The Home Stretch... Literally.

All my boxes are packed and I'm ready to go!  Sometime tomorrow morning, I'll be off on that dusty old trail, once again.  I'm now in the final leg, Washington.  There are big changes ahead.  The biggest of them all...  THE WEATHER!

It's likely that by Wednesday, I'll see my first drops of precipitation since sometime in May.  California was dry and surprisingly, Oregon too!  But Washington is looking to be wet.

The forecast for Skamania county on Thursday says a 40% chance.  What that actually means, is that 40% of the time it will rain.  I'm mentally preparing for the entire state.  But I'm sure it will rain less than half the time.  I know it could rain almost the entire way too!  

Trail rumors are abound once again with regards to the difficulty of Washington.  I've heard that from the Columbia to Trout Lake is easy.  I've also heard that it's easy all the way to Snoqualmie.  Maybe I should look at some maps?  Nah.  I enjoy the surprise!  

In other news, I found my other Backwoods hat in my closet this afternoon.  I'm stoked about that since my last hat was lost in Sierra City.  I'm keeping the Grateful Dead hat given to me by another hiker, Rusty; despite not knowing any of their songs or dances.  

Anyhow, it's time to cut up this pizza and stuff it in my food bag.  I can't wait to eat it on trail.  

Happy Trailz,

Jerry

Oregon, almost complete

It's crazy to think that I spent over three months in California trudging up and down mountains, dealing with the heat, having a long water or food carry, OR coping with all three at once.  Oregon has been a vacation compared to what I had to deal with in California (well, I also have some rock solid legs, I didn't have those in California).  Now I have less than fifty miles separating myself from the motherland and it's all downhill from here.  

This morning was a race up Mt. Hood to grab their breakfast buffet (10 miles and 2,600ft).  It was easily the healthiest and most delicious meal I've had on trail.  I probably stuffed down 4,000 calories worth of food.   I felt like I was about to vomit and had to rest outside, to get some fresh air.  But you know what?  The pain was worth it.  I feel like all that nutritional goodness is repairing my body.  I don't feel like a zombie anymore!

By Sunday I'll be in Washington taking a day off and prepping for the doom and gloom that is to come.  I'm expecting the worst but am hoping for the best.  The Evergreen State can get some nasty weather and a few days ago, I decided to get a stove.  

I've been without a warm meal most days on trail.  "Stove-less" is what it's called and I wouldn't recommend it.  It's only benefit is that you save some time prepping a meal but that's it.  The weight of a stove is definitely worth it.  I got it mainly for COFFEE since that drug is the ultimate game changer.

Happy trails,

Jerry

Half done with Oregon

I'm flying through Oregon and it has to be one of the most under rated sections so far.  If youve ever seen a documentary on the PCT you know it goes; desert, Sierras, ?????, ????, and then Washington (but only the last bits).  NorCal and Oregon have been awesome.  The grade isn't too intense and doing a high mile day is sort of easy...

I say "sort of" because the sun is rising much later.  Last night I told the fellow hikers I was camping with "ok guys, I'll get up at 5am".  If you've been hiking with me, you'll know that I've been saying this since the Sierras.  I never get up at 5am.  I haven't since the desert but last night was special.  We had setup camp about nine miles from a youth camp run by Seventh Day Adventists.  Breakfast was on my mind.  Although they are vegetarians, I could probably still get an omlet or cereal.

I stressed all night about getting sleep and thinking about eggs that I hardly slept.  Much like a child waiting for Christmas morning.  For thirty minutes, I watched the walls of my tent breath before my alarm went off.

Five O'clock finally rolled around and I was on trail forty five minutes later.  The sun wasn't up until about 630.  Sunrise is probably six but with the mountains in the way, it took a bit longer for the sunshine to hit me.  I forgot how late the sun rises in this part of America.  In Japan, it was always super early in the summer.  The sun was up by five or even earlier.  I remember walking around at 430 one morning with enough light to see.  

Geez, long tangent.  The staff were absent at the youth camp and no omelets were available.

Anyhow, here I am with about ten miles until I hit 2,000.  I'll be passing that mark in a few hours.  

Until next time!

-Jerry

O-R-E-G-O-N

I've been here just a little over a week but it's nice to be back in the Pacific Northwest!  The trees scrap the sky and are so tall that I have trouble getting a descent GPS signal. 

The PNW definitely wins for the best smelling section of the trail.  My allergies are gone!  Plus, there are a ton of berries!  It becomes a choice between hiking or eatting berries.  I think I lost two hours of hiking yesterday thanks to some small Oregon wild huckleberries I found. 

I hit crater lake a few days ago.  What a beautiful area.  The thing I couldn't get over was all the cars.  Wayyyyyyy to many murder machines.  Backpacking changes your perspective on things.  Going by foot enhances the experience. Roads and cars are a huge distraction. When I get the chance, I'll talk more about it. 

I'm in Shelter Cove right now.  Somewhere close to halfway in Oregon.  A few more miles and I'm almost home!  

I made it to Oregon

For whatever reason, Blogger crashed and I lost my post.  Bummer.  

I made it to Oregon and now I'm relaxing in Ashland.  These town stops are getting  tough.  I get pulled in by the vortex of fresh food and a soft bed.  I'll eventually make it out to the trail today.  

Oregon as a whole, is supposedly the easiest section of the trail.  Forty mile days are not uncommon for hikers.  I will probably be able to make up for "lost" time before getting to Washington.  But once there, I'll need another day off to get all my chores done. 

Anyhow, that's all I've got.  I had more but dat crash.

Now Entering Cascadia

I'm about 100 miles from Oregon but I have made it to Cascadia.  A place where trees are as dense as a Q-Tips. 

You know you're in Cascadia when things start getting weird.  

Some people living around Mt. Shasta believe in Lamarians.  A race of people or aliens that are invisible and harvest magical crystals.  Once upon hearing this, I knew I was home.  There are strange things that happen in these woods...

But I've never felt more at home!  There is an odd sense of comfort I have out here.  The fragrance of the forest brings me back.  It's a smell I have missed for six years.

For the past 1500 miles, I've had a horrible cough and stuffy nose.  I must have breathed in too much dirt or allergic to something.  Since going passed Mt. Lassen and entering into the Cascades, my respiratory issues have been starting to vanish.  Horray!

Well, that's about all I can think of.  I'll be hitting the trail again this afternoon.  See ya!

-Jerry