Day 128

Trail miles: 10.4

Total: 2097.9

It’s about time I had a good freakin day!! I had all my stuff ready the night before so I had time to go to the local coffee shop. It was cute and I loved that they had maple lattes, which is rare. (Usually it’s maple spice, which I hate) Our rides arrived to get us around the burn section, which is a 2.5 hour trip. They stopped an hour in at a lookout spot to let us see the bridges over the cliff and to use the restroom. The ride went very quickly! We were at frog lake in no time. It took a little bit of time to get the drivers to take us to the correct spot in the campground. They took the wrong way several times. Then he got lost trying to get out of the campground. He ended up coming back after 15 min to say he was lost. We arrived at the same time as my aunt and uncle! They brought us tons of food and both of their dogs. We stayed there as late as I could, but we still had to make it to Timberline lodge by dinner time. It was sad to say goodbye, but at least I can look forward to seeing them for longer in a couple weeks! I felt pretty good on the hike out up until the last mile which was just beach sand, straight uphill. The views of Mt Hood made up for it though! And soon enough I was setting up my sent right outside the lodge. When I was sitting at the bar reading a menu, a woman came over and offered to buy me a drink! She is planning on hiking next year and wanted to do some trail magic. It was so kind of her. I wish she would have been able to talk longer! But she was with a group of her friends. The food was alright, I admit that I’ve made better focaccia, which is saying a lot. But the tomato soup was good. I got it to dip my sandwich into. Then off to bed after several pictures of the sunset.

Day 127

Trail miles: 0

Total: 2001

I wish I could have slept in more even thought it was past 8:00am, but I needed to finish my resupply before the post office closed and I still needed to go to REI to get a couple more dinners. Lifeguard made pancakes in the communal breakfast area and then I got to work on my resupply. I didn’t finish when I heard Raechel and Lifeguard were leaving for REI. They assured me they would come back here before heading to the post office to send boxes, so I figured I could finish after. It was a mile walk and we stopped at a local outfitter on the way. I got a Cuban rice and bean meal that I’m excited to try. We took the river trail to get to REI and I’m glad we did! First we saw people surfing on the river, which is something I’ve never seen before. Then we saw all the people floating on tubes. The trail was lined with lots of different wildflowers that made it feel cozy. It was a paved trail so a lot of bikers too. I spent over $400 in REI! At least I’ll get some nice dividend next year. First stop was shoes. I needed a pair of Hokas because I heard those were way more supportive than the Altras. That’s right, I’m switching teams. I think a lot of hikers have done that this year, so I am following the heard. I had to go a half size up from what I normally wear because my feet are so wide. I also bought some superfeet inserts just to have ready in the event that my arches start hurting in the new shoes. I can’t decide if I should carry them with me or have them sent to me if I need them. I got new injinji socks because all of mine have holes in them AGAIN. They are definitely the least durable socks I’ve used on trail. I tried on about 6 pairs of shorts, but they were either too big or too small so I’m just going to stick with my ripped up ones for now. Last, I grabbed a dinner and a new sleeping pad on the way out. Raechel and Lifeguard had met a thru hiker from 2019 who was offering us a ride back to our hostel! He told us about his thru hike and then the 2 year bike trip he and his wife are leaving for next week! I’m following him on Instagram now so I can see all the pictures. I finished my resupply while the girls went to eat Thai food, then we Ubered to the post office. I was able to pick up my package that was delayed in the mail and add some last minute food to each of the boxes I was mailing forward to Washington. Speaking of finding lost packages, my package lost in the abyss finally resurfaced and made its way to Old Station! I sent Renee a text and she is having it bounced to my Uncle in Oregon. And that concluded my town chores! So I relaxed on the hammock for over an hour just watching TikToks and downloading photos from my camera. Tonight was karaoke night so everyone had a fun time singing, including a group of hikers singing I’m Going to Be by The Proclaimers. My stomach got worse and worse as the night went on so I packed my bag and called in a night early. I do pride myself on how much stuff I got rid of and how lighter my pack weighs. Hopefully with that and the new shoes, I’ll be flying down the trail!

Day 127

Trail miles: 12.3

Total: 2001

Made it to mile 2000! I tried to sleep in but ended up leaving at 6:00am anyway. Once I got over the first hill, I was a breeze the rest of the way. I took my time because I thought there might be trail magic at the junction near the youth camp, but I was way too early. Grandaddy and Just Greg were there where they said they were offered a ride by a dayhiker who passed by. They were waiting for her to finish her hike and take them to Bend. They said they would ask if I could come as well! I didn’t know where her car was and I wanted to see the 2000 marker, so I kept going. I stopped at the spring which was just a deep hole in the ground with yellow standing water. I’m glad I didn’t rush through the night to get to that. I filtered some and luckily it filtered clear, but I don’t think I drank any. At mile 2000, I FaceTimed my mom so she could see the rock numbers. She watched as I stood up a log to set my camera on for a self-timer picture. Of course she made me do a couple jumping ones again. Then it was off to the parking lot. I found Lifeguard there still trying to hitch at the road. Apparently everyone had nightmare journeys into town. Spare Change was dropped off at Sister which is the town on the way to Bend. Lifeguard was there waiting for over an hour trying to catch a ride. The problem was the cars were going so fast I think it would have been difficult for them to slow down to stop. I texted Grandaddy and asked if Lifeguard and me could fit into the car. Turns out, she was parked right next tot where I was sitting and she had room for us! She was so kind. She drove me to the post office to pick up my packages and then brought us to the hostel! I was very gratefully. Her job is to record numbers on trail for the forestry service and mark campsites too. I guess it’s for general activity statistics. So I was counted as one of the people in trail she crossed paths with.

We dropped out gear off at the hostel and went for food. The pizza was very good! I’m looking forward to my leftovers tomorrow. I drank too much Dr Pepper forcing me to take another Pepto Bismol. I knew what I was getting into, I just planned it to be on the day before a zero. Tomorrow I won’t have any. Just beer. I mean, they gave us free drink tokens for staying here, so why not! Laundry took forever, but always worth it. It’s nice that it was on site too. After a shower, Brad, Spare Change, and I shared an Uber to Walmart to resupply a total of 15 days over 4 sections and 3 boxes to ship. I got everything except all my dinners. I’m kind of depending on getting my dinners in the package that got delayed from home. But I can always pick a few up from REI tomorrow too. It felt surreal to be buying food for pretty much the rest of the trail. It almost feels like we are actually nearing the end. We ended the night watching Krista jam with the band at the outdoor bar. Once she was done, I went straight to bed!

Day 126

Trail miles: 30

Total: 1988.7

Another 30 mile day, but I still couldn’t keep up with the group, who hiked on for another 5 miles. That’s alright because I met a nice duo at camp who worked together for over 30 years, retired together, and hiked the AT together. Now they are trying to finish the PCT. And just like the rest of us, they are finding it difficult now to get places to stay and find rides with the huge influx of displaced hikers from the fire closures.

Today was a bit hillier than a lot of Oregon, but that didn’t matter because we were in the prettiest section of trail. We walked past the three sisters mountains and there were tons of streams and wildflowers. No one was in a hurry for town day today so I saw a lot more of my group. We passed through an area with lots of obsidian rocks and a waterfall. The scenery went from flowery meadows to lava rock from Mars. It was cool to take photos of, but very annoying to walk over. My pace slowed down tremendously to keep from breaking an ankle. Lunch felt rushed, but at least I could look forward to downhill for the next 7 or so miles. I packed out enough water at the lake to dry camp and kept going. At the bottom of the hill, the lava rocks began again. These were much longer. When I got the chance to skip some of it, I did. We crossed a road that I noticed on the map we would come close to again. So I took the road. I found Spare Change, Brad, and Raechel sitting near an almost waterless water cache. Brad called me a cheater for taking the road but was only joking. He said he feels like a dumbass now. I was so proud, but honesty I figured everyone would have done it. Anyway, but more lava rocks to go and a 2 mile hill to make it worse. Up and over the hill I went to the first campsite at the end of the lava rocks. The rest of the group was long gone, headed for the spring in another 5 miles. I wanted to end the day in the break of lava rocks but I wanted to finish them so I wouldn’t have to do any tomorrow. At camp, I met two nice older gentleman from Kentucky who hiked the AT in 2016. They worked together for over 30 years and retired together. That’s a strong bond! Their names are Just Greg and Grandaddy. I could have gone to bed on time but I enjoyed my evening eating mosquito free, using the service, and taking pictures of the sunset. I wouldn’t get much sleep anyway on my broken sleeping pad.

Day 125

Trail miles: 25.5

Total: 1958.7

Well the plan was to leave at 6:00am and try to do a late lunch at the lodge 20 miles away, but I didn’t see anyone all day. Somewhere along the way I decided the lodge wasn’t worth walking an extra two or so miles for a crappy meal so I figured I’d just go to camp. I stopped a couple of times but I made it 9 miles without sitting down for a real break. Then I needed water so I made a plan to stop at a lake that was recommended for swimming. I think I’m going to try to swim in one lake a day for the rest of Oregon. I made it the rest of the way up the hill where I got service, so I figured it would be the perfect spot for another break. I got texts saying the rest of the group was there and eating already but would eat with me again when I got there. I was still probably 4 miles away still. I just really can’t keep up and no one will wait for me. So I called my family until the service disappeared. I made it up the 3.5 mile hill next which was the toughest part of the day for sure. It kicked my butt and I struggled to force my way down the back of the hill to camp. Camp was mosquito hell. Definitely the worst so far in my life. 100s just swarmed me as I was trying to put my rain pants on and set up my tent. I jumped in my tent and several found their way in with me. So I’m just squishing them as I see them. Don’t want bites on my face in the night. I have to go back out for water though so I’m waiting until later and maybe they will relax a bit. I think it is working. Everyone but Spare Change came to camp and also freaked out about the swarms of mosquitoes. Now we are just in our tents for the night again. This is the real reason people run through Oregon.

Day 124

Trail miles: 27

Total: 1933.2

Woke up normal time and sat in my tent in the dark wondering how my life’s decisions have led me to this very moment. We met at the bathrooms before we left, where we got yelled at by some man that PCT hikers had to be off the porch with their bags and under the designated hiker tent. Dude, it’s 6:00am, no one is out here waiting for the restaurant to open at 12:00pm! Plus we weren’t even on the porch, we were at a picnic table next to it. We were about to leave anyway, we were just using the Wi-Fi that doesn’t reach the PCt tent. They were so weird about hikers. Apparently Brad and Spare Change got yelled at for being under a tent that wasn’t the PCT tent. Which was in the grassy area right next to it. They didn’t even have their bags with them so it was just them. The PCT was crowded so why couldn’t they sit there to make room? When it was pouring rain yesterday, the picnic table barely fit under the tent so us and our bags still got wet. And the sprinkler they had going went so far that it sprayed someone in the back every once in a while.

Ok end of rant. We road walked about a mile and a half back to the PCT where we found out the trail was closed just south of that highway due to a fire very close to trail. Some hikers turned back to hitch to Bend since they thought it was too dangerous. We kept hiking with the expectation that we knew our exit points and how to reach safety. We had two big hills before lunch and they wiped me out. I had to keep stopping. Luckily after lunch was easy going. I had to eat lunch quick because everyone was already finished and ready to go. I was able to keep up easily the 3 miles down the hill to the lake. There was a tent there set up for someone’s anniversary! Such a cute setup with pillows and food. I immediately jumped in the lake for a swim. I am going to do that now every chance I get. It just boosts my mood so much to swim around. Everyone else got in the water too! The next 8 miles to camp I went pretty fast because it was easy terrain and because the storm was coming in. I didn’t want to take a break either because I try to make it to camp by 6:00pm to have time for dinner. There were a lot of logs to climb over but luckily these were small enough to step or hop over. By the last mile, I was running any chance I could as the thunder got louder. We all made it to the lake just in time to set up our tents and jump in before it started pouring. The lighting made me nervous because those are what start forest fires. It has cleared up now. I went down to the lake for sunset pictures, but the couple camped next to us I’m pretty sure we’re skinny dipping. So I didn’t really know what to do other than walk away. I got more pictures when they left the next time I got water to filter. By the way, the mosquitoes are winning. I have at least 30 bug bites on me and they itch like crazy. And my cortizone doesn’t alway work, so I end up itching them until they bleed. Scabs are forming.