WE DID IT!!!!!

7/27/2014 WE finished!!!!!

The last day! We woke up very late, due to our tent fly and the roar of the creek next to us…8:15!
Cooked hot chocolate, and packed up all our soaked gear. Because EVERYTHING is wet except our pj's, I decide to wear my pj's and long sleeve warmth top, and connor puts on her wet long sleeve top and her wet running shorts.

but…..miraculously there is sun!!!!!! so fitting for our last day hike from Tunnel Falls into Cascade Locks….just 8 miles!!!! whoop whoop!

we set off, and immediately notice that there are many many day-hikers on the trail, all dressed in cute little tank tops and bright colored shoes, and ALL of them smell like LAUNDRY DETERGENT!!!! So strange…. they walk by, and we can actually smell them. Downy, Bounce, Tide, lovely smells. we wonder what we smell like !!!!

Also, we notice that we are in a completely different world than they are. and that we must look completely alien to them, with our big packs, hiking poles, long pants, long sleeves, hats and hiking boots. And it is so humorous to us that they have no realization that we are hiking the PCT (we are on the popular Tunnel Falls Alternate route, which is off of the PCT). These people do not even know what the PCT is. They each pass us and pretty sure they each say to their hiking partners (fairly sure there is a smirk that goes along with this), "wow, did you see how much stuff those 2 girls are carrying? talk about overpacking! they even have hiking poles!"

and of course we look at them and their bright colored tank tops and cute designer attire (there was even a girl wearing her easter sundress--all white with daises!)and think they are from another planet, albeit a nice smelling one!

So we hike and hike and hike…. for some reason, this last 8 miles seems to take forever! We stop and chitchat, we ask people where to eat in Cascade locks, we saunter along. Finally we get to a parking lot, which means we only have 3 miles left.
We find cars and cars and cars, a trash can (yaaaay!!!! we love dumping our little bags of trash!), a huge sign with all the rules, a Water fountain!!!! and a boot scrubber. "Please use boot scrubber on your way into and out of the trail, to rid your boots of invasive seeds". No bathroom, but a boot scrubber!

we continued along the parking lot road, past multitudes of OSU and Uof O stickers…..osu, osu, u of o, u of o…….so strange to be in a state with 2 main universities……. and we see a bathroom! so of course we have to use it! very odd. "Cart out your own trash", but with a paper towel dispenser that has instructions. "hold firmly with both hands and pull. If you use only one hand, paper towel will tear". wow. we are really back in civilization. paper towels and instructions.
and a banana slug on the sink. a real one. probably not too happy, so I pick him up and put him outside on a leaf, where he promptly curls up and plays dead. maybe he did like it better on the sink.

delving further into civilization, we walk with a outward bound-type counselor group who tries to tell us where the trail is…. last day and we can't find the trail. so funny to us. at last, we find it on our own, and hike on a bike trail (so anti-climactic) towards cascade locks. the maps say we will take the paved bike trail for 4 miles, into town, but soon we are back on the single track pct, eating black berries, and whisking away cobwebs (is there anyone else on the trail? i guess not!)

We encounter a homeless guy smoking a cigarette,and he offers to share his milwalkie beer with us, but then suggests we probably won't like this brand…..
a couple more miles….then we are at the toll plaza for the bridge of the gods!

we made it!!!! it's 1pm, and we walk slowly through the town, past the motels and the fast food restaurants… we choose a 2 story ale-house that doesn't look fast food, order lunch, and call Dianne Tapfer, who drives from hood river, collects us and we head back into civilization.


A wonderful end to an amazing journey…. sunny day, smiles on our faces, happy to see our friend Dianne, and ultimately our families, but also quite sad to be done. We look longingly across the river into Washington, and imagine ourselves continuing into the next state, with its ups and downs and jagged peaks…… maybe next year! :)

Through the rain and muck

7/27/2014 After crossing the Sandy river, with its thigh-high white water, we were a bit shell-shocked, a bit cold and a bit lost. We had to both pull out our gps (iphone Half Mile and Guthook apps) to try to find the trail in the pouring rain and mist. no luck. Then we happened upon some little stone cairns that other hikers had built, to show the way. These are little stacked stone towers that people use to mark the trail occasionally. and in this case, they led us right to the trail.

But by this time, Our phones were soaked, as much as we tried to keep them out of the rain. We both put them in our bra's, our only dry part of our bodies, and hoped that they would dry out. We continued and took the Ramona Falls Alternate, which boosted our spirits. It was one of the most beautiful sections of the entire trail, gorgeous, lush and the falls were lovely. Of course our phone cameras were both completely fogged, but we took misty pics anyway.

then, the Muddy River Crossing…. 2 logs stacked on top of each other, with a rope to help shuffle sideways across. Such a funny river crossing, we couldn't help but to laugh. ….and also to comment….. here there is the Sandy River, absolutely dangerous, and with no aid whatsoever (except for submerged logs, which might help in august), and at the Ramona Falls creek, which is like crossing a large mud puddle, there is a beautiful lacquered bridge! And at the Muddy River, which could be rock-hopped across, there is a rope and Logs! Makes no sense. There should be ropes at the Sandy, at least!!! anyway, something to ponder. separates the mountain women from the girls, thats for sure!

After these 3 water features :), it was smooth sailing. this section, although still with its occasional 1000 ft inclines, is the flattest of the entire trail. We enjoyed just hiking along, and swashbuckling through the berry bushes and overgrown trail. The weather was still pretty bad, and soon we came upon 4 men and their scout troop of 16 and 17 year olds. They were freezing cold and were using their Delorme device to call in for an emergency pickup of the boys, who were huddled in their emergency blankets and tents, shivering. My guess is that the boys had not anticipated being cold and hadn't packed the right gear.

The men were quite impressed with us, which made us feel really good, but we felt obligated to admit our misuse of "PCT rule #2, which is, "if you send something home, you will need it". We explained how we sent our warmth layers home, and then needed to purchase $200 of vests and rain gear at the Timberline store….. and we sheepishly admitted that we had sent our fuel in the box that Dianne took with her-yikes! (earlier on the trail, I had asked connor, "did you keep a fuel?" she said, "no, did you?" arrrghhhhh, another bar lowered below Cheryl Strayed and her book "Wild"! Sending home fuel. absolutely our worst maneuver yet.

But, as trail magic would have it, one of the men gave us his jet boil fuel---since they were being rescued, they would no longer need it. We were saved from a cold dinner of power bars. (lest you think we would have starved, we wouldn't have. throughout the trip we have had way more power bars than we could EVER eat!) So, wet and cold, we set up camp early, cooked in our tent (verrrry carefully), hung our clothes (why? good question. even in our tent, they seemed wetter in the morning), stripped down, put on our only dry clothes, and snuggled in our sleeping bags. We got an idea from the shivering scout troop and cut up our emergency blanket and stuffed it into our sleeping bags---immediate warmth!!!! whoo hoooo!!!!

and went to sleep at 8. and woke up at 8. and put on our wet clothes and hiked another day in the rain and went down the incredibly steep and rocky Indian Creek Trail Alternate to tunnel falls and saw the beautiful tunnel falls---very very very cool! and couldn't take pictures since our phone cameras were still water-logged and camped by the river, and woke up at 8 and on the trail by 10:15…. (last day and a new late time!!!) Last day, last day last day!!!!!!

Sandy River near-death experience

7/25 morning…timberline lodge to sandy river After spending the night at Timberline in absolute luxury, we headed for the trail at 9:30am. As mentioned in the last post, Connor and I were a bit nervous about crossing the Sandy River, since we had heard so much about it. In the Oregon Section, this is the only "Dangerous" river crossing, and they recommend crossing it at 6am, when the snow run-off is at its lowest.

We three (connor, Ian and I) left the hotel in the murk and rain and cold (Just next to and above us, the ski lifts operate year round,and we can see our breath) and I immediately knew I was ill-prepared with my $5 plastic rain poncho that didn't stay snapped with the wind, and which didn't even cover my arms or sides. I had chosen to save my only warm layer of polar fleece for warming up in the tent (bad decision), and I was wearing a s/s layer and a long thermal layer under my rain poncho. not enough. As we started hiking up the trail, I was having trouble getting enough air (did I tell you I got bronchitis, maybe from the fire smoke??) and I started to panic. I realized I couldn't make it with what I was wearing, and I stopped and said i couldn't do it. Ian kept going with nary a word(was a sad and strange goodbye after all we had been through over the weeks), and Connor and I went back down to the store and spent more money.

I bought a synthetic down vest $90, and a little rain jacket that looked like it would cost $28 at target ($140), and off we went back to the trail. A half hour later, Connor and I are back on the pct (10am..our latest start yet), but with the rain and murk, we are ok with that. We have 3 days left of our hike, we don't have a ton of miles, and we told Dianne we would be at Cascade locks on Friday. we don't have to rush to finish the last section.

We go up and down with the elevation changes, and although there are beautiful vistas, they are absolutely and completely obscured by the rain and fog. We follow the trail. At about 1pm, we reach the sandy river. We can hear it roaring in the distance, and when we arrive, we have to yell at each other to be heard above the din of the river. There is a designated crossing of 2 logs, but the water is pouring over the top of those, and we realize we have to walk upstream to find a safer crossing.

Out of the mire and fog appears a lone youngish guy, also eyeing the crossing. We motion to him, he comes over and we confer. He decides to cross and after doing so, doesn't think we can make it from that spot. The water is hip deep. We go further upstream, and manage to get across 2/3's of the river, but the last section is so fast and furious, we eye it some more. The lone guy points to various places, and then goes back in, maybe to help us, maybe to check the levels… he loses his footing, and almost goes downstream. he heads back to shore and resorts to pointing again, until we all agree on a seemingly flat area (there must be rocks and it must be shallow!). We unlatch our packs, and he watches as we tentatively take our first steps. there is no speaking. we are terrified, and the roar is deafening.

Connor and I link arms and cross with a forward shuffle step as we have been instructed by the guy at Timberline. She is stable and balanced. I am not. We step into the current. it is at our thigh level, full throttle and hitting us with its mighty power. We struggle to keep our footing and balance, trying to lean into the current. A wrong step will send us down the river and certain death.

I lose my balance several times but Connor is stable and somehow keeps us upright. I step on her foot. I'm screaming, "DONT MOVE DONT MOVE DONT MOVE DONT MOVE", then "GO GO GO GO GO". When our feet are close together we are at the mercy of the raging river. When our feet are apart, we are balanced but also like tree twigs instead of trunks. There is no stability, no mercy. I lose my balance once and I know it is the end. I can feel the gravity pulling me backward, but in one split instant, Connor is able to pull me forward. terrified we continue, and somehow we make it across. The young guy disappears in the mist. we are alone again, wet, sopping and shocked to still be alive.

Timberline lodge, not a bad place to be!

So now it is 7/23 and we have made it to Timberline Lodge, around the fire reroute, with the help of Ian's friend Beverly, and my friend Dianne Tapfer. Our hiker friend Ian is with us again, and the 3 of us decide to get a room for the night at Timberline, since a storm is definitely in action out there and it is pretty nasty. Dianne talks to the front desk and she and Connor are able to get us the last room at Timberline.

For those californians reading this, timberline is Oregon's equivalent to the Awhanee hotel in Yosemite--grand,historic and an incredible experience. So we go for it. of course :) So we get a behind the scenes tour from Ranger Steve (they have forest rangers on duty at the hotel). He shows us the room that Eleanor Roosevelt stayed in when she and President Roosevelt cut the ribbon for the hotel back in the 30's, as part of the Work Relief effort. We have lunch (thank you, Dianne!) in the upstairs cafe, and then it's 3pm and we check into our room, overlooking the pool and valley. Dianne leaves us, and the moment she does, we realize that we have sent things with her that we will probably need (2nd law of the trail---if you send it back, you will need it!)

So, after sending back our long sleeve warmth layer shirts, we now have to go to the outdoor store in the hotel and buy new ones. Guess we still have trail brain after all! We enjoy a wonderful wonderful day at the hotel---we have dinner at this incredible pizza restaurant downstairs, and see fellow hikers, we take photos with the Axe from "the Shining" (the exterior of the lodge was used for the exterior of "The Overlook" hotel in the movie), then we roast s'mores by the fire, and finally watch "the Shining" on the big screen. the staff is amazing and the most accommodating of any hotel I've stayed at. Love this hotel.

Of course the weather cleared up and was sunny pretty much the moment we rented the room…but by morning we were in a huge storm again. We awoke to THUNDER and LIGHTNING soooooo loud, it seemed like the building was being carried down the hill, and that we were in a rock avalanche. We have never heard lightening and thunder so loud. it really sounded as if the mountain were crashing down around us. We had set our alarms to 6am, hoping to leave right after breakfast, but with this new development, we rolled over and went back to bed.


Finally, after a lavender-blueberry pancake breakfast, and after much consulting of maps and hotel staff, we were ready to hit the trail at 9:30am. It was murky, rainy,misty and cold, but we couldn't stay forever. We were a bit apprehensive about crossing the sandy river, as we heard that the day before it was impassable, with whitewater at hip to waist level. Ian wasn't worried, but I certainly was, and rightfully so……..

back on the trail again 7/21

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I feel badly that, like a book, we left you with a cliff-hanger! Last time we posted, we were thwarted by fire! and that was way back on 7/21…..

so, to bring you back to the trail and up to date From Elk Lake, where we received our resupply packages and a wonderful STEAK dinner, grilled in person by (our hiking buddy) Ian's 2 friends, Connor and I headed off into the wilderness of the evening, with our plan to camp beside a small lake about 4 miles in. It started gettin dark, which didn't bother us, but then we saw the big pile of bear poop in the middle of the trail and we got a bit nervous. We decided to sing at the top of our lungs, but the crazy thing is that we couldn't remember a single song except jingle bells. So jingle bells it was!!!!

We never saw the bear, and had another quiet night with the mosquitos! When we woke in the morning, we realized that we were camped next to a tiny lake, and the real lake was perhaps 100 yards away. oh well. still beautiful.

From this point, the hike was probably the most spectacular and varied of any we had up to this point, as we were now in the Sisters Wilderness and our plan for the day was to hike around all three sisters mountains! The 3 Sisters mountains are gorgeous, and we had the most fun sliding on our behinds down the slopes, and forging our way through snowfields. Who would have thought!! We camped alongside a lava field, and continued north, to lava camp, which is a forested lake amidst the lava fields.

We were hiking on a weekend, in a area accessible to day hikers, and we were so surprised at the number of people (and dogs!) we saw. I guess this area is quite close to Bend and Sisters, and is a favorite for families, and ladies hiking groups, and dog walkers. anyway, after a nice nap at Lava Camp we continued towards Big lake Youth Camp. We have at this point learned to hike in the morning, take a nice break midday, when the temperatures are close to 100 degrees, and then take off again around 4pm or later. So we did. We had a 4 hour hike through tough lava rocks and spent the night in the middle of the lava fields, in a small spot amidst the rocks.

The morning section and part of the previous night we dubbed a "mastadon graveyard" as there had been a burn, and the way the trees split and turn white, they look like mastodon tusks all over the ground. We lost the trail due to all the burnt debris and logs, and some thru-hikers caught up with us, and we all lost the trail once again in the same spot. Luckily, one of the men had hiked this section before, and with the help of our gps, we got going again. After a short while, the graveyard turned to a beautiful wildflower meadow and then forested area. I have never seen so many beautiful wildflowers in one place as in oregon on this hike. just exquisite.

Eventually we made it to Big Lake Youth Camp, which is the most friendly, welcoming place that we traveled through. The staff greeted us, got us set up for showers and REAL TOWELS, fed us lunch, and DID OUR LAUNDRY FOR US!!!!! OMG!!! We hung out from 10:15 until 8pm that day. Our hiking buddy Ian had called his roommate Beverly for a ride to Bend. She and Frederick picked us up at 8, after taking a tour of other youth camps (lol!), and they kindly took us into Bend, where we had found a hotel to stay in.

We have talked before of the kindness of those we have met on the trail, but Beverly and Frederick win a big medal--they drove all the way from Eugene, took us to bend, then drove right back to Eugene--arriving after midnight.

The next morning after an unsettling breakfast in the motel breakfast area (unsettling because there were so many vacationers and families from the REAL world, and because CNN was blaring on the 2 tv's), my wonderful friend Dianne Tapfer came to pick us up and take us around the Fire zone. She drove 2 hours from Hood River, got us and drove us to Timberline Lodge. On the way, we stopped at Smith Rock, which is an area where people come from around the world to do rock climbing. beautiful.

By the time we got to Timberline Lodge, which was our next resupply drop, we hadn't eaten a single meal from our Big lake Youth camp resupply, so needless to say, we had a loooottttttt of food and supplies to get rid of. Dianne was kind enough to take a big box with her, since we would see her 3 days later, at the end of our hike. The area had been having storms, but it started to get very nasty out, and cold. We decided to continue our hotel tour (haha) and were able to get the last room at Timberline Lodge. to be continued…...

Love hate relationships

Things we love:
dirty girls gaiters
Hiking poles (they act as extra legs)
Luci solar inflatable tent lamp (great for tent parties)
Pink crocs (amazing as camp shoes)
Snow peak mini collapsible stove (giga light) (fits in a dental floss container)
Ian's sleeping bag (ultra light quilt)
Brooks cascadia trail runners (everyone should hike the PCT in these...no exceptions)
Mid afternoon naps (necessary to recharge for the next 13mi segment)
Hot cocoa (Ian's Swiss miss dark chocolate)
Emergen-C (vitamin c powder)
Electrolyte fizzy tablets (nuun brand)
Gummy bears (anytime)
Vitamin I (ibuprofen)
Beautiful sunsets and sunrises (esp devils peak)
Tent parties (for group bonding)
Our tents in general
Panoramic pictures (helps to truly capture oregons beauty)
Elastikon tape (for blisters)
Sawyer mini water filter (we envy Ian's)
Dressing like twins
Laughing until Jean pees her pants
Sleep socks
Fleece lined leggings
Resupply boxes (it's almost like Christmas)
Amazon prime (our lifeline)
REI (all the countless hours spent there plus our guru Charles)
All the nice Oregonians who have gone out of their way to do kind things when we most needed it (trail magic)


Things we hate:
filtering water in general (time consuming)
Constricting mummy sleeping bags
Crinkly expensive noisy thermarest pads (not enough adjectives to express our dislike)
Deet (ate through jeans shorts and Ian's arms)
Socks that are too big
Shoes that are too small
Hiking boots in general (Connor will never wear another pair ever again including the 5 pairs she now owns)
Hiking pole tans on your hands (so attractive)
Sunburns
The days between showers and laundry (including minimal teeth brushing and no hair brushing)
Mosquitos
Mosquitos
Mosquitos
Mosquito bites on your butt
Mosquitos
Most dehydrated meals (have to force feed ourselves)
No AT&T service anywhere in Oregon (we envy anyone with version and get laughed when we say we have AT&T)
Rice dinners 30 nights in a row (esp when one hates rice to begin with-Connor)

Twas the night before BLYC

I had the night before Christmas running through my head, and during the endless ascent of harsh crumbly lava rocks created a PCT version just for you:

'Twas the night before blyc
And all through the land
Not a creature was stirring
Not wolverine, horse or snake in the sand

Ian Jean and I were bundled up
Cozy as can be
While the wind whistled outside
Through the dead mastodon trees

As I lay in my bag
gazing up at the stars
I dreamed of a down puffy
And dark chocolate bars

The miles we just covered
Lay behind us, finally done
And the miles ahead
Promised adventure and fun

Who knows what could happen
with forest fires burning bright
The possibilities were endless
But for now it's goodnight


BLYC is big lake youth camp, our next resupply stop. The hiking was rough, a slow 14mi climb through a deserted landscape (2000 ft climb in under 2 mi). Jean has bronchitis. We slid and sludged through snow, sand and lava rocks; our bodies taking a beating.