Day 3 - Trout Creek

Another day of morning climbing and afternoon downhill. I started climbing in dense forest on a creek and as soon as I crossed the creek and rounded a hill there was silence. Not the usual silence that we think of but the kind that makes one stop and take notice. The birds were silent, probably still sleeping, no matter what the saying tells us. No insects buzzing or critters scurrying amongst the underbrush. The trees and moss and rotting life probably absorb what small critter activities were going on. It's pretty amazing to be witness to the absence of sound. I love it! 

Another glorious day in the woods. My legs are feeling the unaccustomed activity but even with that I managed to get to a campsite on Trout Creek before 2 pm. Ten miles done but the daily goal is for 13 miles. Of course that is what is witten on paper and if I went the extra miles I'd be camped between two roads, one of them paved and busy. What to do? What to do? I say put up the tent in this glorious spot and take a nap!

After a little lay down I gathered my maps, elevation profiles and food resources and after much head scratching and counting on fingers and toes, I decided I could stay here tonight and still get to my resupply on time. Yea! It will mean some dry campsites but I'm used to that. 

It seems odd to me that there are so few backpackers out on the trail. The first night one passed by about dusk. Yesterday I saw no one but two couples who also came into camp at dusk and today I saw one thru hiker going north and one gal heading south. Not much traffic up here in Washington. Surprising since it's a weekend and urban areas aren't that far off. Oh well, good thing I like my own company.

Bridge over sleepy waters

I see some fishin holes out there...

Dinner - Tom Ka Gai. 

Day 2 - Rock Creek

I could get used to this leisurely pace. Walk for an hour, take a break for 10 or 15 minutes then walk for another hour.  Repeat as necessary. Granted I'm not trying to do big miles but I still got to my projected lunch spot just after noon. 

Most of the first nine miles of the day were climbing miles. Not super steep but enough to know I haven't been climbing lately. By late afternoon it was downhill, sometimes pretty dang downhill. By the time I hobbled in to camp my left knee was complaining and I was ready to drop the pack and make camp. It was just after 5 pm and by 6:30 I had eaten dinner, filtered water and set up the tent. 

It's now 7 and I'm in for the night. Charging the phone, stretching and applying aspercream where needed...

The flowers today were fantabulous! I'm going to add images here, not because they are good images but so you can get a hint of the eye candy I got to have today. 

And last but not least, my view to the south all day. 

Mount Hood I presume. 

PS - I hope my spot is working. Both nights I've been under dense tree cover with no real open areas around. Rain forest and all...

Day 1 - Heading towards Cascade Locks

The car is packed for today's adventure. My gear is loaded - I'm carrying six days of food and one liter of water. Only one liter of water!!! Woohie! J and G are delivering me to the trailhead then going off to have an adventure in Portland. I've had my last shower for 6+ days and I'm ready to roll. The weather is supposed to be coolish today but slowly heating up until it hits the 90's later in the week. Oh well. At least I'll be walking under the trees. 

1:30 pm - Trailhead

All righty then. I'm off! Don't know if I'll have any reception in the next week so don't worry if there are no posts forthcoming! Woohoo!

6:15 pm - In the Rain Forest

Lush is what my campsite is for the evening. Green, all shades, moss on rocks and hanging in trees, little trickles of water where none is noted and lots of water where expected. In fact this campsite is listed as dry but there's enough in the nearby creek for tomorrow morning. Crazy, in a real good way! What a big difference...

After dinner I began to see a few mosquitos but so far they aren't problematic. I'm ensconced in my tent now, stretching and trying to get organized so the little suckers can't reach me even if they wanted to. 

All together a very good day back on the trail. I must say I am glad I only walked six miles this afternoon as I can tell I haven't had a pack on my back for two months. Well no matter...I'm only hiking 13 miles a day in this section. Half in the morning and half in the afternoon with lots of rest time in there. I got no plane to catch...

Mighty Tieton, WA

Yet another long day on the road. I left my rogue camp spot at 5:30 am and rolled in here to J&G's place right around 5pm. It wasn't hard driving at all because there was so much to look at. Early in the day I got to Oregon and the land started looking decidedly green. Even between the volcanic rock and sage there were patches of brilliant green. Rain will do that for you. 

My first stop of the day was in Lakeview, which has a full on grocery store and two gas stations! But I was hungry so I picked Jerry's Cafe for breakfast. Bacon (yum) and eggs with hash browns, but the thing that cheered me up?

I love presentation...

My next stop was Paisley, OR. I didn't know there was a Paisley, OR, but it seems there are many things I don't know. My only sadness was that I didn't arrive there on the last weekend of July, when they have the Paisley Mosquito Festival. I wonder if they have special booths for West Nile mossies, or possibly Malaria suckers. (This is what happens when I travel alone for 12 hours via auto.)

I came to the last likely campsite (on the map anyway) at 1 pm so rather than sit around in an established campsite for seven hours I decided to push on to see my old friends in Tieton, WA. I arrived when they were unloading a truck from Eugene into their storage unit but soon my bladder dictated I get over to their new home. 

After dinner we went visit D and S to see S's garden. She's a Master Gardener and her garden shows it. It's about a quarter of an acre and way more food than I can imagine growing. So far, no gophers, rabbits or deer. The sunset was beyond wonderful. 

Modoc National Forest

At nine this morning I was pulling out of Trader Joes parking lot, headed to highway 17 north. At nine this evening I pulled over on the outskirts of an official campground to camp for the night. It's too dark to be driving around looking for an official spot and this part of the world is so sparcely populated no one will bother me tonight. 

So today I drove. First to South Lake Tahoe where I picked up a resupply box that was sent there for me earlier in the summer. Then east to highway 50, where I dropped over to 395 and just pointed my van north. 

Great clouds today!!!

Two things I found out today. First the forest service campgrounds I looked at had no water. Since I was foolish enough to leave home without a big jug of water I could only cook dinner with the last of my water at the first campsite, then I needed to move on. Secondly this part of the state is without many services. I'm used to looking at a map and seeing small towns along the way, assuming many of these towns would have at least a gas station or small store. No so. Many, many miles went by and still, no stores, no gas. I was sweating bullets, and the little gas indicator was lit up, when I finally pulled into Altruas, CA.

Not too much there...but a gas station and c-store for buying the needed water!

By then it was 8:30 and the closest campground was about ten miles up a side road but that was all I could do for today. It looks like it's pretty here (dark and all now) and I know it rained quite a bit as the ground is soaked and there's some standing water here and there. I'm looking forward to the morning so I can see where I am in daylight. 

5:30 am. Nice. 

Back at it

These past two months have been particularly difficult. First because I was beat, tuckered out and felt like I'd been ridden hard and put up wet. Secondly because I've been concerned about my Mom who has been dealing with some medical issues and recently had a fall. I spent one week down south visiting with her and felt as though I wasn't sure I should get back on the trail with things being so uncertain on the family front. Today she got pretty good news at the doctors office so it seems like it will be OK for me to take off into the wilds again.

In that vein I am planning to get back on the trail at the OR/WA border starting about the fourth week of this month. I am hopelessly out of shape but I'm not tired any more so think I'll do OK. I have changed up my schedule and will be taking it VERY easy, averaging only 13 miles a day, which I should be able to manage just fine. I hope… Never-the-less that's the plan and the only downside I can think of is that it will require me to carry more food between stops. It can't be helped and will only add 2-4 pounds of extra weight when leaving a town/hotel/resort stop-over. This I can do.

Heading to Washington!

R & R

This has been my most common activity for the past six days. Laying on the couch with my feet up, dozing and considering matters. The scabbiness is almost gone from my face and the itching and burning sensation is absent. Well, that was a bugger of an infection.

Some of the matters I've been considering have to do with my puzzlement as to why I would get a staph infection in the first place. I mean really? Staph? The only logical conclusion is that I was so stressed out, getting ready for the hike, then beginning to hike, that my immune system was compromised and I was unable to fight the beast on my own. Having had this most recent experience gives me pause as to whether or not to get back on the horse any time soon. Two rounds of antibiotics in six weeks should tell me something, if I'm willing to listen. 

Soooooo... maybe I'm not thru hiker material. I'm certainly not a type A person - never have been, never will be. On top of that it seems I get homesick after a month of two of absence and want to come home to be with my peeps. I mean, I love to go away on adventures, but I also love to come home to the comfort of sameness and the ordinary. Having a cup of coffee in the hot tub every morning... does it get any better than that?

Sure, seeing the wild places at a slow pace with the wind in my hair is an adventure in and of itself. Day in and day out, new vistas, smells, beautiful flowers and small critters, not to mention the interesting people I meet - all of that is wonderful and compelling, for a short time. Then the longing for home starts creeping in and the vistas turn smoggy, I start to smell and all I see are lizards. Nothing has changed but my mindset, but still the change occurs. 

My friend who is on the AT this year says that thru hikers are tapped into our hunter and gatherer roots. For him it is natural to travel long distances with all his possessions on his back, and he feels grounded and alive when he's hiking this way. Me? I think I'm more tied into my agrarian DNA.  I'm pretty rooted in place and I miss place after being gone for a while. And since being gone for 5-6 months is part of the thru hiking package it seems there is an inherent conflict here. 

Maybe this is why I got sick. Wanting to do something so badly when that something is in direct opposition to my temperament might have caused me too much trouble and getting sick was the only way my body could get out of the job I was insisting it carry out. Or maybe I'm just too lazy to get up every morning and walk for 15-20 miles through difficult terrain and conditions. If so, this would make me a fair weather and kind conditions hiker. 

Whatever the reasons for my most current dilemma I'm not going to go back onto the PCT until I've spent more time off trail. In that vein, and to celebrate being home (?), A and I are leaving tomorrow to take a driving trip up to the Pacific Northwest to see friends.  I won't be backpacking during this time so the posts, if I do add here, will have to do with other things. I will add this one thing though - I'm thinking Washington would be really pretty in August. Just sayin...