PCT Day 87

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PCT Day 87, 07 August 2022 (Sunday)

“American Ninja Hiker”

Start Location:	Wilderness Campsite	Destination:	Mosquito Creek
PCT Miles Day 87:	29.2	Cum PCT Miles:	1,574.4
Non-PCT Miles Day 87:	0.3	Cum All Miles:	1676.6
PCT Miles Remaining:	1,078.4
Elevation Gain Day 87:	3,730	Cum Elevation Gain:	270,627

Part of what makes Washington hard so far, is not just the ascents and descents, but it’s been a real obstacle course.  There are lots of downed trees of all varieties, lots of roots and rocks, lots of vines, and a lot of overgrowth across the trail.

Another thing about Washington so far, is that, for some reason, there seems to be a real dearth of tent sites.  I’m not sure where they expect people to sleep at night.  It seems like it gets harder to find a suitable tent site every night.  And for some reason, some of the better sites seem to be right in between water sources that are far apart.

So, you can either hike way less miles than you want to just to get a good site, or you can carry a lot of water so you can be opportunistic about any site that might come up, or you can just take your chances by going to the water source that’s further down the trail and is the one you really want to get to, but it’s going to be late in the day when you get there, and there might not be any tent sites available.

So far, I can’t really say that I’m a big fan of the very southern part of the PCT in Washington.  It’s not an area I would come back to hike again, and it’s not an area that I would recommend to others to hike.  Supposedly, it does get better the further north you go.  I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

BTW, my back, while still not 100%, is getting better.  Right now, I am more concerned with my feet than my back.

New Big Agnes tent with Mt. Hood in the background

Mt. Hood in the morning

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PCT Day 86

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PCT Day 86, 06 August 2022 (Saturday)

“Back Therapy”

Start Location:	North of Rock Creek	Destination:	Wilderness Campsite
PCT Miles Day 86:	23.9	Cum PCT Miles:	1,545.0
Non-PCT Miles Day 86:	0	Cum All Miles:	1647.1
PCT Miles Remaining:	1,107.6
Elevation Gain Day 86:	5,489	Cum Elevation Gain:	266,897

 

Today was another hard day in Washington, and I’m not really expecting it to ease up.  If there is a day where the trail is easy, that will just be a bonus.  Other than the difficulty, the hiking today was fairly nondescript, a lot of hiking in green forest where the views are limited.  We did cross several large creeks and rivers today, though—there’s a mini bubble of about a dozen or so people I’ve been hiking around for the last couple days.

There was, also, trail magic provided by Oakley and Birdbath, both hiked the PCT last year.  They really picked a good spot on trail, and, being former PCT hikers, they know what hikers like and did a great job providing fresh fruit, cold beverages, cookies, muffins, and other various snacks.  It was warm and humid today, and with the trail being difficult, it was very nice to get this treat.

Normally, when you have a sore back, your doctor or physical therapist will tell you to relax, take it easy, and maybe apply some heat.  It is highly doubtful they would recommend putting on a heavy backpack and hiking over 43 miles with over 10,000 feet of elevation gain over a two day period.  While unorthodox, and probably not recommended for most people, this is exactly what I’ve done.  And, my back has been feeling better mile by mile.  We’ll see how it feels in the morning, but I am hopeful in the next couple of days my back will be 100% back to normal.

Pacific Banana Slug

Wind River

 

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PCT Day 85

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PCT Day 85, 05 August 2022 (Friday)

“Go Take A Hike…Again”

Start Location:	Cascade Locks, OR	Destination:	North of Rock Creek, WA
PCT Miles Day 85:	19.9	Cum PCT Miles:	1,521.1
Non-PCT Miles Day 85:	0.4	Cum All Miles:	1623.2
PCT Miles Remaining:	1,131.5
Elevation Gain Day 85:	4,789	Cum Elevation Gain:	261,408

After getting a good nights sleep in Portland, I got up and took the earliest bus available to Cascade Locks, OR, which is a small town on the Columbia River that the PCT goes right through. I got a huge, medium size, soft serve ice cream cone and breakfast burrito at Eastwind Drive-In, and was ready to go.

It was a fairly short walk up the street to the Bridge Of The Gods, which connects Oregon and Washington across the Columbia River, and is part of the PCT.

Since it’s been basically five days since I have hiked, and I have a sore back, I just wanted to hike at a relaxed and comfortable pace today.  I wasn’t looking to do anything overly ambitious.  I also have new shoes which are a different make than the ones I’ve been wearing the entire hike (long explanation, but it’s a ripple effect from having to skip around the fires).

Today, however, was not a gentle re-introduction to the PCT, but then again, I wasn’t really expecting it to be.  Washington has a reputation for being hard, and today’s trail definitely lived up to that reputation.  All the more reason to not overdo it today.

Given that I didn’t start until 10 AM, and how difficult the trail was, and that I was hiking with a sore back, and I have a heavy pack (carrying six days of food), I was pretty happy with the number of miles I did today.  I also set up, and am using, my new Big Agnes tent for the first time tonight.  It seems pretty good so far.

This is only the medium size at the classic Eastwind Drive-In in Cascade Locks, part of a good hiker breakfast

Bridge Of The Gods from the Oregon side

Cascade Locks and Columbia River from Bridge Of The Gods

Just about entering Washington via Bridge Of The Gods

The green tunnel of Washington, but the shade is nice today

Log bridge with railings over seasonal stream

Pacific Poison Oak

The mighty Columbia River from the trail

Mt. Adams

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PCT Day 84

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PCT Day 84, 04 August 2022 (Thursday)

“A First Time For Everything Or Moving Day Part 2”

Start Location:	Ashland	Destination:	Portland
PCT Miles Day 84:	0	Cum PCT Miles:	1,501.2
Non-PCT Miles Day 84:	0	Cum All Miles:	1602.9
PCT Miles Remaining:	1,151.4
Elevation Gain Day 84:	0	Cum Elevation Gain:	256,619

 

On this hike/trip I’ve done several things for the first time.  The latest is riding on a Greyhound bus, and frankly, I hope it’s the last time.  The bus was an hour late, but at least it did show up.  I guess it’s not unusual for the bus to just not show up at all.  Also, there were three other PCT hikers on board, so we could talk about our plans and strategy going forward.

Although smoking isn’t allowed on the bus, it still smelled of cigarettes as the majority of passengers were smoking at every stop.  But at least I got to Portland, and I can start hiking again tomorrow.

After so much hiking, I can’t believe I’ve had four zero days in a row.  It’s going to feel a bit strange getting back out on trail again, but I’m looking forward to it, it’s why I’m out here.  I just hope hiking helps my still achy back and not hurt it.  We’ll just have to see.  I’m hopeful, though, as after walking close to one mile from the bus station to my hotel, my back actually feels considerably better.

 

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PCT Day 83

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PCT Day 83, 03 August 2022 (Wednesday)

“Not Moving Day”

Start Location:	Ashland	Destination:	Ashland
PCT Miles Day 83:	0	Cum PCT Miles:	1,501.2
Non-PCT Miles Day 83:	0	Cum All Miles:	1602.9
PCT Miles Remaining:	1,151.4
Elevation Gain Day 83:	0	Cum Elevation Gain:	256,619

I was hoping to get to Portland today.  My first choice to get there was to rent a car, however, there are no rental cars available in this area for at least the next couple of days.  Without a car, the only other reasonable option is to take a county bus from Ashland to Medford, and then a Greyhound bus from Medford to Portland.  However, the two Greyhound buses for today were sold out.

So, the soonest I could get out of Ashland on the bus is tomorrow--I realized too late that there is a small airport in Medford where I possibly could have caught a flight to Portland.  Some hikers are trying to hitch from Ashland all the way to Portland, but that is a very long hitch, and didn’t seem like a great way to get there.

Given that my plans have changed, I did do some resupply shopping today, and am all ready to go once I get to Cascade Locks.  Only one minor hitch.  Somewhere on the drive between Shasta and Ashland my back started getting sore.  It was actually very painful for most of yesterday, and I could barely even bend over without putting a hand on my knee for support.  This is not a good thing if you want to backpack 20+ miles a day.  However, today the back was feeling much better, but still far from perfect.  I’m hoping tomorrow it will feel even better.

After being on my feet 12 to 14 hours a day for almost 2 1/2 months, I think my body is not reacting well to all this sitting and laying around.  I am a little bit worried that sitting on a bus tomorrow for over six hours is not going to be great for my back.  So, we’ll just have to see how things feel when I get to Portland.

 

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PCT Day 82

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PCT Day 82, 02 August 2022 (Tuesday)

“Moving Day Part 1”

Start Location:	Mt. Shasta City	Destination:	Ashland, OR
PCT Miles Day 82:	0	Cum PCT Miles:	1,501.2
Non-PCT Miles Day 82:	0	Cum All Miles:	1602.9
PCT Miles Remaining:	1,151.4
Elevation Gain Day 82:	0	Cum Elevation Gain:	256,619

After getting more information on the various fires, the plan has changed.  Because of the fires near Crater Lake, it no longer makes sense to hike north to there from Ashland.  It seems there would be a high probability of getting stuck there, or having to hike back to Ashland.  There are limited transportation options from Crater Lake, and I would only have limited food left to hike back to Ashland.

I could try to get to somewhere further north of Crater Lake and start hiking from there, but it’s very difficult to get to the trail in central Oregon.  And there is already another pre-existing closure in central Oregon that is very hard to get around.  So, hiking north almost anywhere in Oregon at this time is a bit futile.

In my assessment, it seems like the best thing to do right now is to skip up to Washington, hike to the Canadian border, then reassess where to hike next based on current conditions and closures.  I was really hoping to finish the hike at the Canadian border, and it will be a bit anti-climactic to not do that, but it’s just not in the cards for that to happen.

Regardless of plans, the first step is leaving Mount Shasta, and going to Ashland Oregon still seems like a logical first step. I shared a ride to Ashland with a couple other hikers that I met on trail in the last week or so.  But from here, our plans are a little divergent for various reasons.

There are a lot of other PCT hikers here in Ashland, all trying to figure out where to go from here and how to get there.  My guess is that many will do what I am doing, go to Portland Oregon, and then to Cascade Locks Oregon, which is right on the border of Oregon and Washington.  Then hike north from there.  The negative to this plan is that it seems there will be another over-sized bubble of hikers heading into Washington.  But there are really no other good options right now.

 

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