Day 138: One of my favorite days on trail! I hiked basically all day with the crew and it was so fun. To just be patient and not care about timing or getting anywhere. We just talked and joked about everything. We talked about life, sex, and anything that came to mind. The morning started as a super steady walk. Gradual uphills and downhills, walking past trail junctions and lakes. Walking by huckleberries that you can just try and grab as you walk by to eat. They’re easily my new favorite fruit. I remember us stopped at Trout Creek for a few minutes just to chat and regroup. Poor Freckles is having a lot of foot pain right now. She switched shoes and they’ve really been bothering her now. So she tried to put her feet in the cold water to help the inflammation. Then we started on our uphill which flew by. We held such a solid pace for it before heading downhill to where we had read that some Monks leave trail magic for us. I got to the can filled with fruit and was so happy. Most of us didn’t bring enough food this stretch so we have been having to ration our food. But now there’s fruit, and crackers, and all kinds of good snacks. Me, Dash, and L-Train sit there for a few minutes then Tim and Freckles arrive. There is a roaD just a couple hundred feet away that leads to a small town called Trout Lake. We don’t plan to go, but as we sit there we here a car pull up. So Tim sprints over and it’s a nice man named Gary who offers us a ride to town. It was the best choice ever to go! We had so much fun! We ate delicious burgers and fries and omg chocolate huckleberry milkshakes 🤤🤤. Freakin heaven. Then we went to the local store and grabbed some fun snacks and boxed wine. Because we’re only hiking about a mile to camp so why not bring a treat for the evening. We saddle up and Gary gives us a ride back to the trail in his pick up truck that has an actual sofa just chilling in the back. We share the truck with Mio and Cane Toad, 2 hikers we just met. We all apparently planned to hit the same campsite so within minutes more hikers just kept filling it up. We stayed back a bit all snuggled in our bags ready to cowboy camp getting a little tipsy. Or at least I did. It’s so funny to me that as easily hiked 23 miles today, with taking lots of breaks and even going into a town.

Day 137: in the morning we all kind of scattered. Some went to the nearby campgrounds to throw away trash and use the facilities. I, to no surprise stayed on trail to just get out hiking, morning hiking is my favorite. It’s so peaceful and meditative. I love just walking and slowly heading the world wake up. Luckily the day began in the forest, but it opened up sometimes today. Providing beautiful views of Mt. Hood. Pretty immediately from camp the trail went up again. A 3,550ft climb to start the day. And it’s kind of funny because I’m always thinking it’ll be horrible, but at this point it’s not bad at all. Later I passed by a pipe spring and filled up my water. By now I never filter. If it’s moving I just fill up and go. And especially with the pipe springs I’ve always done that. It saves soooo much time! And the pipe springs are always so old and delicious. I was set to hike the 23 miles to Blue Lake before stopping to eat lunch. It is supposedly one of the top swim spots on the trail and I want to enjoy it and know that I have just a few miles after to do! I passed a few other lakes on the way, and although they were more grungy looking it’s always nice and peaceful to be trekking next to water. I made it around 3ish. The last bit to blue lake I walked with a guy named Neon. We chatted quite a bit until I couldn’t keep up with him anymore. By this time I was pooping out just for the simple fact I had only eaten 3 bars so far today. But finally I made it. and what a waste of effort. The lake was nice don’t get me wrong, but it was cold and windy as shit by the water. I tried to take clothes off and do laundry but I immediately put on my sleeping/winter gear while I tried to eat and let me clothes dry. I tried reading but it was just miserable. I never see a point in stopping if I can’t relax. Right before I was deciding to leave L-Train showed up. She had a similar idea today to get here and enjoy the lake but instead we packed up and headed the last just 2 miles uphill to our campsite for the evening. The wind stopped pretty soon as we got back into the trees. We passed the 2200 mile marker today. Although it’s exciting, it’s also quite weird to understand how I feel about it. At this point due to having to skip because of the wildfires I don’t know how many miles I have actually hiked. But I do know that means I just have about 400 left. Which at this point seems like it will take no time. As a group we’ve chatted and discussed not doing 30 mile days, just between 20-25 dependent on where campsites are. None of us want this to end so we’re gonna try and soak it up as much as possible. Later, another same night. Everyone’s together cowboy camping!

Day 136: Slow morning getting up and going just because it’s so nice to enjoy the morning with everyone and stay warm in my sleeping bag! The morning started with a nice 2,300ft climb right out of the gates. Nothing gets you warm like a good uphill! So far Washington looks like Oregon in the sense that I’m still just walking in the forest. But a green lush forest it is!!! But it did for a bit finally open a little to a nice ridge. Which is my favorite. I love being able to see endless mountains looking like the ocean. Not knowing when it stops makes me feel so free. The good part of Washington is that we finally have access to a lot of fresh spring water again! Instead of the gross lake/pond water from Oregon. The trail crossed a lot of dirt roads and creeks today. Rock Creek, Snag Creek, Trout Creek and a lot of smaller streams were crossed. Lots of ups and downs today, literally. And this is how WA will be. Today was a total of about 6,000 feet elevation gain and loss. I didn’t stop for lunch until I hiked 25 miles! I wanted to make it to Wind River and I was just feeling damn good. So the morning was cruisey. I made it there around 3pm and sat and relaxed, I only had a few more miles for the day. I swam a little and did laundry. Ate a nice lunch, then napped on and off while reading. At times I’d see a hiker walk across the bridge above me getting over the river, then go back to just doing nothing basically. Never saw anyone from my group so got up and kept going. I found a camp spot near the road to Panther Creek Campground. It was a nice site next to the creek. And I saw Rick there! And we ended up camping near each other, and later the rest of my group made it! Before, when it was just Rick and I, 2 women were out on the trail. At first just offering us fresh baked cookies. That were still warm and freaking amazing! And then that turned into them wanting to talk to us about God. I quickly left and went to do my own thing. I was grateful, but No thanks. Now I get to enjoy another night of cowboy camping with my peeps. Cowboy camping is not using a tent, you just set your sleeping bag out and go to sleep. And that’s all I did in Washington! Never set my tent up! I have peaked into the trail tomorrow and we get to go by lots of lakes!!! Yay for swim time!

Day 135- We we’re in no rush to get back out hiking today so we casually packed our things before heading to the post office. While we were here we contacted Hefty who was on the trail doing a 0 day at a lake just a few miles north. We talked him into coming back and hanging out with us and it was so fun To all be together again! Before and during the trail many blogs, websites, hikers, talk about how it’s really hard to resupply in Washington and that you should send yourself boxes. I don’t worry about it, I just need tortillas, peanut butter, and bars, and I can get that anywhere. But others loaded up some boxes for themselves that we needed to take to the post office. I again had issues with packages here, my Moms package came late, Big Lake Youth Camp never actually even sent out my shoes to me like they were supposed to. So I’ve had these shoes since South Lake Tahoe, which is about 1,000 miles back. They’re done that’s for sure. On the way to the post office we looked so funny, Tim and Dash were pushing a cart full of all of our resupply and junk. Just how we look as hikers, along with all the stuff in the cart was funny. We hung out at the post office a bit, people running in and out trying to figure stuff out. We ended up going to the near by picnic tables and having a picnic lunch which had pork, salmon, and other goodies left over from our dinners. I got waaay too full. It’s what sucks about towns. You just overeat consistently the entire time. It makes hiking much more rough. I’m so happy the crew is back together! So many good vibes and energy that really showed as we crossed the Bridge of the Gods. It’s crazy to walk across there’s no room for you really and traffic just keeps going. It was really fun! Can’t believe we are now in Washington. We started along the trail which stayed near the main road. We hiked up a smidge then found ourselves at a lake, we assumed it’s the one Hefty was at. It was nice even though it had power lines above it which didn’t make you feel very secluded. But it was hot. So Tim and I decided to hop in, and soon everyone else followed and we just played in the lake awhile. After hanging out for a bit, the boys were playing some rock game and us ladies were chatting about…..random things let’s just say, we headed back out to hike. We didn’t plan to hike far. The way a little uphill which felt kind of tough to me because my stomach was so bloated and full from all of the food. We hiked just 7 miles through greens mossy forest, and found a rad campsite above Cedar creek at mile 2154. There is a teepee here made with logs that we all cowboy camped next to. Along with a steep downhill to the water which wasn’t too fun going up or down! A bit slippery on the sand, but nothing sketchy. It is so nice to be together and chill and chat with everyone. Although, going to sleep tonight I feel embarrassed. The talk of energy and spirituality came up, and at one point I raised my voice. Not in an argumentative way, but a passionate way, but I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. I know that I, like anyone else, can become too attached to my beliefs and ideologies and my ego steps in the way, but that truly isn’t my intention. For me this was hard, I felt like things changed after that but it was just my own thoughts and energy. But once we actually talked about it, all was good.

Day 132-134 Got up pretty early and hiked the very quick 8.5 miles to Cascade Locks. It was mainly downhill and flew by. As soon as I got to town I couldn’t believe that I was right there just standing by the Bridge of the Gods. If I crossed this bridge I would be in Washington. The last state of my trip. I right away went to Bridgeside for breakfast. And after ordering I saw Dash and his parents, Hilary and Greg. So I took my milkshake and enjoyed the meal getting to know them better. After going and showering at the house and chilling for a bit we headed across the bridge. Dash’s parents got him a massage and while he did that us 3 went and enjoyed a happy hour somewhere. We had AMAZING huckleberries margaritas! So good. The next couple days were just filled with lots of happiness. We went to the dam for the Columbia River and watched the salmon do their work. Then enjoyed a little snack picnic by the water. We went and got massive ice cream cones and followed it by playing at the park. Me, Tim, and Dash practiced some parkour. Which were not too great at but it was super fun! I tried to run and jump over a trash can but when I put my hands on the lid it collapsed and I fell down tipping the trash over. It was so funny. We also tried get ups, which is what the video is. It was just so fun to go play around. We had family dinners, Greg and Hilary are so amazing and so supportive of all of us. The next 2 we went for a couple of small hikes to some waterfalls near by. The 1st was my favorite. It was packed with people trying to go over a bunch of logs waiting in a line. But it was dope and fun to swim in. The guys did a Little Rock climbing skill work to get there. I just walked in the water. We watched the Shining to check for similarities from Timberline Lodge. The last day too Meg came with her parents, Karen and Dan. It was literally just so cool to get to know my good friends parents, and to enjoy families again. I am very grateful I got to meet them. Overall it was a killer 3 days! Drinking, playing, exploring, singing Disney songs, playing in water fountains like little kids, digging into deeper conversations about our journey. Very blessed and special, making it one of my favorite stops on the PCT.

Day 131: looooved today! One of my favorites on the trail. It was drizzly and foggy all day. And even though my hands were frozen, I enjoyed the peacefulness of it. I woke up and thought it was still raining, but it was just drops coming off from the tree branches above me. The morning made me feel like I was in Washington, walking through the forest. It was a nice change, just a different vibe and scenery from the typical everyday forest trek. The morning was super easy as it began with a 2,700 ft descent. During it I forced Sandy River crossing the flowing water on a tipped over log. Carefully staying balanced as I walked my way across. Again thanks to the Sierras, it seemed like a breeze. I passed the junction for Ramona Falls, which I still regret not going to. It was just a short detour but I decided to stay on the PCT instead. Then there was the Muddy Fork River crossing. Someone has made like a makeshift log crossing by adding a rope to hold onto. It was 2 logs that at parts crossed over each other. The rope definitely made it easier. It was weird to see so many day/weekend hikers around here. I saw a mother and son and then met a bunch of Boy Scouts at the Eagle Creek Trail junction. I hung out at the junction for quite awhile chatting with them and the ranger there. Eagle Creek is a popular side trail on the PCT that almost all hikers take. As it gives better views from walking through the canyon rather than the forest. But it is closed due to…another wild fire. This one started July 4 and is still going. I ran into Dash as he was passing by the junction. After leaving the pass the miles literally flew by. I did 27 miles total. I had tons of energy after my break. I was singing and dancing while I was walking. I was just bursting if happiness. I felt like I just wanted to give a random person a hug and then just skip away. I’m legit a weirdo. But I feel so full of light and in total bliss right now. For a good chunk of the afternoon I was walking behind a woman, who could hold a solid pace. And like me, she jogged the downhills. I realized in the desert it made my knees feel 1,000times better to just use the momentum to go down hills. I pass her after after a bit and we end up camping with each other in the forest. Just a few miles from Cascade Locks. Her name is Chaya and she is from Mexico. Married and loves thru hiking. She’s done a couple hikes I haven’t heard of, and the Camino. She commented that she is competitive and I have now passed her 2 times, she has told her husband about me and passing her. I couldn’t help but laugh. She also does a lot of fitness competitions and stuff so we had a good chat over dinner. Dash passed later but was continuing to Cascade Locks to meet his parents, who we’d be staying with while were there. Since I wasn’t camping near water, I was going to go to sleep a bit thirsty as I didn’t pack enough up. But luckily 2 hikers decided to not camp near us, but head down the ridge to the next water source and try and find somewhere to sleep. So they kindly gave me some of their water. I love so much about the trail, and one of the reasons is just that even without knowing each other we all have each other’s backs and help each other out. This community of people is so special and we all realize we’re already bonded just because we’re doing the trail. Tomorrow I’ll walk the 8.5 miles into town and eat a biiiig breakfast. I’ll just dream about fresh hot food tonight.

Day 130: Wow what a great day! Woke up and headed right to the Timberline Lodge breakfast buffet. It’s famous on the PCT as the best breakfast on the trail. And that didn’t lie. I waited in line with all of the other hikers, Dash made it in that morning. Then all over the dining room there we all were. Grungy smelly hikers, in a really nice lodge. But they treated us so kindly. The breakfast was unreal. There was smoothies, eggs, different meats (rip poor cows and piggies) and my favorite waffles with fresh berries and REAL heavy whipping cream. I didn’t eat as much as I thought I would, but sometimes I think my stomach has gotten used to the small more frequent meals, so then when I try to eat a big meal I get full fast….but then hungry quickly after. But I was full, the waitress gave us a shot of ACV, ginger, lemon, and I think cayenne. I was like whaaaat??? It made me miss drinking my every morning ritual tea, which was that shot! So good. I headed outside and watched Kiva, the beautiful Husky who had been hiking with her owner, Tyler for some reason I can’t think of his trail name right now. So he went in to eat and I read and loved on the doggie. Not a place I hated to be. I got hungry though, so I quickly ran inside towards the end of breakfast and they let me grab some pastries which was nice. Then I just wandered around the hotel. This is where the movie the Shining was recorded, and they have the ax from the movie, which you can take a pic with. Idk if it’s the real one. I looked it up and a few places claim to have the axe from the movie. So who knows. Then after sitting outside for awhile I was bored and sick of doing nothing so took off. The hike after was so cool. Walking under the ski lift then heading into what seemed like canyons. I passed a sign that said 550 miles to Canada……and I immediately got really really sad. After leaving a hiking in a bit more of beach like sand I headed down into Little ZigZag canyon. It was so pretty. And it gave me a decent river crossing. One of the first since the Sierras. But those experiences gave me some confidence for sure. And it was warm so I didn’t care about my feet getting wet. I hiked 15 miles today again just about a half day of hiking. I wanted to end with the uphill so I didn’t have to do it in the morning. And I knew a majority of hikers from Timberline would stay at the base of the hill, and I didn’t want to camp with a lot of people so I hiked up. The campsite was nice. Right at the Paradise Loop Trail junction. I actually saw a few day hikers as I was setting up and eating dinner. Little did I know that tomorrow would bring me one of my favorite days on the trail.

Day 129: 32.5 miles done today and they were some of the toughest yet. The terrain was easy, it’s just fatigue due to my period. I always have no energy around this time. But I got to see Pacer, Dorian, and Drum Solo today! I saw Pacer earlier on. She was on her own and now heading south bound. They had done some skipping and flipping to go to the trail days festival so we’re now hiking south a few days before hitching back up and heading north. I saw her along the creek while walking in the forest. Which seems to be almost all that we do in Oregon. It gets quite boring. Since I was lacking everything today I had to listen to a lot of music and podcasts to get me through. Oh, I also got to see Little Crater Lake today. It was just a short ways off trail. It was cool, but nothing spectacular. Maybe I’m just comparing too much to the actual Crater Lake. The last 1.5 miles today, which is where I saw Dorian and Drum Solo, were freaking brutal. It was beautiful, Mt. Hood was clearly visible. But imagine going up a steep incline in beach sand. And that’s what it was. I stopped a couple times and just said “fuck you” to the trail. Sometimes I feel like it is out to get me. 1900 feet uphill in sand. Really? Sometimes you literally just think that the trail hates you. I’m camping solo tonight a bit uphill from the large group of hikers below. I’m hiding between some nice big trees with a gorgeous view of Timberline Lodge on one side, and Mt. Hood on the other. A woman came up to me and was asking me so many questions about the trail, and made her son take photos with me. She was kind of annoying but so sweet. What’s going on in my mind now? How am I so close to WA?!? It kind of scares me to almost be done. I still don’t even know what I want to do when it’s over. It’s such a weird place to be. I’m legit pretty terrified about what will happen after the trail. How do know what’s true for you and what you’re just making seem true? I guess I just need to disconnect of any ideas of what might be, and just let what’s real show itself to me.

Day 128: We slept in being as we weren’t trying to get anywhere. The Eclipse was happening today and there was a great spot on a bridge super close to camp, and we wanted to wait for Freckles and Tim. Didn’t even wake up until 7am! I got to do a lot of reading, and again just enjoy the company of the goats. The Eclipse was amazing and I’m soooo happy I had the glasses. I watched it with about 6-7 other people, and the goats. We joked that maybe the goats would start talking while it happened. It was hard though, I would take the glasses off then forget and look right at the sun. I probably did it 5 times. But everything else is pitch black. So you can’t see all you want at the same time. It was Crazy when it happened. We had totality for quite awhile. I was sitting there in my shorts and tank and got freezing. The breeze picked up and the temperature dropped fast. I can imagine how back in the day wars were ending by this event. Imagine fighting then this happens, Id for sure take it as a sign too and stop fighting. I am so happy to get to experience it! After the eclipse back at camp, I realized my phone was missing. I freaked out and ran back to the bridge looking at the trail along the way. Me and some others looked under the bridge thinking it slipped through a crack, I thought somebody took it. So I gave them Dash’s number to call if they find it. And actually when I was getting his number, there it was in my sleeping bag. Couldn’t help but laugh especially because even at home I do stuff like it. I’ve been the person talking on their phone while looking for their phone. It was afternoon and still no sign of F&P so we decided to start hiking. Right when we got on trail I met Radio, whom Dash already knew. We ran into quite a few others too. Gentlemen, later, Santa, and Jalvaloo. Everyone got held up due to the Eclipse I guess. Got to camp with everyone tonight and have good conversations. It’s so fun to get to know people better out here, and always so crazy to me to hear what each person does and how they live their life off of the trail. Oh and I also started my period today. First time on the trail. Why couldn’t it have waited one more month until I was one more month until I was done?!? It’s been so nice to never have to worry about it. Now the cramps and fatigue are back and setting in. The worst. But I’m grateful I haven’t dealt with it until now. It’s just so gross out here. But what can ya do? Camping in the forest tonight. Camping right next to some friends while separated by just a creek from some others. We hiked 15 miles today. Not bad for a half days work.

Day 126-127 Today was another beautiful day in Bend. In the morning we ate a big delicious homemade breakfast, then said our goodbyes to Squarepants, Coma, Birdie, and Tarzan as they were hearing back to the trail. I really hope to see them again, I enjoyed all of their company. They’re good people. Me, Freckles, Tim, and Dash headed to town first stopping at an REI. Then we continued walking around and decided to see a movie, The Dark Tower. Which was not good. Afterwards we walked along the river watching people float, and even surf in some areas. There are tons of breweries around and people just having a good time! I really like Bend! We then walked to the bar where L-Train works when she’s living here. On the way I got to FaceTime Peter, Nicole, K, Brit, Solomon, and Sushi. They were all at Pete and Nicole’s engagement party, sad I couldn’t be there I’m glad they took the time to say hi so I could be a small part of it. At the bar we hung with Meg, Simon, and Russ! I haven’t seen Russ since our group split at Tuolumne for Yosemite. It was nice to see them. We’re all trying to figure out what to do with the fire closures. Looking at maps for alternate routes that maybe we can take. The only other option is a really long road walk, which for me is just a no. I came to hike the PCT not the side of a highway. Although if my group would have wanted to do it I would have in a heartbeat. We soon headed backpacking to Auntie Sunshine’s for another beautiful night. These 2 days legit just felt like a family reunion. I love these beautiful people so much. We had an amazing family dinner, delicious and intimate. Good conversations and then the night turned into serenading each other to country music!!!! The next day we got up and resupplied. On the way home Auntie Sunshine took us to the Dutch Bros coffee and I legit wanted to move to Bend just to work there! The energy was crazy and all the workers were so happy. It was like a big party. A girl put whipped cream on her hand, with the other hand smacked the bottom of that hand so the whipped cream flew in the air and then attempted to catch it in her mouth. It was seriously a highlight of Bend. Auntie Sunshine and her crew were so freaking kind and drove us all the way towards Olallie Lake. I was bummed when we passed Big Lake Youth Camp, it’s a resupply stop on the trail that I had been stoked about before even starting. I had my new shoes there, and they let you sleep on a black sand beach, and it’s a vegan boys camp so you get served vegan all you can eat meals. I still am determined to get back there to try, but it was closed due to the fires. Sad to say goodbye to our new fam, we reluctantly did. Then after leaving just a couple minutes later we hear some rowdiness and people singing Red Solo Cup very loud. RSC became the highlight song of the previous evening because Freckles came to love it since it was easy to sing to. The crew came back, because Freckles left her sunglasses. Then we said our real goodbye. To get back to the trail we had to follow a couple other trails to meet it. Freckles and Tim got behind and when we were at a junction Dash and I looked at our maps, neither of which were working properly and decided to head left. A mistake that would cause us to hike 10 miles on rolling dirty roads. Rather than the mellow like 3 mile hike we were supposed to have. We’d walk for a bit then stop waiting for Freckles and Tim, who went the right way. When we wouldn’t see them we just kept going. We knew this trail met up with the PCT but it was taking forever. It was almost dark when we finally reached the trail. I saw Em and Lou at the junction. And then Dash and I walked a bit further to a campsite with water. We ended up getting to camp, in the total dark, but got to a camp with this cute couple and my favorite…2 GOATS! I was in heaven. So without setting up our tents. We cowboy camped under the trees, next to the trail, and with 2 adorably funny goats.