Cascade Locks to Timberline Lodge

Our first stop in Oregon was Char Burger where we got some delicious clam chowder and sandwiches. We also had a spectacular view of the Columbia River and the Washington shore. It's been a memorable visit old friend, but we are going to hang out with Oregon now! That night we camped behind the Thunder Island Brewery in a village of thru-hiker tents. We slept surprisingly soundly given that  train goes by every half hour. I think earplugs are quickly becoming our favorite piece of gear. We got to the post office first thing in the morning to pick up a package from our friend Jami (thanks Jam Jam!)... yay for rice krispy treats, oreos, flaming' hot Cheetos, etc.!!

Our plan was to leave today but Ferd's knee has been bothering for the last day or two, so we decided to take a zero and hang out for the PCT Days festivities and hang out with friends. PCT Days is a small festival with vendors and other activities to celebrate the PCT. It was great fun seeing people we haven't seen since California-- especially Lobby and Trinket (Sue's official trail name). We had a taco dinner at the Pop Up Angels (Chef and Jerry Can) then enjoyed a fun dance party before heading to bed around 10pm.

We are definitely ready to leave mentally but Ferd's knee still hurts and we don't want to push it. No better place than PCT Days to enjoy another zero. :) We got breakfast at a small ice-cream shop and a milkshake! Best. Milkshakes. Ever! (we can't remember the name but it's at the end of town and has a ice-cream cone on the outside and reads hamburgers). They also sell soft serve which they pile in cake cone so comically high only a thru-hiker could attempt to eat it. At the festival, there were lots of fun vendors to visit... Ferd won a wind jacket from Berghaus (!!) and Dangit spent the day dreaming about Luna Sandals.

The next morning we packed up, made makeshift fajitas in our pot, spent time with our Leavenworth friends Jamie and Matt who came to the PCT Days and then headed back to the trail. Thanks Jamie and Matt for the ride! We chose to take the Eagle Creek Trail alternate where we saw tons and tons of waterfalls! We bathed in Punch Bowl Falls (brrrrr!) and continued walking towards the most epic waterfall we've ever seen -- Tunnel Falls! Which you walk through a cave blasted from the cliffs behind the falls. We ended the day doing about 10 miles and made camp with a couple section hikers. That night, while eating dinner, Ferd heard some noise next to him and turned to find a huge rat! It's definitely nice to have ear plugs when sleeping. haha

Jon!

Ferd's knee is still a bother so we are taking it slow to Timberline Lodge. We did about 16 miles today and saw our first awesome view of Mt. Hood! It's getting cooler and the leaves are starting to turn shades of yellow, orange, and red. It's been amazing watching the seasons change. We camped that night in a small campsite area with Jon who is hiking around Oregon and Washington, and 4 car campers who spent the night recalling outrageous lovemaking tales we couldn't help but overhear... Earplugs: worth their weight in gold. 

Hood!

The next day was a cold day... breezy and overcast. We decided to take the hiker only alternate to Ramona Falls, another spectacular waterfall. Not far from the falls we navigated Sandy Creek, which can be a very dangerous ford at times. In fact, a hiker was swept away and killed almost exactly one month ago there. Luckily, for us the creek was mostly tame and there was a log crossing so we didn't even have to ford! Later in the day, the weather cleared up so we had a dinner on trail then continued on to Timberline Lodge at twilight (Ferd's favorite time to hike). Mt. Hood was basked in the pink light of the setting sun and we could see Mt. Jefferson (?) peaking above a sea of pink clouds to the south. It was one of the most breath taking moments on the trail!

Ramona Falls

Other than a few stragglers, I don't think we will see any more northbound (NOBO) PCTers. We decided this is probably a good thing since it's very difficult to "hike your own hike". It's so easy to make our decisions based on what other people are doing... "Oh, you're not taking a zero... Cool! We won't either."; "You did 30's through Oregon... we can definitely do that too." It's exhilarating to feel like we are actually in charge of our adventure. With that in mind, we decided to stay 2 nights at Timberline Lodge in hopes that the rest will be good for Ferd's knee.

The lodge is beautiful! The lower lobby has awesome stone masonry and massive hand hewn wood beams that support the upper floors. A huge stone fireplace with a chimney extends from the bottom of the structure up through a hole in the second and third floors all the way to the top of the lodge. However, it's expensive to stay here for sure. Luckily, we were able to cut a deal and get a room with bunk beds. It was supposed to be a small room with one bunk bed but they were out so.... it's just been the two of us in a room with 8 beds. haha. We took showers and got comfy in the room. Ferd passed out while icing his knee while Dangit stayed up late doing laundry before dragging two twin mattresses down to make a "king sized bed".

 

Mt. Hood

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The next morning consisted of sleeping in, packing as much food into our stomachs during the allotted 3 hour lunch buffet (which is delish), and socializing with other south-bounders. We also took the shuttle into Govy to get groceries before hitching back to the lodge with Angela (we were her first hitch in the area-- thanks Angela!). Just before bed we relaxed in the hot tub. It was a good day. Timberline Lodge is a great place to relax... especially if you have money, which we don't. :) Really the only downside is the computer they offer. We had issues logging on because they didn't know the password, then when we did get on the computer to update the blog... they don't allow guests to upload photos! So.. no awesome photos from the camera. We have been trying out the Blogger app on our phone and taking a few pictures on that... we'll see how that goes.

Our hitch- Angela!

Our giant room

Timberline Lodge

Trout Lake to Cascade Locks

Trout Lake is so cute. So cute in fact that we decided to take a zero and hang out with our friends Katie and Josef! from Pullman.

We went to the Ice Caves and Natural Lava Bridges nearby, which were epic - we needed headlamps to explore the icy subterranean world of ice stalagmites and crumbled lava rock. So cool! We felt like kids again exploring tiny passages and hidden rooms. That night at Flying L Ranch in Glenwood. We made gumbo for dinner and hung out with other people staying there.

ice cave entrance

BFF love

natural lava bridge

G'pa Ferd

Our room at the Lodge

creeper

view of Mt. Adams from back of Lodge

Thanks Momma Turner for the package!!

The next day we had breakfast at the ranch then Josef and Katie dropped us off at the trailhead. Thanks guys for driving 6 hours to see us!!!!
We saw nearly 40 northbound thru-hikers. Woah! We are starting to see people we met in Kennedy Meadows-- so cool. We hiked about 15 miles and made camp in the woods.
We walked about 24 miles and ran into about 20 northbounders then made camp on top of a little knoll. While eating dinner we loaned up and saw a female elk walk out, see us and freak out. She ran away and then we saw that she wasn't alone- there was a male elk with her. It was so neat-- we're pretty sure we got to see them because it was so windy and they probably couldn't smell us as well. That evening we sat and listened to the elk bugling (if that's how its spelled)... They sound like velociraptors from Jurassic Park. :)
After hiking g about 7 miles the next morning, we breaked at the water source and saw Hex and Jex!! Yay for Team Eye Candy! We spent a good hour with them then continued on our journey. Ferd had some bad stomach cramps so we did a shorter day of 18 miles and made camp.

Our next day was windy and beautiful. Its so cool being able rocks watch the seasons change. We ran into Snaps... Another Team Eye Candy reunion. We continued on and finally made it to Cascade Locks but not after getting lost on the trail, hiking on a jeep road, picking apples and blackberries, finding our way to SR 14 and highway walking until we got a hitch to the Bridge of the Gods. We walked across.... Finally completing our first state!!!!!!!!!!!
Now we must feast! PCT Days is this weekend so we'll probably hang out. :) Life is so very good.

our road walk

White Pass to Trout Lake

After getting our package from Mom Childs (yay!), we checked out the hikers box and charged our electronics. After... We headed back on the trail. We've been passing the cutest little frogs on the trail! It feels like we are in the video game Frogger :) We managed to hike 2.5 miles to our makeshift campsite- a flat spot off the trail with some creaking trees. In fact we woke up in the middle of the night because we thought a tree might fall on us as the wind continued to increase to an alarming level near midnight. However,we checked all the trees and decided we were safe.

He next day we did about 20 miles through the Goat Rocks!! Wow! Absolutely amazing views. We could see Ranier and Mt. Adams and St. Helens... So cool! And we saw 8 mountain goats. They looked like off white rocks on a snowy glacier field. Dangit took some pictures up close then had to zoom in on the pictures to prove that they were goats and not rocks that looked like goats. :) We hiked (scrambled) up the treacherous "Hiker's Only" alternate which was straight up and down but yielded even more incredible views of the knife-edge and surroundings! Tired but full of excitement from the day, we made camp off trail in the Cispus Basin. One of the best days of the trail and yet another reminder of why we love to hike!

Thanks Mom Childs!

The famous Goat Rock's "knife edge"!!!

mountain goats!

hiker trash part 2

 There was an awesome waterfall in the morning and an awesome postpile in the Yakima Reservation. Also... A giant ant hill about 3 feet off the ground! We walked 25 miles passing Lava Spring and stealth camped in the woods before a burn area at the base of Mt. Adams.
The next day was quite foggy and we couldn't see Mt. Adams at all. Cool lava rocks and lots of hikers heading north.

We made it to the trailhead in the rain and got a hitch from Scott- an awesome guy who offered us hummus. :) We went straight for the cafe, got some foods and a huckleberry milkshake and had a feast. Our phone couldn't get signal so a local, Carleen (I hope I spelled that right) let us use her phone and we found out that Katie and Josef were almost there and had gotten a cabin!! Woohoo! We spent the night eating and watching American Ninja Warrior. Also... Carleen washed our clothes for us. Thanks!