tiffany's pct journal
ENTRY 8.
Washington Section H: Highway 12 (White Pass) to Cascade Locks - Part II.
Days: 28 - 32.
Dates: July 31 - August 4.
Trail mileage: 423.7 - 506.0.
Distance: 82.3 miles.
I got to camp at 9:00 that night out of Trout Lake because we took our sweet time getting out of town. I was so sleepy the next morning because 9:00 PM is way past hiker midnight — I think I'd usually conk out sometime around 8:00 PM.
The next day was crazy flat, so I did my longest day to date, and in fewer hours than I expected — I made it about 26 miles in 10 hours. For someone with tiny legs like me (I stand tall at 5'1" — that's 155 cm for you enlightened folks), that felt very impressive.
I made it to an actual campground, which had campsites with real picnic tables! Man, you don't realize how much you miss chairs and tables until the closest ones to you are dozens of miles away. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes made me hate my life if I sat outside of my tent too long. Guess you can't win 'em all.
I'm coming for you, Mount Hood
It was a very sunny day, so I could see how close Mount Hood was getting. That was exciting, because that meant we were getting closer to Oregon!
Of course, the trail never lets you celebrate too long. The next day was the most miserable I'd had on trail yet.
Gloomy, gray day
It started raining like 10 minutes after I left camp. I thought it might stop because it wasn't very hard, so I didn't bother grabbing out my raincoat. That was a mistake. An hour later, I gave in and got out my raincoat. By now, I was already soaking wet, so it was nice that the coat was keeping me from getting more wet, but I was pretty uncomfortable. My feet were squishing in my shoes for hours.
The rain didn't stop all day. Even though it was raining, there was almost no water on the trail to be found, so I was thirsty and completely drenched. Thank goodness for trail angels, who leave caches for us thru-hikers in the long stretches with little water. Water had not been an issue for almost all of Washington, so this was a new problem to have.
Thank you for the water caches, trail angels!
And just to make the day even better, my headphones stopped working. I assume it's because they got wet, but they stopped working entirely, so I couldn't even distract myself from the uncomfortableness of being soaked with some tunes.
I passed several NOBO hikers, who were excited to tell me there was trail magic up ahead. Naturally, by the time I got there, there was nothing to be found. And it was getting extremely humid, so not only was I frustrated and thirsty, but also lightheaded. The day ended with a huge climb, and I've got to admit: I thought about how there was no way I could finish this thing that day.
Always loved seeing these trail signs
The next day was much sunnier, although still incredibly humid and it was very hot. But I crossed the Bridge of the Gods into Oregon!
Not going to lie — that bridge was sketchy. It's a grate bridge so I thought I was going to phase through it and fall into the Columbia (as previously mentioned, I am absurdly terrified of heights) and it doesn't have a pedestrian walkway, so I was trying to make sure I didn't get run over either. It's a good thing I was riding the high of finishing an entire state or I would have had a way harder time crossing that thing.
Hitting the highway right before Bridge of the Gods felt so good
Because Portland is only a 45-minute drive away from Cascade Locks (which is right on the trail), and it was only a few hours drive for my partner, he decided to come see me because it was a weekend.
I decided to zero in Portland because (a) I was exhausted and feeling burnt out after finishing Washington and (b) I didn't ever actually expect to get this far, so I hadn't planned out a damn thing for my Oregon resupply, save for sending a single box to Timberline Lodge 50 miles south.
Town food yummmm
That zero wasn't very relaxing, because I spent the whole day putting together resupply boxes, but I got to spend it with my partner, and in a bed, and in a motel room with plumbing, and I got to eat real cooked food. What more can a hiker ask for?
Washington Section H: Highway 12 (White Pass) to Cascade Locks - Part II.
Days: 28 - 32.
Dates: July 31 - August 4.
Trail mileage: 423.7 - 506.0.
Distance: 82.3 miles.
I got to camp at 9:00 that night out of Trout Lake because we took our sweet time getting out of town. I was so sleepy the next morning because 9:00 PM is way past hiker midnight — I think I'd usually conk out sometime around 8:00 PM.
The next day was crazy flat, so I did my longest day to date, and in fewer hours than I expected — I made it about 26 miles in 10 hours. For someone with tiny legs like me (I stand tall at 5'1" — that's 155 cm for you enlightened folks), that felt very impressive.
I made it to an actual campground, which had campsites with real picnic tables! Man, you don't realize how much you miss chairs and tables until the closest ones to you are dozens of miles away. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes made me hate my life if I sat outside of my tent too long. Guess you can't win 'em all.
I'm coming for you, Mount Hood
It was a very sunny day, so I could see how close Mount Hood was getting. That was exciting, because that meant we were getting closer to Oregon!
Of course, the trail never lets you celebrate too long. The next day was the most miserable I'd had on trail yet.
Gloomy, gray day
It started raining like 10 minutes after I left camp. I thought it might stop because it wasn't very hard, so I didn't bother grabbing out my raincoat. That was a mistake. An hour later, I gave in and got out my raincoat. By now, I was already soaking wet, so it was nice that the coat was keeping me from getting more wet, but I was pretty uncomfortable. My feet were squishing in my shoes for hours.
The rain didn't stop all day. Even though it was raining, there was almost no water on the trail to be found, so I was thirsty and completely drenched. Thank goodness for trail angels, who leave caches for us thru-hikers in the long stretches with little water. Water had not been an issue for almost all of Washington, so this was a new problem to have.
Thank you for the water caches, trail angels!
And just to make the day even better, my headphones stopped working. I assume it's because they got wet, but they stopped working entirely, so I couldn't even distract myself from the uncomfortableness of being soaked with some tunes.
I passed several NOBO hikers, who were excited to tell me there was trail magic up ahead. Naturally, by the time I got there, there was nothing to be found. And it was getting extremely humid, so not only was I frustrated and thirsty, but also lightheaded. The day ended with a huge climb, and I've got to admit: I thought about how there was no way I could finish this thing that day.
Always loved seeing these trail signs
The next day was much sunnier, although still incredibly humid and it was very hot. But I crossed the Bridge of the Gods into Oregon!
Not going to lie — that bridge was sketchy. It's a grate bridge so I thought I was going to phase through it and fall into the Columbia (as previously mentioned, I am absurdly terrified of heights) and it doesn't have a pedestrian walkway, so I was trying to make sure I didn't get run over either. It's a good thing I was riding the high of finishing an entire state or I would have had a way harder time crossing that thing.
Hitting the highway right before Bridge of the Gods felt so good
Because Portland is only a 45-minute drive away from Cascade Locks (which is right on the trail), and it was only a few hours drive for my partner, he decided to come see me because it was a weekend.
I decided to zero in Portland because (a) I was exhausted and feeling burnt out after finishing Washington and (b) I didn't ever actually expect to get this far, so I hadn't planned out a damn thing for my Oregon resupply, save for sending a single box to Timberline Lodge 50 miles south.
Town food yummmm
That zero wasn't very relaxing, because I spent the whole day putting together resupply boxes, but I got to spend it with my partner, and in a bed, and in a motel room with plumbing, and I got to eat real cooked food. What more can a hiker ask for?