Hannah the hiker

On day 35 (August 10) we left Portland and headed back to Cascade Locks to get on the trail. Portland was somewhat fun. I went to the Powell bookstore and got a book about a woman who lived alone in the Adirondacks “Woodswoman.” I also went to a couple outdoor gear shops but none of them had the water bottle I was looking for. I got new shoes too, the REI didn’t have my size in the womens trailrunners I like so I had to get the mens size. My feet have gotten wider since the start of the trail and I’m now wearing mens wide 10.5 trailrunners. It’s crazy, but they’re comfortable.

I saw lots of homeless people which made me upset. It made me feel conflicted about this whole hike. I’m pretty much homeless backpacking for 4 months and treated a lot differently than people who are actually homeless. People give hikers food, rides, access to laundry, whereas actual homeless people aren’t even given respect oftentimes. I wish this were different, and maybe I can make it different once I’m done hiking who knows.

After an hour or two of walking around the city I was ready to go back into the woods. I will admit it was amazing to sleep in a bed and take a bath while off the trail. I had lots of good food to eat too, a tasty salad, falafel wrap, and breakfast that was included with the room.

I was excited to get back on the trail but felt like I could’ve stayed in bed all week since I was pretty tired. Before we got on trail we added some things to the hiker box at the local campground. There were at least 15 tents set up in one spot here. I am glad I didn’t take a rest day here since that is too many of us in one spot for my liking.

Before leaving town a NOBO hiker offered a doughnut he bought from “Voodoo Doughnuts” to me since he didn’t want to carry it. I obviously took him up on the offer since I didn’t get the chance to stop at the shop when we were in the city. I just strapped it to my Fanny pack.

We started back on the trail around 3:30 and decided to take an alternate route that will go by some pretty waterfalls. We just did 8 miles to a campsite and got there by 6:30. I didn’t set my tent up and decided to just blow up my sleeping pad and lay my sleeping bag out since it wasn’t suppose to rain. I ate my doughnut and read some of my book before going to sleep.

On day 36 we left camp by 6:30. I slept great out in the open the night before and enjoyed that when I woke up periodically I could see the stars clearly. We walked by some waterfalls and eventually Tunnel Falls. It was this huge waterfall with a cave trail underneath it. It was neat. Then we walked about 6 more miles and gained about 3,200 feet in elevation. It was pretty steep for the last two miles but was a fun challenge. At the top I had a quick break and snack. We decided to go another 2 miles before having lunch since it was only 11.

However, I walked about half a mile and there was a great view point of Mount Adams, Rainier, and St. Helens. So we had lunch here. I enjoyed the view while I ate and let my shoes and feet air out. I had service here and messaged a bit with my younger brother. He was getting ready to leave for college the next day. I felt sad that I wasn’t going to be there to help him move in, and I missed my family a bit. I tried not to think about it too much, but I did for the next couple hours. I just told myself that I will be able to visit him once I’m done with the trail. When I get a little sad like that I just end up writing more poetry before I go to sleep.

I met a lot of hikers through here, and unfortunately had to stop and step aside for all of them except 5 who let me have the right of way. It’s frustrating to stop your momentum when hiking uphill and stopping for people to pass you going downhill.

There were quite a few downed trees which required hopping over and crawling under but added some fun to the walking.

I had about 13 miles to go to the campsite and it was relatively flat since we had done all the climbing in the morning. I stopped and took a couple small breaks to snack on an apple and drink some water. There were some open areas of trail with views of Mount Hood. I wish I had kept my snow gear with me so I could attempt a summit while I’m at Timberline Lodge. Maybe I’ll do that in the future. I got to the campsite around 6:30. I laid out my ground sheet and sleeping pad again to cowboy camp.

I had some Alfredo pasta for dinner which was quite tasty after a long day. I also had a freeze dried ice cream sandwich that my Cousin Anne bought me for my birthday. It was such a sweet treat! I put it in this resupply box because I knew it would be a nice treat for finishing Washington. Thanks Cousin Anne!

I was reading my book before going to sleep when I heard an ATV revving nearby. Someone tried to drive it on the trail but other thru hikers camping nearby told them it’s not allowed on the PCT. The driver then started to yell and swear at them saying he lived nearby and could do whatever he liked. He revved his engine a bunch and then drove back and forth on the gravel road nearby yelling. I was pretty scared that he would start driving on the trail again and through the campsites, or just come back and yell some more. I am not quite sure why the hikers said anything to him in the first place. I get that it’s a rule you can’t drive an atv on the trail but we aren’t forest rangers here and generally telling someone they can’t do something doesn’t end well since it’s confrontation. Confrontation and being in the woods miles away from civilization just doesn’t sound like a great mix to me. I just tried to get some sleep and hoped that he wouldn’t come back (and he didn’t). We did 20 miles on this day.

Day 37 we left camp around 6:50 and started hiking for the day. We had a lot of ascent and descent before we got to Timberline Lodge. We went up about 900 feet in 1.5 miles and down 1,300 feet in about 3 miles. Here we took an alternate route that reconnects with the PCT. This route took us past Ramona Falls which was a big waterfall.

I had a quick snack here before continuing on. After the falls the trail went uphill. It was about 2,400 feet of elevation gain in about 6 miles. I didn’t go super fast since I was pretty tired and hungry. I had a couple water breaks and one snack break.

Finally I got to the viewpoint of Mount Hood and stopped around 12:30 to have lunch here. At this point I had hiked 10 miles already. I tried to take a nap but the trail was just too busy for this to happen. I just rested my feet and enjoyed the view. I left around 1:45 and kept going up until I got to 5,486 feet.

Now the trail dipped down to Zig zag river at 4,770 feet. The water crossing wasn’t too difficult since it was just a bit of rock hopping. Then I had to start climbing back up again! I went up about 1,300 feet in 3 ish miles. This section of trail had amazing views of Mount Hood and I took several breaks soaking in the sight.

There was also a tiny little waterfall on the trail that was perfect for dipping my head under which felt refreshing. Near the top of this climb I ran into several day hikers which meant I was close to Timberline Lodge! I got to the lodge at 5:30 and went to pick up my resupply box. Someone asked if we just got back from the summit of Mount Hood, I wish I could say I did!

I set up camp a little ways away from the lodge and had some instant rice noodles and a chocolate bar I bought from the store for dinner. I decided to cowboy camp again since I had a great view of Mount Hood. We did 17.5 miles on this day.

In the morning we will have the legendary Timberline Lodge Breakfast buffet! Timberline Lodge was built in 1937 as a ski lodge. It was declared a National historic landmark in 1977 and sits at an elevation of 6,000 feet.

The next couple sections of trail are going to be a bit difficult because we have to navigate around fire closures. I am hoping it isn’t too stressful. I am really worried that I won’t be able to hike much of the PCT in Oregon, but I can’t do much about wild forest fires. I’m just going to enjoy as much of it as I can, especially the views of Mount Hood right from my sleeping bag.