For much of the PCT up to this point, wide open views are the norm. While I do love the sense of wonder and mystery that fills the air in the lush rain forest of the Pacific Northwest, 80 miles of trees becomes a bit of a blur after a while…
Day 138 – 10 miles/2158 (8/12/22)
Maggie and I took it nice and easy in the morning. We walked into Cascade Locks for breakfast and coffee. We contemplated the resupply – we had been carrying extra food since Corvallis and the Timberline box. There were rumors of a mega-bubble just ahead of us, cleaning out the smaller markets like a swarm of locusts. We went straight to the grocery store where we found plenty of options to resupply for 5 days.
Back at the campground, we packed up our food. We shared the extra cherries and a sun melon David and Kathleen had given us, and we quickly made some friends. Gathered around the picnic table, we feasted on this bounty of fresh fruit! Maggie and I both showered, then we packed up. I grabbed a quick lunch, fish n chips with root beer floats to go. Maggie ate the leftover pizza from the night before. We sat on a park bench overlooking the mighty Columbia River, our perch shaded by a large Douglas-fir. With heavy packs and full bellies, we were in no rush to get out of town, but we finally set off for Washington at 2:30 pm. We crossed the Bridge of the Gods, a metal mesh surface with no pedestrian walkway. The traffic was steady, but the drivers were all very conscientious about us.
That was the most stimulating quarter mile of the entire trail – epic views of the Columbia Gorge, a hollow walking surface, and cars passing by just a few feet away – it was hard to decide where to look!
At last, we made it Washington, the last leg. Only 505 miles to the Canadian border. At 200 feet of elevation, this was the literal low point of the trail, so we had no where to go but up. We soon made it to the forest where Douglas-firs and sword ferns dominated the land. Moss covered just about everything. We climbed on, taking a nice break by a rocky stream half way.
The afternoon wore on, and the slope picked up. The humidity made our sweat especially noticeable. We made it to our camp, 3,000 feet up from where we started. It was cramped, and the tentsites were sloped, but we sure didn’t feel like hiking any further. A sizeable trail family joined us in the tiny tent site, but they were friendly. The tramily cozied up in a cowboy camping cuddle puddle to save space. We made dinner, chatted for a little bit, and got to bed by 9 pm, preparing for several long days ahead.
Day 139 – 23 miles/2181 (8/13/22)
Getting back in the groove, we woke up at 5:30 am and were moving just after 7. It was an overcast and mild morning, great hiking weather if you ask me. A hefty slug greeted us in the middle of the trail shortly after setting off.
Even after all our effort the day before, the trail continued climbing. We passed through some logging areas, but the trail passed through dense forest otherwise with a thick understory. We dropped down to Rock Creek for lunch. The sun came out and it was gorgeous, the babbling currents of clear water providing some relaxing white noise.
Back to work, we got to tackle a second 2,000 foot climb. We had been seeing southbounders (SOBOs) fairly regularly by this point. We briefly stopped to talk with some SOBOs about the NOBO bubble. The bulk of it was apparently 3-5 days ahead, caused by pretty much every hiker jumping north to get around wild fires in California and Oregon. Even so, I felt like our time moving on the trail was still quiet and isolated. Climb climb climb, all so we could drop back down 2,000 feet to Trout Creek. Maggie and I stopped to filter water, feeling a little beat from the hiking thus far, but we noticed a car and a pop-up tent across the river. We quickly went over and found trail magic!
Trail Goblin, a 2021 PCT alum, and her husband were cooking up grilled cheese and giving out cold beers and wine. This was probably our favorite trail magic on the entire hike. There was something sublime about hot, melty American cheese with a cold Rainier (a.k.a. Vitamin R). Most of the Cowboy Cuddle Puddle had stopped with us, as well as Aquaman and Straps, a couple we had seen a few times. We sat and enjoyed the food, drinks, and company despite wanting to hike 6 more miles. An hour later, we finally did get going, but only went 3 more to Wind River, where we found a secret rocky beach to camp on, 1/8th of a mile off trail. No one else joined us.
Day 139 – 21 miles/2202 (8/14/22)
We tried to wake up at 5 am, but we snoozed till 6. Not sure why, we just felt super tired. We were moving at 8 and cruised 2 miles to a developed campground for water and the pit toilet. Then came the climb – 3,600 feet. Adding some insult to injury, the entire 10 mile uphill stretch was dry, so we had to carry all of our water. The inordinate amount of vert would become a theme in Washington. Thank goodness for trail legs! The climb was quite pretty as we ascended the switchbacks through old growth Douglas-firs, some 5-6 feet in diameter.
The higher we got, we noticed subtle changes in the understory, the ferns disappeared and bear grass filled in the gaps. Blueberries were plentiful, and they were finally starting to taste ripe, though not quite sweet yet. We stopped for lunch a little more than half way up, and it already felt like we had been climbing forever. We relished the relaxation for over an hour. Onward up the ridge, firs and hemlocks joined the party.
***NEW CONIFER ALERT***
We had been seeing a lot of mountain hemlock in Oregon, but this new character caught my eye here in Washington. Tsuga heterophylla, Western Hemlock, prefers wetter, lower elevation climes than its mountain loving cousin. Western hemlock is also notable for being able to germinate on dead, fallen logs, which is quite an advantage in the dense forests of the PNW.
As we climbed, the slope became more gradual near the top, where we got awesome views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams. We finally made it to the crest, a bit worn out, but with enough gas in the tank to keep hiking. Maggie however, rolled her ankle… We took a break at the next tent site to rest it, and she was well enough to carry on.
We hiked around the remnants of a volcano, as we followed a large fissure in the basalt. Caves and sink holes were sprinkled in too, making for a strange landscape to pass through. We filled up on water at a spring for another 10 mile carry, including water for dinner since we only planned to hike 6 more miles that day. Those last 6 were easy, however, we were hurting. We both just wanted to be done for the day, but it made sense to push a little further. The 2,200 mile marker appeared. Of course, we skipped 140 miles in Oregon, so the on-trail mile markers don’t match the true distance we have hiked. Just know that by this point, we had hiked over 2,000 miles, and we were feeling pretty good about that!
Maggie and I found our camp just before 7 pm, where we set up quickly to escape a few mosquitoes. We were in bed by 9, worn out from a vertical mile of climbing.
Day 140 – 23 miles/2225 (8/15/22)
We agreed to wake up at 6 am since it was clearly a struggle to wake up at 5 anymore. We made hot oatmeal, which was nice on this cool Washington morning. While we were eating, an old man ran by. “Rise n’ shine!” he said. We were packed up and moving at 8, moving briskly in anticipation of an awesome lake 4 miles ahead. The old man was running back by now, the ring of wiry white hair bouncing in the wind around his shiny bald head. Up close, we finally saw his trail running “gear” – a ripped cotton tank top, cargo shorts, a small fanny pack, and thick, shin high socks, no shoes. We stopped to talk for a minute with this man and he gave us some good beta on where to jump in the lake. Maggie and I were the first people he had met from New Mexico hiking the PCT, and he inquired further about “edible cactus”. He was not interested in prickly pear, if you know what I mean. We weren’t much help on healing cacti, but we thanked him for the info on the lake and went our separate ways. We made it to Blue Lake a little after 9 and found the spot our sock running friend recommended.
It was gorgeous- crystal clear water, and the perfect little rock ledge to step in. I jumped in while Maggie dipped her feet. The water was cold, but not too cold to be painful. I swam around for five minutes, then we started packing up. Maggie had one shoe on when she decided she would jump in the water as well. While Maggie doesn’t enjoy cold water as much as I do, she was happy with her decision. The sun was coming up and feeling hot already, so the cold water was a nice reset. We hiked on through the trees. Then we hiked through more trees. The forest never really opened up, and while I had been enjoying the mystique of the rain forest the last two days, it was now feeling a bit boring.
We did however run into Yin-Yang, a French hiker who we had hiked with for a bit after Mt. San Jacinto, 2,000 miles south. We had last seen Yin-Yang in Lone Pine when he was battling a knee injury. We took an afternoon break with Yin-Yang to catch up and hear about his adventure over the last few months. The three of us hiked the last 5 miles to camp together, sharing stories of all the characters we had met since April. We found camp near Trout Lake Creek, where about 10 tents were already set up. We ran into Sourpatch and Hotdish there, who we befriended in NorCal. We ate dinner around the fire ring with a few other hikers, and went to bed. Sunset was getting noticeably early, and everyone retired before 9 pm.
Day 141 – 6 miles/2231 (8/16/22)
The town of Trout Lake isn’t very big, and the only way to access it is from a seldom traveled Forest Road. The local residents recognized the need to shuttle PCT hikers to and from town. Every two hours, 8 am to 6 pm, two or three truckloads of hikers are driven between town and the trail, a half hour drive each way. It’s simply amazing that volunteers dedicate this amount of time to help us hikers out. We opted to take the 10 am shuttle, so we slept in till 6, and got going at 8. It was a quick five miles to the road. When we arrived, a dozen hikers were already waiting. A bit concerning to say the least because we weren’t sure how many hikers the shuttle drivers could take. Two pickup trucks pulled up promptly at 10 am. There was tension in the air, a need to feel polite and not “steal” a seat, but also eagerness to get in and not wait another 2 hours. We walked over to truck #2, where Rhonda was waiting for hikers to load up. We threw our packs in, watching the trucks fill up, and thankfully everyone got a seat. The competition for resources is becoming apparent with so many hikers around. Thirty minutes later we were at the Trout Lake General Store, where we took care of grocery shopping first thing. Some popular hiker items were clearly missing, such as instant coffee for Maggie. Otherwise, they had enough for us to supplement our leftovers from Cascade Locks. We grabbed lunch at the local taco truck, then took care of laundry and showers. We had plenty of time to kill, so we relaxed in the yard with all the hikers. We didn’t really recognize anyone, until later in the afternoon when Hoot and Karate Man, two guys from the Wolf Pack/Dutch Rudder, showed up. We caught up with them on their journey since we last saw them in Bend. We otherwise sat around, waiting for the return shuttle. Sure enough, 5:30 pm came and the trucks were at the store picking up hikers. We climbed in the bed with three others and 7 backpacks. It felt like a long 30 minutes back to the trail crunched in the back, but we made it, enjoying epic views of Mt. Adams on the drive.
We threw the packs on and hiked one mile to camp. Maggie and I enjoyed some conversation with Golden Calves, a retired teacher, who was a great story teller. In bed before 9 pm, we were content with our easy day in Trout Lake.
Distance Over Time 