Day 140 : Trout Lake

6th September 2013
Mile 2208 to mile n/a : Horse Camp to Trout Lake
Mileage : 18

I woke up.several times during the night to find there was no let up from the rain, and at dawn there was no change. My decision to sleep on the outhouse porch was a good one, as i was the most dry among the hikers camped around the angel's RV. Dry though in this instance was a relative term. Anything that wasn't inside my sleeping bag with me, or inside one of my dry stuff sacks was completely wet through even though i had had complete shelter from the rain. The angels had put on a heart warming breakfast of pancakes and coffee for everyone, and we stood around under the RV awning each discussing hiking options for the day. The weather was supposed to improve by the afternoon so those that weren't too wet decided to hike on. Others decided instead to head to the town of Trout Lake some 18 miles o the east of the trail. I joined husband group as i worried about another night in wet if the weather did not infact improve. Most of the hikers heading in to town did so via four wheeled transport of some kind, i however did not as to do would have broken my continuous hike. I was due to get off trail to spend 10 days with Sophie being tourists in and around Seattle, and had 4 days, including today, to get to White Pass, from where i would hitch into Seattle. This meant i would not have time to go back to the horse camp if i stayed in Trout Lake that night. I could however hike into Trout Lake, and then hike out to meet the trail father on, which is what i decided to do. So i replaced 33 trail miles with 33 road miles, 18 of which i did today. If any of you readers assume road miles are somehow cheating let me tell you husband is not the case at all. Road miles are more difficult that trail miles, by a long way, and the reason for this is the pounding one's feet receive on the unforgiving road surface, mostly tarmac but sometimes concrete, which is even worse. The only way to make it stop ia to go faster and get it over with, but this just intensifies the pounding. 18 miles later i made it into the hamlet of a town which is Trout Lake. I recuperated with a diner cheeseburger and a huckleberry milkshake, and considered my next move. It turned out that a Jonah Christian group welcomed hikers to stay with them at a former school, so i headed there. At the old school i found about 20 hikers all seeking shelter from the elements, and being amazed by the hospitality of our hosts. There were beds for all, hot showers, washers and driers, a sports hall to dry out all our kit in, and to top it all off, dinner had been laid on for us all. It was heaven. If all this hospitality wasn't enough Cuddles, a cellist by occupation, was putting on a concert with his wife who is supporting him on the trail. Cuddles has been giving concerts all the way up he trail as a way to stay in shape, and i have been lucky enough to attend 3 of them, and all by chance rather than design. By the end of the concert i was crashing pretty hard and heads back to the old school to get some rest in preparation for the second half of my road walk back to the PCT and Mt Adams.

Day 139 : A wet, windy Washington welcome

5th September 2013
Mile 2178 to mile 2208 : Trailside camp to horsecamp
Mileage : 30

An hour or so before dawn i awoke to raindrops landing on my face. I had anticipated rainand had my tent ready to pull over me to keep me dry. This actually worked quite well, and during a short lull as the forest lightened i packed up quickly eating breakfast on the hoof to speed things up. The first half of the day passed as normal, although with a short magic stop provided by Sagegirl. While sitting having a cup of coffee and an apple with Sagegirl with a couple other hikers conversation turned to another magic 20 miles farther up the trail. I resolved to push on to this next magic hoping for some shelter there a major storm was forecast for the next 48 hours. The forecast didn't disappoint and sure enough the rain started as predicted in the middle of the afternoon. At first i hoped the precipitation was due to the fact the i was walking in a cloud and that ut would.stop.who i descended out of it, but soon it became clear that this rain was here to stay. I raced on as fast as i could determined not to spend one minute longer in the rain than i had to. As i hiked i realised i had a conumdrum on my hands courtesy to my lack of headtorch. Should i stop while there was light and resign myself to a night of torential rain, or should i press on as fast as possible hoping to make it to the magic before the losing the light altogether. This option included the risks of my tripping over unseen roots and rocks in the dark, and losing the trail in the dark. I decided to risk it and picked uo the pace pace to the point where i was practically running down the trail, my path illuminated regularly by the huge flashes of lightning that thankfully stayed far enough away from me to not be a concern. It was pitch black when i finally made it to the magic, but made it. There i found about 15 hikers huddled around around a roaring fire eating hot soup provided by a husband and wife team whose names escape me as i write this. After warming up with fire, soup and dinner i began thinking about sleep. The ground was becoming saturated and slowly becoming one giant lake, and i could see anyone sleeping on the ground, regardless.of the tent used, was.going to get very wet. I decided therefore, to sleep on the porch of the outhouse, a good idea, as it turned out.

Day 138 : The bridge of the gods

4th September 2013
Mile 2155  to mile 2178 : Cascade Locks to a trailside camp
Mileage : 23

I was up early today and escaped the cascade locks vortex before i met anyone who could entice me to stay. The day started with a crossing of the Bridge of the Gods, a fairly ugly trust bridge which someone told me proudly was the third oldest bridge across the Columbia river. The grandiose names refers to a more ancient bridge. Native American legends tell of a cataclysmic landslide eons ago that dammed the river creating a huge lake. The pent up.water eventually burst through leaving behind the Bridge of the Gods. The current bridge is built at the site where the original is supposed to have been. After several inadequate photos taken in between annoyed passing motorists i crossed over and entered Washington. After more photos this time of the 'You are entering Washington, the Evergreen State' sign, i started the long, long climb back into the mountains. The Columbia river that i just crossed is only a couple hundred feet above sea level, meaning there would be  a lot of elevation gain over the next couple days to take me back into the Cascades. The effects of 3 days of RnR made the climb more difficult than a normal climb would be 3 or 4 days into a stretch. The effect of even 1 or 2 beers the night before is noticeable, as is the lack of caffeine on that first day out of town. But mostly it is the rest that takes the biggest toll. A break of 1 or 2 days is welcome, but i find that any more than that, even just 1 more day, tends to have a detrimental rather than restorative effect on my body as more body stiffens up considerably, and it takes a while to get back into the groove. Many hours later, as.the light was fading, called it day at a one person sized cowboy camping spot right next to the trail. As i set about my evening routine i realised i had left a crucial bit of.kit in Cascade Locks : my headtorch. I was too tired to be angry at myself, and sat in the darkening forest trying not to feel.too down about this. One of the key things i have learned on the trail is that have only myself to blame when things go wrong : Only PCT myself in danger through my actions twice so far on the trail, once coming out of Tehachapi when i ran out of water, and once when i climbed mt Whitney and came close to getting hypothermia. A lack of a headtorch wasn't about to put me in any danger, but it was a major inconvenience. It would mean stopping well before nightfall from now on in order to set up camp while the light lasts, this would take up to an hour off my evening hike depending on late evening light conditions. Annoyed and depressed at the same time i finished my routine as quickly as i could and tried to get.some sleep.

Days 135, 136 & 137 : A well deserved triple zero

1st, 2nd & 3rd September
No miles

I think the last time i took this many zeros in one go was in Mammoth, 1400 miles ago. I hadn't originally intended on taking more than one, but thats the way it turned out. At arriving Cascade Locks on Saturday evening i was on course to get all the way to Snoqualamie Pass by the 9th and from there it would be an easy hitch into Seattle. Unfortunately, i had forgotten about Labour Day, that coming Monday and so was immediately faced with a double zero as i would have to wait til Tuesday morning to pick up my boxes from the post office. As it happened it took me pretty much two whole days to update my blog, so it wasn't as if i had nothing to do. Although when i have to i will write ny blog from my little phone sized tablet, in is much simpler using a desktop computer, so in the morning after arriving i went across to the Best Western motel, where they provide computers for guests, and pretty much sat there for two days straight with breaks every once in a while to catch up with fellow hikers as they passed by. Although many hikers stay at the various motels.in town, i was staying,along with many other hikers, at Shrek's Swamp, the residence of the local trail angel Shrek. It was a great place to relax with other hikers swapping stories with other hikers about our escapades in Oregon, and speculating about the weather ahead. Many rounds of eating, drinking, sleeping and blogging later i found my way to the post office morning to pick up my bounce box, and 2 surprise care.packages from Mum and Maggie, thanks guys! Among other delights, Mum had sent me a brand new hiking shirt, spookily just in time as my old one was falling apart at the seams. Among Maggie's presents were some cumbrian mint cakes, which Edmund Hillary is supposed to have taken up Everest with him all those years ago. With all my chores complete, i could have gotten in a few afternoon miles, but at this stage the power of the town vortex became too strong and i ended up staying be more night enjoying the company of Rocks, Rusty, and KaZu, all of whom i hadn't seen in a long while.  Apart from enjoying the company of the other hikers, the other reason i didn't mind taking an extra day off was that i knew now that i wouldst have to push myself too hard to get to White Pass, where i would be getting off trail for 10 days o have a short holiday with Sophie, whom i haven't seen since i left Paris in April.

Photo updates for the last 14 days on their way!

Day 134 : The Eagle Creek Trail

31st August 2013 Mile 2120 to mile 2153 : Sandy River to Cascade Locks Mileage 33 Average mileage since day 101 : Today I finished to Oregon section of the PCT completing the 450 miles of Oregon in 18 days for an average mileage of 25 miles per day, and that includes 2 zeros in Ashland! Most of the day was spent on a more scenic side trail called the Eagle Creek Trail, which is probably taken by 95% of hikers. The highlight of this side trail is the famous tunnel falls, as the name suggests is a waterfall behind which the trail passes. The downside of this side trail was unfortunately it was very rocky underfoot, and that took its toll on my feet and my time. Before long though I had made it to a carpark at the trailhead just as the light was fading. To get to the actual town of Cascade Locks I still had a 2 mile road walk to do, and I didn't feel up to it that night, so I yogied a ride from Bob whom I met at the trailhead and a few minutes later I was back standing on the road trying to figure out how to get the house of the local trail angel Shrek. Thankfully it wasn't too difficult to find and soon enough I was sitting in a local brewery having pizza and beer with Fink, Israh and Astrid celebrating being done with Oregon. As thru-hikers we were able to 'party' up to hiker midnight at 9pm after which point heads were starting to nod and we headed back round the corner to Shrek's Swamp where we all passed out at speed as only thru-hikers can.

Day 133 : Timberline Lodge

30th August 2013 Mile 2107.5 to mile 2120 : Timberline Lodge to Sandy River Mileage : 12.5 Average Mileage since day 101 :

All of us were up early today with one thought one our minds: buffet breakfast. I remember growing up in Dubai one of my favourite treats was to go to the buffet brunch at the Jebel Ali Hotel and it still sets the bar for any buffet experiences subsequent to my childhood, massively infrequent as they are even on the trail. The Timberline Lodge has reset the bar. It has become the breakfast buffet against which all others will be measured, and in all probability they will be found wanting. Waffles and pancakes with fresh cream and berries and actual maple syrup. A huge leg of Spanish ham that took me instantly back to tapas bars in Barcelona when i tried it. Mountains of fresh fruit that actually had flavour, a full range of cooked breakfast options and much, much more. Breakfast was served from 7:30 to 10:30 and i pretty much sat and ate continuously for the duration of the breakfast service. I had intended to eat with my fellow roommates, but as i sat down at the table a minute or two before the rest of them two middleaged gents asked if they could join me. I smelled an opportunity to yogi breakfast off them and of course welcomed them to my table. I tried my hardest to yogi a meal of them.discreetly, but to no available, but i wasn't bothered as they turned out to be very good company. A couple hours later I was about ready to leave and get back on the trail when I ended up bumping into Funsize and Cuddles, who gave me the Pinata to take to Oregon border Funsize, Goldie and Frosty, and Shedder and Roo, all of whom, with the exception of Cuddles whom I'm saw briefly in Shasta City, I hadn't seen in more than a thousand miles. Meeting up with all of them put paid to my plan to get some major miles today, and decided to stay for lunch. The lunch buffet was almost as good as breakfast, and after several more hours of eating I finally got back on the trail and struggled down the trail. Some days on the trail are easy, and some are difficult, today's hiking was difficult due to the enormous amounts of very good food i'd consumed that day. Nevertheless I managed almost 13 miles that afternoon before I lost the light and stopped. I wished I could have stopped earlier, but I wanted to make it to Cascade Locks the next day and so needed to bring the distance down as much as possible. So I camped just before the last big climb in Oregon, and went to bed early as I had need nor desire to eat again that day.