PCT Days 103-125: Oregon Border to Cascade Locks

Oregon: PCT Miles 1704.7 – 2148.0

Oregon was short and sweet, especially after 100+ days in California. The highlights were Crater Lake National Park, Three Sisters Wilderness, and Mount Hood which were all spectacular. The trail was quite relaxed allowing for easy long days. But there was also a few days of hiking in smoke, being chased by mosquitos, almost daily hiking in forest burn areas, a fire closure necessitating skipping ~100 miles of trail. And my tendinitis flared up due to overuse so I took a restorative week off in Seattle.

Day 103: July 26, 2021, 20.9 miles

Gentle downhill hike to I-5 to Callahan’s Lodge. Met a sweet inspirational 94 year old woman from Ashland on trail who still hikes weekly on/near the PCT. Decided to skip going into Ashland and stay on trail. I ate a great burger at Callahan’s, charged the power bank and devices, and grabbed some random resupply food from the hiker box (& a fellow hiker gave me a few bars as well) to keep me going until the next stop, and hiked a couple more hours in the evening.

Day 104: July 27, 2021, 25.5 miles

A quintessential PNW day: light rain in the morning, cool overcast weather in low 60s all day, soft pine needle laden trail, smell of ozone and pine in the air. It was wonderful and reminded me of hiking in the Cascades near Seattle. Stopped in at Hyatt Lake resort for a couple of hours for ice cream and Dr Pepper. Then camped at a campground that was closed to cars so PCT hikers had it for ourselves. There were flush toilets and free hot showers, simple pleasures that made all the difference!

Day 105: July 28, 2021, 24.9 miles

Lots of huckleberries in the first part of the day. I stopped a lot to eat and collect along the way. Just as I was thinking that bears also like eating berries, I saw my first bear on the PCT! It was a beautiful mocha colored adult bear who was eating berries just off the trail. We locked eyes for a second, I said “hey buddy”, and he rudely (& fortunately) turned around and bolted. So cool!

Second half of the hike was on lava rocks, which was both beautiful and tough on the feet, especially since my shoes are quite worn. Looking forward to new shoes waiting for me at Crater Lake. I walked a side trail to Fish Lake Resort, where I had the most amazing trail magic by Rich and Janet. They had their RV setup at the campground and immediately offered food (ribs & chili dogs), salad, drinks, and more. What an amazing experience!

Day 106: July 29, 2021, 23.5 miles

In the morning, Rich made us blueberry pancakes and coffee and dropped us back to trail. At the trailhead, there were 2 other trail angels providing trail magic for hikers! I hung out there for a while and had some hot coffee and snacks. Back-to-back trail magic! 

I finally started hiking at 9am. Mostly in the forest and a burn area. Made me think about all the different burn areas I’ve already hiked through, while other parts of the trail are actively on fire as well. Thankfully I have been able to stay ahead of the fires and smoke on trail so far.

Day 107: July 30, 2021, 26.7 miles

Today I entered Crater Lake National Park, the 5th NP on the PCT so far. I went to Mazama Village, where I picked up a resupply box and new shoes. The old shoes were starting to hurt after 750 miles in just 5 weeks. I camped at the Mazama campground where there were 20+ PCT hikers, most of who I had not met before. That was the most hikers I’ve seen in one place in many weeks. Looking forward to hiking the Rim Trail tomorrow along Crater Lake.

Day 108: July 31, 2021, 21.0 miles

After much revelry last night and need for extra rest, I got a late start this morning. I hiked a side trail from Mazama Village back to the PCT and then took the Rim Trail alternate which runs on the West edge of Crater Lake. While it was a bit hazy, Crater Lake was amazingly beautiful as always. I had visited 3 years ago on a road trip and was cool to be back once again.

Day 109: August 1, 2021, 27.5 miles

Oregon terrain has been pretty gentle. Modest climbs, cool temps, and soft trail. But also a few long water carries in this section. Even with several long breaks totaling 4 hours, managed to get a respectable distance hiked. Today was all in the woods except for this view of Mount Thielsen. 3000km done!

Day 110: August 2, 2021, 16.6 miles

Took an alternate trail from Windigo Pass, which used to be the official PCT, to Whitefish Horse Camp. The plan was to take a break for the afternoon and continue on, but then trail angels Jim & Gerri offered to make us dinner and so decided to camp there. Great food, company, conversation, and a relaxing short day was exactly what I needed after 11 straight days of 20+ miles/day. Feels like everyday I’m going through a burn area with new fires popping up ahead and behind. It seems that eventually this entire trail will be one long burn area.

Day 111: August 3, 2021, 10.4 miles

Continued on the alternate trail to Shelter Cove. Ate a lot of pizza, relaxed, showered, etc. The plan was to hike out in the afternoon but then a couple of hiker friends that I hadn’t seen in over a month showed up. It was great to catch up and they convinced me to stay for the night. Another short day was probably a good idea, since I haven’t taken a zero day in over 500 miles. In the afternoon, considerable smoke rolled in from nearby fires. Hoping that I can continue forward, versus having to skip around.

Day 112: August 4, 2021, 19.6 miles

Back on the official PCT after 2 short days on the alternate and a restful stay at Shelter Cove. The theme of the day was smoke! After staying ahead of fires and smoke in NorCal, there was no avoiding smoke in Oregon. We left Shelter Cove at 11:30am. The first half of the day was ok but then it got quite smoky. This was my first time hiking in smoke so I was a bit nervous on how my body would react if I was in it for multiple days. Made it camp alongside a lake and slept well. Let’s see how tomorrow unfolds.

Day 113: August 5, 2021, 31.7 miles

Morning started quite smoky. Hiked wearing a KN95 mask for a while which seemed to help. At least I didn’t smell/taste smoke. In the afternoon, it got cloudy and smoke dissipated considerably. Trail was very gentle today so we covered a lot of miles quickly. So many lakes and ponds today! And a few miles of mosquitos as well. Took a side trail into Elk Lake for a burger and raided the amazing hiker box. Apparently several people stopped their hikes recently due to smoke/fire and dumped all their food in the box. Managed to get almost a full resupply! Then we hiked back out and camped a couple miles out of Elk Lake. 

I was giddy and smiling a lot in the afternoon when the smoke cleared. With fire closures, the decision is obvious to detour around. But with smoke, each person has their own threshold of tolerance and I didn’t know mine yet as I generally avoid smoke altogether on hikes. I kept wondering if I should skip ahead or plow through. Glad it worked out. Hopefully things stay clear as I continue north.

Day 114: August 6, 2021, 24.3 miles

The trail giveth, the trail taketh away. After 3 smoky days, I woke up to blue skies, sunshine, and no smoke! Woohoo! On top of that, I was hiking in the Three Sister’s Wilderness, which was spectacular! 

However, I woke up with a tender right leg. The dreaded tendinitis was starting to flare up. With a steady intake of ibuprofen and soaking my legs in any cold stream I came across, I hobbled along today wincing on each step. At least the views were amazing today. I felt amazing yesterday after hiking 31+ miles, but I guess my body decided that it was time for a break. I haven’t taken a zero in 4 weeks and 600 miles and I’m certainly overdue.

Day 115: August 7, 2021, 4.5 miles

A whirlwind day and an intermission! With my leg still hurting, I only had to hobble a few miles to McKenzie Pass, where I was planning to reroute around a new fire closure due to an active fire. It added 17 miles to a reroute I was already planning to do from Santiam Pass due to last year’s Lionshead fire closure. Sean, a JMT hiker who lives in Bend that I met in Yosemite in June, graciously offered to pick me up and take me around the fire closure. We stopped in Sisters for coffee and in Redmond for a mini resupply and headed to Timberline Lodge on the other side of the closure. We enjoyed the lunch buffet, where I was finally satiated after 3 huge plates and half dozen glasses of root beer.

I was trying to figure out whether I should continue hiking from Timberline Lodge and finish the final 50 miles of Oregon or go ahead and take a break now to allow my leg to heal and finally give my body a break. I decided it was prudent to take a break now and Sean took me to Portland and dropped me to the Amtrak station. I hopped on a train to Seattle and a few hours later was in the comfy home of close Seattle friends.

Crazy day! I woke up in a lava field overlooking Mount Washington, Three Fingered Jack, and Mount Jefferson and slept in comforts of home back in Seattle. I plan to take a few days off to rest, recharge, plan my Washington resupplies, and spend time with friends before returning to trail.

Days 116-122: August 8-14, 2021, ZERO days

What a restorative week off in Seattle with good friends, nutritious and comforting home cooked food, daily showers, and sleeping in a comfy bed! Huge thank you to all my Seattle friends! Though I was resting a lot, I felt exhausted all week as my body was recovering from weeks of nonstop abuse. I got all my resupply boxes done for the rest of the hike which was quite time consuming. And caught up on a bunch of non-hiking life stuff after 4 months away. I even cleaned up the beard a bit as it was getting unruly. In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t trimmed the beard and left it grizzly until the end.

I was antsy to return to trail as seeing hiker buddies continue north through Washington was giving me serious FOMO. With my leg and body feeling rested, it was time to start making my way back to the trail at Timberline Lodge, wrap up the final 50 miles of Oregon, and then enter my home state of Washington!

Day 123: August 15, 2021, 1.5 miles

After a week in Seattle, I made my way back to trail. It was an all day journey to get back to Timberline Lodge: train to Portland, bus to Government Camp, and a ride from hiker Jake to Timberline. Hung out at Timberline for a while and then hiked out in the evening and camped nearby. Almost exactly 5 years ago, I visited Timberline Lodge and saw this sign. Since then, I’ve dreamed of the day I would return after having hiked here on the PCT from Mexico.

Day 124: August 16, 2021, 23.3 miles

My first full hiking day since day 114! And it was glorious! Cool temps, no smoke, views of Mount Hood all day, several beautiful waterfalls including Ramona Falls, and even some trail magic. Almost exactly a year ago, I did a day hike to Ramona Falls and looked forward to the day I would return on a PCT thru-hike! It’s been so cool to reach places on foot that I’ve previously visited on road trip.

Day 125: August 17, 2021, 21.3 miles

Final day in Oregon! And it was cold, rainy, and windy for the first half of the day. A good reminder of what Washington weather could have in store. I took the Eagle Creek alternate as most hikers do. It was absolutely beautiful! The highlight is Tunnel Falls, where the trail goes through a tunnel behind the waterfall. Made it to Cascade Locks and the Bridge of the Gods on the Columbia River, marking the border between Oregon and Washington. I camped at the city park, got some trail magic, and hung out with other hikers. Oregon was short and sweet but a mixed bag. Crater Lake, Three Sisters, & Mount Hood were glorious. But then we also had a few days of smoke, mosquitos, fire closures requiring skipping a sizable section of trail, and an overuse injury. So excited to cross the Bridge of the Gods tomorrow and enter Washington! 505 miles to Canada