Oregon occurred in two parts: before and after Trail Days.
Part 1: Familiar Faces
I started out with Cascade hiking out of Ashland after our zero with Extra and Raccoon and our stay with trail angel Servpreet. I had heard that Oregon would be flat and that 30’s would be easy. However, despite how “easy” Oregon was, I felt very tired through Crater Lake until we arrived at Shelter Cove. I think I may not have been eating or sleeping enough. I had switched to a lighter sleeping bag after the Sierra Nevada, and I was often cold at night. Perhaps because I was feeling tired or had grown more independent and realized I could choose my own speed, I actually felt like I took my foot off the gas in easy Oregon.
Starting in the Crater Lake area, the trail covered volcanic areas: Crater Lake, of course, and fields of lava rock in the Three Sisters area. I loved the different views of black and red lava boulders. Stepping through the rocks was rough on my feet and slow going, but worth it for the views.
As a continuation of NorCal, I found that familiar faces stuck around, and I may not have developed the same type of tramily I had in California, but I almost always found someone nearby that I knew and gradually got to know better. Cascade and I hiked together until Crater Lake then got separated coming out of the national park. That’s when I started hiking with Mayor, an ER physician, and Spoons (going by Tanner when we met him. We gave him his name for continually losing his spoon. The first time I met him, he was using a wooden stick to eat his dinner). Our first night camping together, we stayed up late for wine and cheese night, enjoying the wine we had been gifted in the visitor center parking lot earlier that day. Then, arriving in Shelter Cove was like arriving at a party where I knew everybody; a fire had delayed everyone from leaving the day before, so the resort stop/campsite had twice the normal number of through hikers. I saw my old friend Raccoon, and newer friends such as Spare Parts; Wildlife; the band of brothers BIRD, Chost Wizard, and Chicken Joe; Geisha; and Spoons, Mayor, and Cascade arrived shortly after I did. Shelter Cove was a peak PCT moment, aside from the overly greasy food and astonishingly excessive piles of fries and cheese curds.
I hiked with Loopy, named for his 15+ loops around the South Lake Tahoe Rim Trail in a single season, for a couple days before Bend, and we seemed to have the perfect pace for each other. Since this was his 5th time on the PCT, I liked hearing about his perspective on the trail and being a previous pro-athlete. He’s got to be one of the most frugal individuals I have met on trail, carrying around a used pair of shoes he found on a roadside to mail home later.
I had some alone time in Bend before the big festivities of Trail Days when I was able to stay with Sarah, a friend of my coworker Joe, outside of Bend. Staying in her guest house was my most restful zero.
The Intermission: Trail Days
Trail Days is a two-day festival in Cascade Locks where through hikers gather in August. The primary attraction is vendor booths from outdoor outfitters and gear companies. You can score deals, win free stuff, or get repairs on broken gear. I considered the vendor booths more of a distraction and backdrop for the real attraction of reconvening with hikers I’d met along the way. My desert and Sierra tramily reunited with a surprise visit from Walrus and even Hotrod from the first couple weeks. Besides the tramily, I enjoyed seeing Yoshi, Lollygag, Skillet, Shake, and Bullfrog again among others. Going out to the bars at the end of day two felt like a high school reunion (I say, having never been to a high school reunion) and a celebration of the end of the trail even though I still had hundreds of miles and a whole state to go.
Part 2: Friends
My college friends Amanda and Rory joined me on the trail for 6 days after Trail Days. I went backpacking with them previously for 6 days of the Appalachian Trail, so it was fun to share a similar journey with them on my through hike. Rory contributed to my oatmeal co-op, Amanda celebrated pinecone, and we saw llamas, goats, and an owl. Amanda violently murdered me at the Timberline Lodge (video filming spot of the Shining), but I guess I survived to help break Split Rock the next day.
I had a great birthday hiking to Ramona Falls then meeting up with my MN friend Matt and later Tom. Amanda, Rory, Spoons, Matt, Tom, and I ate Thai food, cooked Buddha bowls, played my favorite card game, and ate Matt’s delicious homemade mango cake. I also opened my present, a care package from my Yancy friend group 🙂
Matt hiked with me for the next two days to the Oregon/Washington border, and we met up with Tom in between with the car. This section of trail between Mt. Hood and Cascade Locks was one of my favorites. We hit a ridgeline right at dusk then walked through the Tunnel Falls alternative the next day, walking underneath the gigantic waterfall.
Having my friends visit reminded me that I have really cool friends to come all the way to Oregon to see me and hike my journey with me. And not just one friend but four in one week!
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