I “slept in” until 6:45am today, but was so hungry that I got up and went to eat at the restaurant, after making coffee and eating yogurt in our room. Bill was still feeling sick and weak, so he did not join me, but stayed in bed. When I got to the restaurant, there were backpacks everywhere and lots of hikers. Fun! I ended up having a lot of different conversations with different folks. Many of them have skipped large portions (all of Oregon, in one case!) of the PCT to be here.

But one of the hiker ladies I talked to who is my age (62) and I were comparing notes on how thin we had become. She knows about “medical stuff” and told me, “You and I aren’t hormone-protected like the younger women. Their bodies fight to hang on to every ounce of fat, but we’re post-menopausal, so we don’t have that anymore. We’re kind of in the same boat as the men now. You notice how thin they are?” And I realized she was right.The guys are all really skinny.  So I guess I’ll just do the best I can. Only 500 miles to go!

After breakfast, I went back to check on Bill.  He still did not look or feel good, but he still wanted to go to church. I wanted to go, too, and it was only a short walk  to Cascade Locks Community Church. Turns out they have Awana, Good News Club and they are really nice! There was a potluck after the service, which I went to, but Bill did not feel well and went back to bed. He says he is determined to leave tomorrow morning as planned, so once I got back from church, I am loaded up the packs and got everything ready to go.

For dinner I went all by myself (Bill still could not face any food) over to a pizza place that the hikers all seem to like.  The pizza was OK, but I’ve had better ones.  I saved a couple of small pieces for Bill, in case he felt up to eating anything, and when I got back to our room, he did nibble on them.  Poor Bill!  I’ve been running around having fun and eating to my heart’s delight, while he’s been feeling sick and lying in bed.  I am asking God to please help him feel better.  Tomorrow we begin the PCT in Washington!

Walk with Aragorn to Minas Tirith: Following along the River Ciril

We stayed in our sleeping bags until 6:30 this morning! No hiking today! Bill was very tired, and I was very hungry, so at 7:00am, we headed out for a wonderful  breakfast at the Inn. We left our packs and stuff at Trail Days, so after breakfast we walked down the main street to check out motels, and ended up where we stayed before— the Columbia Gorge Motel— the only one with a vacancy. Then it was showers, laundry, visiting with my family from Portland, and the rest of the day I spent mending Bill’s very torn-up pants.

Bill himself is not doing well. He looks pale and sick again, his stomach hurts and he’s having “plumbing problems.” He spent most of the day lying down, did not eat much at all, and said he felt very weak. He did take one short walk to look at gear from the Trail Days vendors. 

Trail Days is nowhere near like ADZPCTKO.  No food is available (unless you buy it), and there are more non-thruhikers than there are thruhikers.  We decided that it’s not worth killing yourself to get here!  Oh well.  Taking a couple of zeros here means I can work at  eating all kinds of food, trying to get some fat back on me! I feel strong, but one look in the mirror and I know I need food!

We were in bed way early, and boy, did that mattress feel good.

Walk with Aragorn to Minas Tirith: Following along the River Ciril

Our last day hiking the PCT in Oregon! It was still very dark when we started, so we used our headlamps for a little while.  Clouds were still around us, but slowly cleared back, so we could see pretty well; the deep valleys and steep mountains all around us matched the contours on our maps, so we had a pretty good idea where we were and it was encouraging to chart our progress. The really distant mountains like Adams and St. Helens were hidden in the clouds. Oh well, that’s normal!  We did spot Lost Lake down below.  I have very good memories of going to that lake when I was a kid and we were visiting my aunt & uncle on their dairy farm nearby. 

The PCT really lives up to the “Crest” part of its name throughout this section.  We were way up high pretty much all morning and most of the afternoon.  The result was that we were either IN the clouds or else had clouds just over our heads in the treetops.  At one point this morning, we were hiking in very barren terrain, where the trail junction signs were supported by rock cairns.  The wind was blowing hard, and I can imagine that being up here in a storm would be downright wild.  Many very interesting alpine plants covered the ground.  If I weren’t thruhiking, I’d have sat down to have a good look at them.

By lunchtime we were at Wasco Lake, since we’d  decided to just follow the PCT into Cascade Locks instead of doing the Eagle Creek alternate. NOT A GOOD IDEA! The Eagle Creek trail is a bit scary if you don’t like heights and big dropoffs, and it is almost a mile longer,  but it has one huge benefit— it is all downhill. The PCT has a lot of uphill, some very steep, and it becomes very rocky and rough.

At Wasco Lake, the lake really is very pretty, but it’s very hard to figure out where the PCT goes, since there are trails wandering everywhere and the signage is minimal.  We beat about hunting for the PCT, and wasted a bunch of time, before I finally said, “Phooey on this!  Let’s just walk along Road 670 for a little bit, then bushwhack downhill back to the PCT!”  So that’s what we did.  Then came the long climb up to the Benson Plateau, which is an interesting little world in itself–Oregon Desert again, but this time with the addition of beargrass.  But we were tired, and the climb up to it was not fun.  Glimpses through the trees gave us some idea of how high up were were–very high indeed! 

Finally, at last!!! the trail began the long downhill to Cascade Locks.  We left the Oregon Desert behind and were back into pretty evergreens.  The lower we got, the more we saw maple trees and broadleafed plants, including poison oak starting to turn red.  We cheered when we reached what I call “The Big Viewpoint”.  Below us lay the blue Columbia River–across the river was Mt. Adams!   Washington State in sight! 

But then the trail got really cantankerous.  There were lots of switchbacks (no problem), but the trail tread was very rough and rocky.  The rocks underfoot ranged from talus fields where you have to pick your way across very carefully, trying not to twist an ankle, to simply pointed rocks sticking up out of the trail everywhere.    Our feet were very tired, and those rocks really hurt.  We had to slow down quite a bit, which was frustrating when we were so close to the “finish line”!

I took heart, though, when we entered what I call the “maple zone” where we were walking through a forest intertwined with maples and evergreens, with maple predominating.  It is so pretty there!  We started to meet backpackers who were heading out for the weekend, carrying their huge, heavy packs and wearing hiking boots.  They were all so clean!  The only bummer was that there’s a lot of UPhill in the last 4 miles before Cascade Locks.  UPhill–oh man, that’s just WRONG!  All we could do was sigh and trudge along some more. 

But you know what?  The good ol’ method of “just keep putting one foot in front of the other” does work, and finally we did reach the final turn into Cascade Locks  at around 6:30pm.  We headed straight for the Cascade Locks Inn restaurant so we could EAT, and eat we did–steak and baked potatoes.  Feeling much better, we walked on over to Trail Days at Thunder Island.  As part of the PCT Class of 2011, we got to camp there for free, and we wasted no time in rolling out the ground cloth and setting up a quick cowboy camp near the river.  Then we totally crashed.  There was an evening program at Trail Days, and there were trains going by, and other campers talking, but we ignored them all and just went to sleep.  We are tiiiiiired!  And I think we look like wrecks.  But we met the challenge, and it’s hard to believe that we made it all the way through Oregon in only 15 days.  Wow!  Thankyou, Lord!

Walk with Aragorn to Minas Tirith: Following along the River Ciril

We were a little late getting up because  1) The watch alarm didn’t go off  and 2) I was burrowed into my sleeping bag and didn’t see the sky lightening.  It was 5:35–horrors!–when I woke up.  We packed up as fast as we could and hit the trail.  And Bill was totally on a tear–he took off like gangbusters and said, “See you at breakfast–I’ll stop at 7:00.”  He was soon out of sight.  I just can’t hike that fast, because I’m too klutzy–I’d be falling on my face every 5 minutes from tripping over something.  So I said, “Lord, just put me on Your cruise control”  and I hiked along as fast as I felt comfortable with. 

Bill waited for me just past the Tolay Camp junction.  A whole bunch of thruhikers were camped at the junction itself, but nobody had even ventured out of their tent yet!!  I couldn’t wait for breakfast–I was really hungry.  Our cup ‘n a half of granola & nuts just doesn’t cut it anymore.  I’ve been bringing some stuff to add to it.  Yesterday we had a Danish and granola.  This morning it was a bun with peanut butter plus the granola.   After breakfast, Bill took off, and I didn’t see him till “Snickers break” at 10:30. 

The PCT was in the forest again, and there had been some very nice trail engineering work.  One place in particular involved a sharp bend in the trail on a steep hill, and somebody had done a great job with rocks to make a very secure trail tread.  Very nice!  Trail gorillas are awesome!  A little while later, though, I came to a place where a huge tree had fallen down and left a big hole where the trail used to be.  I had to scramble around it.  Memories came back of our first ever backpacking trip in Lassen Nat’l. Park.  The same problem had happened on a trail in the Cluster Lakes area, and guys were working to fix the big hole.  They were using horses with saddlebags full of dirt to bring in enough stuff to fill the huge hole.  No sign of hardworking horses here, though–I guess eventually somebody will get around to filling in the hole. 

The PCT kept contouring around mountainsides to the road at Windigo Pass, where there was a nice water cache, left (according to a note there) by Lloyd Gust of Bend, OR.  The note had a phone number with, “Call me if the cache is running low.”  Well, it WAS running pretty low, but we don’t have a phone.  Bill was waiting for me, since it was Snickers time,  so we just topped up our quart bottles, had our snack, and left the PCT for the alternate route we did before, which goes via Crescent Lake to Shelter Cove.  Why do we like this alternate route?  Well, 1) It is 7 miles shorter    2) It has lots of water    3) It is low enough to be out of snow problems   4) It goes straight to Shelter Cove–no backtracking on the road   5) It actually is the original PCT route, which followed the Oregon Skyline Trail   6) It goes past several very pretty lakes.   Need any more reasons?   I think that’s plenty!

The alternate begins with a short roadwalk to the Oldenberg Lake trail, and we met a carful of guys who stopped to talk and were amazed that we’d walked all the way up from Mexico!  The Oldenberg Lake trail goes nicely up and down through Oregon Desert type forest, and it’s easy going.  When we stopped for lunch, though, Bill just bonked.  He didn’t just sit down and rest–he totally collapsed, and could barely manage to eat.  It took quite awhile before he felt strong enough to go on, and he was no longer on a tear, way out ahead of me, but was falling behind and having a very hard time going up any hills.  I was very worried.

The trail passes several pretty lakes, notably big and beautiful Crescent Lake, where our route led through the horse camp.  We stopped to reload on water and have some bug juice, and Bill collapsed again.  He just lay on the ground and looked very pale.  We sat there for some time before getting underway.  At our afternoon Snickers break, he could not eat, and felt very nauseated.  By now, to put it mildly, I was extremely concerned, and the trail didn’t make it any easier–all uphill.  Bill was only able to plod along. 

Finally we got to Diamond View Lake, where other backpackers were swimming.  It was a very warm afternoon–oh man, did I wish I could jump in the lake, too!    By suppertime, I was starving hungry, but Bill could only drink some Emergen-C and nibble at a little piece of sandwich.  I ended up eating BOTH our sandwiches plus all the other odds ‘n ends in the food bags, since we have a resupply at Shelter Cove.  I am so grateful to be feeling strong again–bring on those uphills!  But I am still skin and bones, and can’t seem to get any weight back on.  And as I walked along the trail, I kept praying and praying for Bill.

He finally said, “Don’t wait for me–just go on as fast as you want, but stop at 7:00 and we’ll make camp there.”   As it turned out, though, the trail was all downhill, and he was able to keep up with me OK.  We were out of the Oregon desert stuff and back into regular green Oregon forest–very shady and pretty.   It got even prettier when we reached Trapper Creek with its lovely cascades and beautiful clear water.  “Maybe we can make it to Shelter Cove after all,”  I said.  “Maybe the store will still be open.”  So we walked as quickly as we could, following the very nice trail that sometimes travels high above the creek and sometimes winds along right next to it.  By 6:50, we were at the railroad tracks, and headed straight for the store…which had just closed.  Oh well.

So we retreated into the woods on the other side of the railroad tracks, to set up our camp.  On the “backtrack”,  I stopped and talked to  a couple of guys with four horses, who were sort of lounging around by the road.  Turned out that they’d just finished a 150 mile RIDE on the PCT, and were waiting to be picked up.  They said that they’d had a great time! 

We found a nice flat campsite with soft duff, and a view of the railroad tracks, because I was hoping very much to see some trains go by.  Bill was looking better, and said he was feeling better, too.  I hope so!   Oh, how I hope it’s not giardia again!  I am so grateful to the Lord for helping us make it to Shelter Cove.

Walk with Aragorn to Minas Tirith: In green meadows crossing many streams

Well, we had quite a lightning show and thunder concert last night– plus rain! Wow! We haven’t had rain since Campo and the San Felipe hills. There was a gorgeous orange-gold sunrise to admire.  In the morning, all we did was walk through viewless forest, but on very nice trail, “patterned” by the raindrops.  Our footprints left very clear marks!  And of course all the plants along the trail were soaking wet.  Overhead, the sun and the clouds were battling as to which would win out in the sky.  Bits of rain continued to fall.  Oh well–now we KNOW we’re in Oregon! 

 Bill’s math says we have to do 30 miles a day to reach Cascade Locks on time, so we were really chugging along the trail.  After we crossed Dead Indian Road, it was very obvious that the trail had been worked on.  It contoured along very nicely, and was built like a raised bed.  Blue diamonds marked the route for Nordic skiing, and made it very easy for us, too.  There were even blue arrows on the trees to show when the trail took a sudden bend!

Lunchtime was wonderful– we went to the Brown Shelter  (a very cute log cabin) where there is a real old-fashioned hand pump for delicious cold spring water.  We had a fun conversation with a SOBO hiker from Washington state.  He said he wasn’t doing the whole PCT, but wow, he was planning to do all of Oregon, and all of California as far as Walker Pass!   He makes all his own gear and dries all his own trail food.  

 From there, we soon were on the “lava walk” around Brown Mountain, through miles of lava interspersed with forest. The trail through the lava is very well-done and not hard to walk on.

We started getting views of grey Mt. McLoughlin, and reached the Cascade Canal in time for supper.  The canal water didn’t look drinkable, so we didn’t take any for our platypuses, but it was great for washing our very grubby feet and socks.  Then we put in another six miles, and were well up the shoulder of Mt. McLoughlin before making camp, where the mosquitoes and crickets were both “singing.” I prefer the crickets!

Walk with Aragorn to Minas Tirith:  Reach Isengard, continue on highway