Hannah the hiker

Whatever weight I may have lost since starting the trail was immediately gained back at the breakfast buffet at Timberline Lodge. I had several servings of food. There were bagels, scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage, hash browns, pancakes, waffles, fruit, quiche, pastries, smoothies, and of course limitless coffee. I was so excited since breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. The buffet didn’t disappoint and I am so glad we made a point to stop here along the way.

I charged my electronics and called my parents before heading back on the trail. I got to FaceTime my mom and brother as they were traveling to my brothers college, it made me feel like I was kind of “there.” I feel pretty lucky that I get to call my parents so often while I’m on the trail, it’s definitely what I look forward to most when getting into towns. I just like to share whatever stories came from the last section of trail.

We left around 1:30 on August 13 to start day 38 of the trail. We decided to hike about 14.5 miles to a campsite and stream. These 14 miles were so nice. It was downhill for the first 4 and then relatively flat for the last 10. I listened to some music for the last 2 hours of hiking which was pretty relaxing. We even found a cooler for PCT Hikers near a trailhead we passed through. There was vegan jerky, skittles, pineapple, and salad mix in there. I took some skittles which were exactly the snack I was craving for the last couple miles before camp.

I got to the campsite around 6:30 and there were already a bunch of other hikers set up. I just laid my ground sheet and sleeping pad out again to cowboy camp. I read some of “Woodswoman” before going to sleep. The author hiked the Northville- Placid trail in 1973! I just found out about this trail a couple weeks ago and have been pretty interested in it. It’s about 130 miles of trail through the Adirondacks that people thru hike. It’s already on my list of hikes to do after the PCT so it’s pretty neat for me to read about this woman’s experience out there with her dog.

After I fell asleep I woke up to something running across my ground sheet and over my feet in my sleeping bag. I didn’t get a look at whatever animal it was, but it was kind of exciting!

We left camp at 6:30 on day 39. We walked about 9 miles to a forest road where we would have to start hitchhiking.

There is a 20 mile fire closure that we cannot walk through so we decided to hitch to Bend and then resupply and hitch back to trail the following day. We were pretty fortunate for this 100 mile hitch. A woman taking her granddaughter on a hike offered to drive us to the highway where there was more traffic. We had our thumbs out for about 10 minutes when a truck that had passed us turned around to pick us up. They knew there were pct hikers getting around a closure and figured we could use the ride. Luckily they were going in the direction of Bend and dropped us off about 20 miles from the city. They were so nice and asked us a bunch of questions and just wanted to know about our adventures so far. So a special shoutout to Rob and Becky for the hospitality and wonderful company. We then got on the sidewalk ready to stick the thumbs out again and within a minute a guy driving a van asked us where we were headed. We yelled Bend and he said “hop in!” He hiked the PCT in 2020 and had a pretty neat van set up. He drove us all the way to a trail angels tiny house that we arranged to stay at. We went 100 miles in a little under 3 hours! Not bad for our first big hitchhiking experience. I wrote the license plate numbers down and sent them to my mom along the way just to practice some caution.

The trail angel we stayed with lives at “The Camp” in Bend which is a neat little campground. You can bring your own rv or stay in their retro/vintage rvs. There’s laundry, showers, patio with fire pit and stove, and a little library. I’d probably come back here to hang out in Bend after the PCT since it’s such a cool little spot. The trail angel we stayed with is also really cool. She’s done a couple Ironmans and some crazy races around the United States. I loved talking with her about her training, diet, and lifestyle. I could talk about that stuff all day long.

We resupplied at the Safeway in town and also had a bite to eat at “El Sancho.” I was able to get some Nutella and more peanut butter which I have been craving. We also found out that Ross was in Bend so we met up with him at the Bunk and Brew which is a hostel pretty much made for dirt bags. We had dinner with him and also got some ice cream and sat by the water to catch up. It’s been nice to keep in touch with people I’ve met along the trail. I feel like I’ve made some good friends even if we haven’t known each other for long.

The only unfortunate thing about today was that I ripped a huge hole in both the heels of a pair of my hiking socks. I contacted darn tough last week about getting new socks through their lifetime warranty and hopefully I will have new ones sent to me when I’m in Ashland. For now I have one new pair of socks and another pair that are on their way out.

On day 40 we slept in a little bit since the post office didn’t open til 9:30. I had some coffee and read my book on the patio at the campground. It was a pretty relaxing morning. I was kind of sad to leave so soon since Bend seems like a cool place to stay. I’ll just have to come back. I said goodbye to our hosts and headed to the post office. I ended up walking to the wrong one but this just meant we could stop at the bakery to get a quick bite to eat. I had a tasty fruit and cheese scone. One woman saw us with our packs and told me “Cheryl Strayed would be proud of you.” That made me feel really happy since “Wild” is a big inspiration for me. I finally went to the right post office and got my resupply. There were two separate people in like that told me good luck and safe travels since they saw my backpack. Those kinds of interactions stick with me and make me feel really happy with what I’m doing.

We started the somewhat difficult hitch back to the trail. We got off trail at SOBO mile 579.2 and back on at 652.7 to get around the Lionshead Fire closure. Unfortunately I had to skip a little over 70 miles of trail because of this closure. However I can’t do much about it besides maybe coming back one day to hike through it when it’s open.

One guy gave us a ride to just outside of town where we might have better luck than in the city. We then got a ride within 5 minutes from a guy who’s daughter hiked the trail in 2016. I enjoyed listening to him talk about her time on the trail and how he helps other pct hikers out by giving rides. He drove us all the way to Santiam Pass trailhead. This was the entrance to the Willamette national forest which is pretty close to Williamette so of course I took a picture here. It was around 12:30 when we started. I walked about 1.5 miles to a pond and had a break and filtered some water. Here I said a goodbye to Autopilot. I let him know I was going to hike in my own from here on out since that was my plan when I headed into this thru hike.

I walked 2 more miles and ran into some trail magic! There was a guy who hiked the pct 10 years ago and his friend who hiked part of the Oregon Coast Trail. They had chips, dips, beer, lemonade, candy, and carrots. I snacked on some carrots and hummus and drank some lemonade. The PCT hiker and I talked about the crazy dreams we get when hiking, it was neat to know that I’m not the only one who has vivid dreams out here. I could have sat there and talked for quite some time but I had to still walk 15 miles and it was 3:30.

I kept going and had to go up about 900 feet in 3 miles and then downhill for 2. Then I had to go up 700 feet in 3 miles through lava rock. This was a great stretch of trail. It was super rocky which was tough on my shoes and feet but exposed and beautiful. I could see the Three Sisters and walked by Mount Washington and Belknap Crater. I really enjoyed the walk through here while the sun was setting. I only filtered water (foolishly) at the pond at the beginning of the hike and only had about half a liter left until the next water source 5 miles away. I definitely didn’t drink enough water leading up to this point and was not happy with myself that I put myself in another situation where I could become dehydrated. I tried not to think about water too much, which of course made me think of it even more. I walked for a bit and got to a dirt road and campsite. There was a water cache here! With 10 gallons of water! So I filled up one of my water bottles and felt so thankful that someone drives water up there for pct hikers. I felt like I was just running into all sorts of trail magic lately. There was even a grocery bag with full size snickers bars and hydration mix pouches. I took a snickers and chowed down on that for the last couple miles to my campsite.

It was about 8:30 after I left the cache so I had to wear my headlamp. I still had to walk through a bunch of lava rock so it was pretty slow going to make sure I didn’t trip or hurt myself. I got to the Lava Lake Campsite at 9:50 which meant I walked 18.3 miles since 12:30. It was the latest that I got into camp but I felt very proud of myself for putting in the extra miles and work. I quickly set up my ground sheet, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag and had some peanut butter before going to sleep. As I was falling asleep I could feel something walking nearby through my pillow on the ground. I sat up and there was a deer about 6 feet away just wandering the campsite. The deer stayed for a couple minutes and then just walked off closer to the lake.

On day 41 I slept in! It felt relieving to be on my own schedule. I enjoyed my coffee and watched birds fly back and forth among the trees overhead. There was a curious chipmunk who might have smelled my shelled peanuts and decided he would have a look at my little site. He sat on a tree stump about 2 feet away from me and we just looked at eachother for a moment before he scurried off. I love when those things happen, most of the time animals run away before you can even get a good look at them.

I left camp around 7:30. I had about 5 miles of going uphill but it was very gradual and not that taxing on my legs. I enjoyed seeing all the lava rocks on the trail and the nearby mountains and craters. The trees in this section are pretty burnt from an old forest fire so there were clear views of the surrounding scenery. This also meant there was little shade, it got very hot out. I looked at my thermometer a couple times and it got up to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. But it’s just a little thermometer from LL Bean so I’m not sure how accurate it is, it definitely felt that hot though!

I walked about 9 miles before entering the “Obsidian limited use entry area.” PCT hikers are not allowed to camp here and regular hikers have to pay for a permit to hike and camp here. This area was incredible. At first I thought there was a bunch of glass on the ground but then I remembered I’m literally walking through an area of Obsidian rock. The rock on the trail shined in the sun and the pieces I picked up to look at were pretty sharp. It was so cool to see all these different kinds of rocks in one day. I had a long lunch break at the Obsidian falls which is a huge waterfall cutting through the rock. I washed my legs and face in the chilly water and had some food. I met a family of hikers who wanted to hear all about my journey on the PCT. The daughter said “oh great he’s going to fan girl now.” I thought that was funny. I could definitely relate to the guy’s curiosity though because I was the same way when I met thru hikers on the Appalachian trail during spring break. I walked about 7 more miles after lunch and took a long break next to a pond. It was so hot out and there was no shade along the trail so I was getting tired pretty easily. I added some electrolytes to my water and had some trail mix. I was feeling really happy with my progress for the day. I took several long breaks and had still walked 17 miles by 4.

I rinsed off my face with water again to cool off before starting up for the last couple miles to camp. This was mostly downhill and easy going. I met a woman riding a horse with another horse tagged on to the rope behind. I’ve seen lots of horse poop and hoove marks in the sand so it was cool to finally see a horse. I got to camp a little after 6 and was happy to find that it was a big campsite where you could spread out and not really see anybody. I washed myself in the stream nearby and was able to clean up pretty nicely after walking through a bunch of loose sand and dirt all day! I put on my pajamas and set up my cowboy style campsite. I enjoyed some ramen and peanuts for dinner and hot cocoa for dessert. I sipped on the cocoa while reading my book which was pretty relaxing. There was a dragonfly that kept flying right next to my head and around my camp. I enjoyed it though because my mom gave me a dragonfly necklace and said that it’s suppose to be the hikers companion. I’m not sure how true it is but I’m always happy to see dragonfly’s because of that.

I walked 19.6 miles on this day and was again feeling proud of myself. I though about going for 25 miles but I don’t want to push myself too hard and not be able to hike quickly the next day. I’ve just got to keep doing 20 mile days and slowly work my way up to 25. My pack is heavy right now because I have about 7 days of food in it, so pushing for more miles is a little difficult with all of that weight. I’m trying not to compare myself and my progress to other people out here on the trail because when I start doing that I hike lousy and get upset easily. I haven’t done much of that comparing stuff the past couple days so I am also proud of myself for that!

On day 42 I left camp around 7:20. I had a nice cup of coffee with hot cocoa mixed in and some instant oatmeal for breakfast. The walk in the morning was spectacular. I walked through this gorgeous rolling meadow where I could see the trail extend for about a quarter of a mile. The sun was shining just above the rocks next to the trail and it was about 60 degrees out. I loved this little section and was sad when the trail headed back into the woods. I walked about 5 miles until 9:30 and took a break at the top of a climb. I had great cell service up here and a great view so I took a long break. I chatted with some other hikers too who were pretty curious about my trip. One woman’s granddaughters name is Hannah and it was her birthday which was kind of neat. I continued on and walked another 5 miles to lunchtime. I found a nice shady spot to read my book and have something to eat. I stayed here for about an hour and a half before continuing on. There were some clouds in the sky and it was muggy out so I thought it was going to start raining.

It drizzled only a little bit. I walked 7 more miles before I took a break and read more of my book. It was about 85 degrees Fahrenheit from 12 to 4. This made me feel a little tired and thirsty so I drank lots of water and added some electrolytes to the water as well. I only had 3 more miles to camp so I listened to some John Prine along the way. I could hear thunder clapping over the music and turned it off to listen to the storm rolling in. There were several booms of thunder and I was trying to get to camp quickly so I wouldn’t get caught in the rain. About 2 miles from camp I started to smell smoke. I assumed it was from the Windigo Fire that started at the beginning of August and is the next closure I have to jump around. It was strange smelling the smoke but it wasn’t too bad that it was making me choke up or anything. I got to camp around 5:30 and set up my tent. This broke my 6 day stretch of cowboy camping unfortunately. It had started to rain so I just didn’t want to risk getting all my gear wet without the tent up. I took a quick dip in the lake before anyone else set up camp here. I ate dinner in my tent and relaxed a bit since it was still a little early to fall asleep. I walked 20.6 miles on this day and felt happy with my progress. Again, I took a couple long breaks and still got to camp at a reasonable time!

I had another really good day on day 43. I had woken up in the night to what I thought were heavy footsteps and the light of a flashlight. I just thought it was someone getting to camp late and setting up. I also heard some rustling of my camp pot next to my tent. When I got up in the morning the couple camped next to me asked if I saw what was at my tent the night before. I said that I thought it was a person setting up camp. They let me know it was a bear! Apparently the light was from the couple and they were trying to scare the bear away by making noise. I was surprised to find out it was a bear, but that’s still kind of cool even thought I didn’t get to actually see it.

I left camp around 7:40. There was a light rain which just made me want to stay in my sleeping bag all day and read. But I got up and started walking. I hiked about 7 miles mostly uphill before taking a break. It was 11:30 and I had great cell service. I called one of my friends and ended up staying on the phone with them for 3 hours. I never thought I would be that person making phone calls on the trail but I will admit it was quite a treat. It was nice to catch up and talk about my adventures so far. After getting off the phone I started to hike the last 13 miles for the day. This was a little bit of down and then back up to my campsite. I listened to music the whole way and sang a good bit too since the trail wasn’t busy. These were pretty easy miles and time seemed to just fly by. About 7 miles from camp I walked through an interesting section of trail. I walked through a previously burned section where there were several fallen and charred trees. Here I could see and smell smoke again from the Windigo fire that started in August. It was odd to be walking through an old burned part and smell smoke.

I wished that I had planned my mileage differently and was camping in this exposed section since it just seemed so cool to me. But there was no water source and I wanted to hit 20 miles so I kept going. I made it to camp by 8 and was able to catch the last part of the sunset. The soft orange of the sunset broke through the trees I was camped near and splashed light on the rocks behind me. It was beautiful. I had dinner and finished my book after watching the sun go down.

On day 44 I had a really nice and easy morning. I packed up and started hiking around 8:40. It was downhill for 3 miles to a lake where I filtered some water. I only had 11 miles left to get into town at this point. The smoke was thick through these miles but not intolerable. I met some northbound hikers and chatted with them a little bit about the closure I have to go around. I even met a woman with the same backpack as me! I thought that was cool. One hiker said she got rides around the closure while others said they road walked around it. I never considered walking on roads around the fire closure.

I got to town around 2 and was happy to find that they had a special tent set up for hikers. I put my gear down, plugged in my electronics and went to find some food. I hadn’t planned on stopping in town, only to get rides to the next part of trail but I felt like taking some time off wouldn’t hurt. I need to charge everything up anyway before I continue on. The waitress at the little restaurant even gave me a chocolate chip cookie for free, so I guess that’s a sign I made the right decision. Shelter Cove is a neat little resort on Odell Lake perfect for taking a nero. The only complaint I have is there is no honey sold here, I’ve been craving that lately! I have about 3 days of hiking after this stop until I’m in Crater Lake National Park where my next resupply box awaits. I decided I’m going to do the road walk detour instead of just skipping ahead. I don’t want to take the easy way out on this hike so the road walk seems like the best fit for me. I’ve met some north bounders who said they enjoyed this detour since it was quite a bit different from the rest of the trail.

Here are some bonus photos from the past week.