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! :)