. His goal is to complete the trip from Canada to Mexico in 65 days, averaging 42 miles a day! Oh yeah, he also walks into every town to resupply and then walks back to the trail! Quite the hero to us and many other hikers across the globe, we chatted with him and took a couple photos before heading in opposite directions. As we walked away, we were all so impressed with the soft spoken, down to earth, humble, friendly superhuman. So thrilled to have met the man! Riding a high from our encounter, we cruised to Ollali Lake Resort for lunch. Beautiful, easy walking all day, we pushed a half hour after dusk to a ridge top to camp.
36 PCT miles, 2066 S->N
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| Honey Buzz and Ernie heading toward Mt. Hood |
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| The Legend, Scott Williamson |
8/24
Today was a day filled with lots of miles and lots of laughs. About 10 miles in, Honey Buzz and Ernie were surprised by a jovial Bert skipping behind them in a pair of SHORT red shorts that he picked up along the trail. We pushed all day (Bert still in his new favorite shorts), passing by vibrant blue lakes, while catching occasional views of Mt. Hood and too much of Bert's legs. We relaxed for a bit and had lunch on Crater Creek Bridge before cruising on into the dark evening past a thunderstorm to a small camp along a creek in a deep gully.
39 PCT miles, 2105 S->N
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| Lightning fast in the short shorts |
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| Hungry bears in a blueberry patch |
8/25
We woke at 6 this morning, feeling the pull of the Timberline Lodge breakfast buffet, just 2 miles away and 1200 feet in elevation above. Leaving the woods and entering ash fields, we got up close and personal with Mt. Hood and oddly enough, the ski lift that was taking people to the top for a day in the snow! Weird sight in August! We had heard about the Timberline breakfast, but we couldn't have even imagined something this incredible. Waffles, pancakes, bacon, sausage, potatoes, eggs, FRESH fruit, you-name-it... They even let us PCT hikers eat with the normal people! After stuffing our faces, we vegged on the couches and finally left the lodge around 11:30 AM. The goal was 30 miles, a crazy push, but once we got rolling, the miles flew by. After traversing some huge gullies, which required ascending and descending more than a thousand feet, we ascended to our last ridge top and rode it into the fading light well past dark, to Indian Spring for camp. We were granted, just before lights out, with a crazy view of Mt. Adams, Mt. Saint Helen's, and Rainier all at once! Beautiful! A late supper followed and in the tent by 10 PM.
32 PCT miles, 2137 S->N
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| Stinky hikers |
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| Plate 4.... |
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The Lodge |
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| From the Base of Hood |
8/26
Up and moving fast as lighting flashed and thunder boomed overhead... We descended quickly in the rain and caught the Eagle Creek alternate route that took us by many huge waterfalls. A true highlight of the entire PCT, we traversed steep slopes and actually went through a tunnel, underneath Tunnel Falls. We were all in awe. 18 easy miles total today brought us to Cascade Locks, OR, home of the Bridge of the Gods, which we will cross tomorrow morning and finally be in Washington!
18 PCT miles, 2155 S->N
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| Ernie and Tunnel Falls |
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| Honey Buzz and Tunnel Falls |
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| Highway blackberries are the best... |
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| The Bridge of the Gods |
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| Healthy? |
White Pass, WA (Mile 2302.8) - September 1st
Snoqualmie Pass, WA (Mile 2401.7) - September 5th
Skykomish, WA (Mile 2476.3) - September 8th
Stehekin, WA (Mile 2574.1) - September 12th
CANADA BORDER (Mile 2663) - September 15th
We need your good vibes, love, and support more than ever for this last leg.
Much Love,
F+A
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