Sisters, Or - Cascade Locks, Or

Mile 1999 - 2144

Based on the mileage at the top you can see that we have past the 2,000 mile mark of the PCT today.  Yesterday we took a zero day (no miles hiked) in the adorable town of Sisters, Oregon.  30 miles or so outside of Bend, Or.  It's used as a gateway to the mountains and lakes into this area,  Which keeps this small town alive.  All the signs in town are low and simple.  Most of the buildings have a Western style.  Based on the flyers and posters around town there are lots of festivals and music happenings.  There are some cheesy tourist shops, but also quite a few art galleries.  People always ask us where are favorite towns are after traveling around the US since 2011.  I have to say that this town is in our top ten.  Our day off here was perfect timing since yesterday was mine and Shadow's 11th Anniversary.  Boy does time fly.  We celebrated by laying in bed as much as possible while checking up with the news and TV shows.  All while eating as much as we could.  

Today we were back on the trail finishing another burned area around Mt. Three Finger Jack.  Our next volcano to pass in the line of Cascade Mountains.  A thin layer of high clouds helped break some of the Sun's heat.

We found a nice flat spot on a ridge line with a clear view of Mt. Jefferson.  The temperatures have cooled since we set up the tent and had dinner.  That's one of the nice things about being out West.

The day started with a gorgeous sunrise and high overcast clouds.  Today we were hoping for some relief from the heat.  Just after crossing Russell Creek we stopped for lunch.  You could follow the glacial feed creek from where we crossed and all the way up Mt. Jefferson.  You can tell a creek is glacial fed by its milky white murky color.  We climbed to Jefferson Park, a alpine meadow with lakes and lots of berries.  

The view of Jefferson was even more impressive looking back from the North.  

The trail turned a little technical for a while which slowed us down.  By the time we reached camp, we were tired.

A few miles before camp we ran into Billy Goat, a hiking legend.  He has hiked over 12,000 miles on the PCT.  Last year he didn't make it out to the trail because he was recovering from open heart surgery.   Some people we talk to say that's they are too old to hike, then you meet someone like Billy Goat and wonder who is doing things right.

Today was pretty boring.  Mostly through acres of logging.  We passed the most SouthBound hikers we have seen so far.  It stayed overcast all day with a few morning sprinkles.  Tonight we camped about 30 feet from the trail at a stealth site (undesignated campsite).  We sat on the ground having dinner as usual with SouthBounders walking by and without noticing us.  Now that's a good stealth camping spot.

Just before lunch today we entered the Mt. Hood National Forest with an awesome view of the mountain with steam coming out from the summit.

It was nice to be back in the National Forest with all the old trees.  The trail took us along Timothy Lake and 2 roads before starting the climb up Mt. Hood.  

The excitement of the day was seeing a runner go by.  He had a super small backpack, hiking poles strapped to his pack, and a thin sleeping pad.  Shadow and I discussed  him for nearly 30 minutes.  

There are lots of things we do out here that we would never do in "real life".  A good example of this is us getting to one of the roads and finding uneaten food on a picnic table.  More specifically 3/4 loaf of French bread, and 2 bags of beef jerky.  1 had been opened.  Shadow and I looked a round and saw no one.  Then we sat down at the picnic table with the food, looked around again, then started eating.  Back Track and his Dad came up a few minutes later.  They joined in eating the food, then Back Track's face lit up and he said, "Hey, did you guys see that guy running up the trail today?"  It doesn't take too much to excite us.

After a couple of uneventful days on the trail, we made up for it today.  We started 3 miles from the Timberline Lodge, home to the all you can eat breakfast buffet.  We clicked our heels the whole way up Mt. Hood.  Just as we were sitting down to eat the Peloton showed up.  It was nice to see them and 10 other PCT hikers.  The breakfast was better than any of us could imagine.  Shadow had 3 plates of food then went back for a bowl of cereal.  I had one savory plate and one sweet plate. 

Today we saw the most wildlife so far, 4 mule deer, a grouse with her babies, a tiny snake, and a bear!  Finally!  We heard him stripping a dead tree of its bark looking for bugs, then we saw him.  Once he heard us though, he split.

The trail went by Ramona Falls before starting a climb that allowed us to see Mt. St. Helens.

About a mile from camp we stopped to chat with 2 other section hikers.  One of them told Shadow that he had a nice "Old School" beard.  For the record that's 3 guys so far that have complemented the beard.  I told him not to even think about keeping it.  Shortly after we came across a great campsite with a picnic table.  Our closest water was another half mile away.  We did find a cooler with some ice water still in it from trail magic.  We decided to do something else we would never do in "real life".  We melted and purified the ice, then drank it.

The whole PCT is open to hikers and pack animals.  There are a few places that the PCT has alternates for hikers only.  Today was one of those alternates.  This one is called the Eagle Creek Trail that leads you to Cascade Locks.  A town home to the Columbia River which is also the Washington state border.  It's 15 miles long and a must hike for anyone in the area.  At first Shadow and I were disappointed.  It's was cool, but reminded us of the AT and couldn't figure what all the fuss was about.  Then we saw Tunnel Falls.  An amazing waterfall that you could walk behind.  The trail is full of giant trees, ferns, and green moss.  We had a great time with lots of swimming holes and deep gorges for lazy river rides.  The hike ends at Bridge of the Gods, our gateway to Washington and perfect spot to take a day off.  20 miles East of here is Hood River a town that is on our "Top 10" places to live.  The last mile was on a bike path that was bordered with wild blackberries.  We meet a hiker, Samson, and his son that was joining him for a section, Bookbag. The 4 of us walked into town where signs for fresh salmon and cherries were for sale.  After a buying cherries we headed to the local brewery for dinner and a free beer.  Past patrons have played the "Pay it Forward" game and on the counter where there are tokens for PCT hikers to use for a free beer.  After dinner our next stop was the old style ice cream shop where Cheryl Strayed finished her hike with an ice cream cone.  Next stop is Washington, our last state.  What a journey it has been.  I can't believe it's almost over.