Oregon I Bearly Knew You

After breakfast I yogied a hitch out of Sister after a bit of doing. No one was stopping after a fun weekend in the mountains, so I headed across the street to just ask for a ride at the gas station. There was a prime candidate fueling up. It was an SUV with a kayaks on tops. When I ask if he was headed over the pass to the PCT, he pointed out his two boys in the back seat and said there was no room. I told him briefly I was just trying to continue my thru-hike of the PCT and then I went back across the street to spring my trap. To leave the gas station they would have to pull up to the intersection facing me and then turn left across traffic to pass directly in front of me, so I waited. When they pulled out I put on my most desperate and pathetic, needy face but all while managing a meager smile and hoped. Sure enough, after turning they pulled onto the shoulder and said, " Ah we can make room." I was very grateful and we enjoyed a delightful round of Q and A regarding my trip during the ride up the pass.

Happily on my way again, I made great time passing many a day-hiker and the weekend warriors making their way back to the trail head after their weekend wilderness adventure. I was sad to be leaving Hop Skip but I knew I would be catching I Spy and Booty soon. At the end of the day I met Doug, a thru-hiker from the east coast and an AT vet. He kept a brisk pace and we made it to camp early. We hiked together for a few days and made good time. We constantly quoted Monte Python to entertain ourselves and fantasized about the glorious breakfast that awaited us at our next stop, Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood. I was particularly excited to get to the lodge because my grandma and grandpa were dropping off my Uncle Tony who would be hiking with me to the WA boarder. The section was mostly uneventful. The only excitement were three black bear encounters. One I didn't exactly see, but he was close. I could hear him moving through the brush away from me. The other two times the bears were also quick to run away.

The day before we were to get to Timberline, Doug and I were determined to get as close to the lodge as possible before making camp. We ended up hiking my longest day yet of 39 miles. I was exhausted but we were only 5 miles out. The next morning we were up and at it early. There was a steep climb up the south slope of Mount Hood and it would have been even shorter to the lodge but there was a huge ravine that had to be hiked up and around and then back down to the lodge. We were there before breakfast was even being served and we were first in line to get some. It was quite a feast. There was fresh squeezed orange juice, waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, the works. We sat and ate several helpings a piece and finished by the time the family drove up.

After the long day before, I was looking forward to hiking with my uncle and scaling back the mileage for a bit. The trail just skirts around Mount Hood with great views of Mount Jefferson from which I had just hiked. We put in about 10 miles after breakfast and made camp. The next two days were a cool 15 miles a piece and we took a recommended alternate route to the Columbia down Eagle Creek. It was a gorgeous trail. It followed the creek as it winds toward the mighty Columbia but it was on a ledge for a bit of the time, high above the running water below. There were wonderful waterfalls, even one you could walk behind. When we got to the trail head Wolfman was waiting there for some hikers. He was hoping another thru-hiker could take him up to a trail and then slack his car back to the trail head. Tony wasn't to excited about the final 3 miles into the town of Cascade Locks so he drove him up there and then when the folks got into town, they were able to grab him from the trail head after the car was back. Then we were finally at the Bridge of the Gods.

The Bridge of the Gods is the bridge from Cascade Locks into Stevenson, crossing into the last state of the trip. It was a huge milestone, but there were other reasons to be happy to be so far. My friends Zach and Rachel that live in Gresham were able to come out to visit and Marc and Nicole even made the drive down from Seattle. Its been amazing to make new friends on the trail but it is very special to have old friends come out to visit. We had a great time in town. We swam in the Columbia and then had dinner at the Walking Man brewery in Stevenson. We spent the night back across the river in Cascade Locks. I couldn't believe that after spending three months in California, Oregon was over in a matter of weeks. The next morning we had breakfast and then in was back to the trail. Dad slacked my pack across the bridge and we walked together back into the home state.