For the past couple of years I have taken a week in the summer to do a section of the PCT out west. This year, I’m going to change it up a bit.
Some of you may remember my buddy Stix from my 2023 PCT hike. He started the Appalachian Trail on Friday and I’ve decided I’m going to meet him in Virginia and do a week long section with him in Shenandoah National Park.
Right now we are shooting to meet up around May 1st and do about 70 miles together. It will give him a chance to slow down and enjoy the scenery while I build up to around 15 miles a day.
I’ve started endurance training and am excited to get back on the AT, which is responsible for my love of long trails. Let’s go!
Sunrise on trail in Steiner RanchSwimming hole!Colorado River
10 miles – PCT mile 2117.3 to 2110 + 3.5 mile hike out
Well, sometimes shit happens. I woke up on day 3 and the IT band on my left hip was super sore. This is the other first I was talking about earlier. I’ve never had that pain whilst hiking before. Pain is of course inevitable, but this seemed different. Here’s the video I made when I got back to Portland. Afterwards will be photos from Day 3 of my hike.
The day began with a big climb and my first Mt Hood view!
Mt Hood Wilderness mapTrail – look at the edges of the trail and you can see the holes from all the hiking poles that most hikers walk with
I descended down another 1000 feet to Muddy Creek and crossed on a log. Right after this was when I started to realize my hip was getting worse.
The trail to Ramona Falls was slightly uphill, but my hip made it feel much steeper. It started to become apparent that I may need to bail out. Ramona Falls was beautiful though.
There were plenty of day hikers around. I scoped out who I thought might be a good mark to “yogi” a ride from (thru hiker term) and found Mike and his dog Rogue. He was with another couple as well and I could tell they were good people. The art of yogi-ing a ride is subtle. I started by asking how far it was back to the parking lot and if there was any cell signal there for me to call an Uber. I then explained my predicament and Mike volunteered to take me back to Portland, as his drive brought him near the airport anyway. Success!
Thanks Mike!and his pup Rogue!Sadly, parking lot would be my destination
I was about 11 miles short of my intended stopping point of Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, but I’ll come back another year. I think I may have undertrained a bit for this trip, compared to my hikes in the previous years and perhaps I also went too fast out of the gate. Regardless, it was a great hike and I got to check some more miles off my ultimate goal of finishing the entire PCT over the coming decades.
I woke up in the fog and cold. I had expected lows in the 50s, but it was certainly in the 40s at least. I’ve got my sleep system down though, so I was nice and toasty in my tent and got a bit of a later start, around 9:30am.
I got to the spot where I was originally going to camp (before deciding to pivot to Wahtum Lake) and there were some beautiful views.
Most of today would be overcast and foggy. No mountain views, but pretty hiking and some amazing trail magic, both human and nature-made.
The trail provides is a phrase you often hear out there. It is amazingly true.
Spy and LP to the rescueFoggy trailMt Hood in clouds
One thing I learned was that Pikas actually live down at this altitude. I thought they were always over 10,000 feet, but I saw and heard several among the rocks down here around 6,000 feet.
Trail through scree – Pikas abound
High voltage power lines are always crazy to me on trail.
I again pushed a little further than I was planning on, but it was mostly downhill, so I ended at Lolo Pass about 16 miles in.
14 miles – PCT mile 2150 – 2133.4 (using Eagle Creek alternate)
Here’s an overview of my full journey, minus the last day. I brought the wrong cord to charge my Garmin InReach, which is my sattelite beacon that tracks my progress, so the last day wasn’t tracked. I actually ended at the Sandy River and Ramona Falls, for a total of just about 40 miles.
I woke up around 7am, packed up, said my goodbyes, and headed towards the Bridge of the Gods. Instead of heading up the actual PCT there, I continued west under the bridge on the historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. This would follow the highway to the Eagle Creek Trail Head, where I would start heading into the woods.
Mural under the Bridge of the Gods
At the trail head there is a salmon hatchery that I found to be pretty cool.
I started up the trail and soon came to the first of several waterfalls. This is Punchbowl Falls.
More falls – didn’t know the name of this one.
The big highlight of this trail is Tunnel Falls. This was spectacular and is the main reason hikers do this alternate instead of the actual PCT.
After Tunnel Falls, I continued on and found a place to eat lunch and soak my feet in the creek.
Cliffside trailBeautiful
It was still early in the day, so I decided to try and go a little further than planned to get a jump on the miles. This ended up being harder than anticipated.
I also remembered I had an app called Dual Gram that allows you to record from both sides of the phone, which is kinda cool.
As I continued up, I looked at the topo map and realized the trail I was originally going to take to meet up with the PCT basically went straight up the mountain with no switchbacks. There was also a question of water once I reached the top. There was another option, which I explain in this video.
This was a good decision in the end. The trail was much nicer and I got to end the day at a lake, which afforded me a brief (but cold) swim. I was also chafing really bad on my thighs, which was the first time in my hiking career that had happened. Luckily, I travel with Aquaphor, which would help me heal up quickly. There would be some other firsts on this trip as well, which I will expound upon later.
I got into camp with about an hour to spare before the sun went down and I was beat. I had my own spot on the edge of the lake and fell asleep quickly.
As I stepped off the train from the Portland airport, I immediately spied one of my people. You can spot the hiker trash a mile away. The grit and grime of their clothes, the backpacks, the PCT emblem clipped to their back if they are thru-hiking; the hiker uniform is unique.
The weather was typical PNW: chilly, foggy, and humid, with the smell of pines in the air. I joined my fellow hikers on the bus heading to the east on Hwy 84 along the Columbia River. I sat next to a hiker named Whiskey, who had gotten hurt in the Sierra and was just following his still-hiking buddies around at trail towns. When we got off in Cascade Locks 45 minutes later, he astutely asked, “well, now what?”. None of us really knew where to go, but we quickly found our way to the campground and park at Thunder Island.
I signed up to volunteer for the weekend, so I got to camp for free on Friday and Saturday nights. My volunteer role was to help out with running the sound, which basically consisted of turning the music down whenever someone needed to make an announcement on the microphone about the various events and gear demos throughout the day. The rest of the time I got to wander around and hang out with hikers and generally have a good time.
After setting up camp, I walked around the small town of Cascade Locks to get the lay of the land. The historic and iconic Bridge of the Gods spans the Columbia River here and is where the trail crosses from Oregon into Washington.
Cascade Locks is tiny and walkable and full of hikers.
Bridge of the Gods toll booth – hikers walk across here, along with traffic
Overnight on Friday it rained and we all woke up a bit soggy, but ready for another full day of gear, friends, and fun.
At the end of the day there was a raffle where thousands of dollars of gear were given away. I didn’t get any, but it worked out because I wouldn’t have had anywhere to keep it anyway, since I was hitting the trail the next morning.
RaffleSome of my internet hiking friends – The Codgers
The weather on Saturday night was much better and we all settled in for a nice sunset and the end of a great weekend. I hit the trail the next morning.
I’m at the Austin airport very early this morning, waiting to board my flight to Portland.
Breakfast
I was able to fit all of my gear (barely) into my Zpacks flight case, so my whole system is self-contained and I don’t have to worry about stashing a suitcase somewhere while I hike.
Everything fit!
It does feel odd not having a carry on, other than my GG fanny pack, another newer piece of gear that is quickly becoming a favorite.
I spent the last two days going over gear, food, and logistics.
Obligatory gear layout shotFood from home – the rest I will buy in Oregon
I also permethrin’d my clothes, as it is most certainly mosquito season where I’m going. I hang them in the garage and spray them and let them dry for a few hours.
Once I get to Portland, I’m taking a bus from the airport east along the Columbia River to Cascade Locks. This is where PCT Days is held and I’ll camp here for two nights before starting my hike on Sunday morning.
It’s supposed to rain a lot this weekend, but Sunday the sun comes out. Perfect timing, I hope. Let’s do it!
Last day! So of course I got lost. I headed out of camp after saying goodbye to the friends I had made the night before and just walked off into the woods.
Once I found my way back to trail, I hiked on toward civilization. Lake houses became more frequent and sweet-smelling day hikers were passing me coming from the other direction. A couple of hours later, I arrived at Echo Lake Chalet, put my pack down, and went inside to get a snow cone for breakfast. This was the end of Section K of the PCT. 65 miles total.
End of Trail
I was happy and exhausted. My trail angel, Madison (Buffer, PCT Class of 2023, just like me), that I had also met at Trail Skills College before the hike, picked me up and drove me to her house in South Lake Tahoe. She and her boyfriend Shawn (Sean?) pampered me and were a blast to hang out with. He likes Star Wars more than almost anyone I’ve ever met and we got along great.
COMFY bed
Unfortunately, I found out that I had apparently done this entire hike while infected with Covid.
I had started feeling kinda crappy from day one and just pushed through the miles anyway. The daytime wasn’t bad, but at night I would get a super stuffy nose and was definitely coughing the entire hike. I think I may have had fever that night after the 21 mile day.
But I figure I’ve had worse and proved to myself I can take on a solo hike for a week, sickness and all, and do ok. I’m pretty tired of carrying a bear can and would like to not do that on whatever section of the PCT I tackle next.
The next morning, they drove me to Harrah’s in Stateline to pick up the shuttle bus back up to the Reno airport where I met Rayna again to grab my suitcase and headed back to Texas. Great hike. 10/10, would do again.
I woke up sore, specifically my shoulders. Legs were actually fine. Now I was heading into Mordor for mosquitos, apparently. Also, Dick’s Pass, the highest pass I would cross on this hike (9000+ ft) was looming in the afternoon.
As I came out of mosquito hell, I started to get into the lakes section of the Desolation Wilderness and it was pretty spectacular.
Best water source of the whole hike
Dick’s Pass was a 1500 foot climb and was a bit daunting, but you just have to take it one step at a time. I did it in about an hour. I bonked pretty hard at the top, as I had waited to eat lunch, so my body was completely out of fuel, but the views were great.
Looking down on Dick’s Lake from whence I came
The entire trail down from Dick’s Pass was NOT my favorite. If you’re a fan of sharp rocks stabbing your feet though, have I got a trail for you!
God damn rocks
The rest of the day wound up and down past a couple of smaller lakes and then opened up to Aloha Lake (Lake Aloha? I’m not sure what the proper order is) where I would find my favorite campsite of the trip. Great neighbors, including two Sobo hikers that were continuing into the Sierra further south and also a couple and their friend, and their dog (Doug), who had hiked in from Echo Lake to basecamp and day hike. Fantastic swim in Aloha Lake to end the night.
This was the longest distance I have ever hiked in a single day. 21 miles.
I woke up early, checked that my water was full, and headed straight up hill. It’s always best to get big climbs out of the way early, I’ve found.
Once I got to the top of the ridge, it was a lovely day and I just enjoyed the breeze and easy trail.
After a while I did have to sit down and do some foot care, as the outside of my left heel, which is always the first place to blister no matter what it seems, started to blister. This and the outside of my right heel were the only two blisters I would incur on this trip, so I think the new toe-sock liner combo I tried worked out pretty well.
Top to bottom: toe-sock liner, regular sock, leukotape, ibuprofin, blister bandages, sit pad
A little while later, I came to the junction of the PCT and the TRT (Tahoe Rim Trail). From here, the TRT joins the PCT until just south of Echo Lake, where I would end my section hike, so I would be on both trails for the remainder of this trip.
I would also reach the other end of the Granite Chief Wilderness.
Then it was lunch time and I found a wonderful little creek to lounge by.
After lunch, I passed several hikers who had good news for me: trail magic just down the hill! I honestly didn’t even think I would run into any trail magic on this trip, so it was a wonderful surprise. First, I walked through an idyllic field of Wooly Mule’s Ears again.
As I descended down to a trail head parking lot, I saw some Nobo hikers surrounding a couple of coolers of soda. Trail magic! Thank you trail angels!
I knew I had another climb to get to my goal, 5 miles ahead and 3 miles past Richardson Lake in the Desolation Wilderness. With about 3 hours left of daylight, I put on some climbing music (metal) and put my head down to power through.
Those last 2 miles were ROUGH. They were flat, but mentally challenging, knowing this was my longest day ever and that I was almost at the end of it. I collapsed at camp and it was all I could do to set up my tent and force down a protein bar for dinner. I didn’t even brush my teeth this night. Just lay flat on my back and fell asleep quickly. There was no breeze and all was silent.
I didn’t go nearly as far as I should have on this day, but sometimes water sources and terrain dictate the day, rather than a mileage goal. It was totally worth hanging out at Five Lakes for a couple of hours to swim.
I woke up and was packed and on trail just after 7am as the sun was starting to peek over the peaks.
I would find my bug net later, don’t worryfavorite trail snack
silent and beautiful
I would soon reach the boundary of the Granite Chief Wilderness, one of two wilderness areas I would hike through on this trip. Wilderness areas were first designated by the 1964 Wilderness Act (click this link for more info).
An excerpt from that act: “A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”
No motorized equipment of any kind (chainsaws, ATVs, etc) are allowed in wilderness areas, meaning any trail maintenance has to be done purely by hand.
Granite Chief Wildernessone of my favorite pics of the whole hikeI ran into a Nobo hiker named Hummingbird! I had to pose with my trail doppelganger
the trail in this section has endless fields of Wooly Mule’s Ears plants
I hiked on and got to the 5 Lakes Basin early in the afternoon, where I decided it was time to swim. I couldn’t camp right by the lake, but it was worth the .2 mile detour.
arriving at 5 Lakes Basin
Swim!
Ducks!
Once I was done with my swim I headed back to camp and realized I had only gone 8 miles today, instead of my intended 12-15, which threw me into a momentary panic about mileage. I was faced with a 1000 foot climb out of camp and no water for several miles if I were to continue today. After a campsite mate talked me down from the ledge, I realized I would just have to push mileage a bit more than I wanted the next couple of days to get back on track. I settled in for the evening and prepared for a long day tomorrow.
Mexico to Canada 2023 (and beyond) 