August 30-Saturday-Incredible Nero Assist
The family all needed to resupply. At one point the plan was to hitch in to the small hamlet of Trout Lake, pick up packages, do a little grocery shopping, stay at a motel to clean up, and, of course, eat. Then we ran into the reality that this was Labor Day weekend. There were no rooms in Trout Lake. A storm was in the forecast. I mentioned I had some friends in Washington, and called Dick Eastlick who I have known for decades from Etna where he used to live. At the drop of a hat he came to the rescue.
My regular breakfast on the trail is four oatmeal packets. That didn't fill me up. This was a six packet morning. Prior to being on the trail two packets was plenty for breakfast, some things have changed, my appetite is one.
I don't know much about the geography of Washington. Dick's address is Monroe, Washington, which meant nothing to me. After he agreed to meet my trail family and me at the trail and Forest Road 23 I gleefully told my new kin we had a ride to a town with a hotel, and good shopping. Then one asked how far away Dick lived. I had no idea. The next time I had service, I checked. It was a five hour drive from Dick's house to our pickup spot!
Dick was at the pick up spot at 11:00, Saturday morning, as planned. It was an easy five mile hike for the family for the day. A perfect nero. This was my shortest day since the end of the seven day zero, August 7th. Dick had driven over Friday night and camped to be sure he could get us. When we told him our shock at his drive he acted as if it were nothing. What an incredible friend.
He drove us to Hood River, Oregon (the nearest town with vacant rooms) for a night in a nice hotel, plenty of food, and clean up. It was what I needed to recoup.
The Columbia Gorge Hotel is a historic landmark, and gorgeous. Calvin Coolidge, FDR, and Rudy Valentino have stayed there. And now, The Family has stayed there. It's safe to say we didn't look like the regular clientele.
Dick brought along a new pair of shoes Theresa had sent. The last pair lasted about 800 miles, from Burney, California. I had to move up another half size, to a size 12. Feet definitely swell when hiking this much, I started the hike at size 10 1/2. A couple of black toenails (not caused by dirt) are a hint a new, larger, size is needed. Ibuprofen and sleeping with ones feet propped up on a pack only help so much with swelling.
My mind was on Ashley's baby shower. I heard it was a big success. The Boling brothers (Ashley's uncles) brought over freshly caught salmon for the festivities. If I would have made it down I wonder how much salmon I could have eaten?
August 31-Sunday-Silliness
Pretending to hold up this overhanging rock.
When I had my picture taken from below the overhanging rock, I then fell off the trail cutbank and onto the trail. I landed on my backpack, bruising only my ego (and maybe my sleeping bag:)). Princess laughed.
The huckleberries were perfectly ripe. What a treat. I have become a purple fingered huckleberry fan.
I'm not the first person to lose pant legs from hiking pants. Princess had to get new hiking pants because she had lost a single pant leg.
The view from my tent, toward Firecracker and Tidy Camper's tent, with Mount Adams in the background.
It became quite cold during the day, but there was no precipitation. It felt like it could snow. Apparently my new wardrobe has some humorous qualities. My family would just look at me and laugh. There are no fashion rules on the trail.
I hadn't seen Arizona since the Sierras. He got off the trail in Chester and had taken a class. When the class was done he went up to Canada and headed southbound. It was a great reunion on the trail, as most knew him. He flip flopped and will finish the trail in Chester. His hope is the fires in Northern California won't hamper his progress when he gets through with Washington and Oregon.
I met another southbound flip flopper, Twice. We hadn't met, but he knew of me and he knew Bat S*** Crazy Mama. Theresa had given him a ride in to Wrightwood about four months ago. With all the people she's helped I'm convinced she knows more hikers on the trail than me.
At the end of 22 weeks I am at 2250 miles. Finally I'm at better than a 100 mile/week pace. It's been a long time getting to this place. It seems highly likely I will be able to finish the hike before the end of September, even moving at a slower pace in Washington.
September 1-Monday-A Surprise Morning View
It was a cold night. Some frost was on plants. It wasn't a hard freeze, but cold enough I was glad to have my underarmor, gloves, and puffy down jacket. If I would have had pant legs I would have worn them.
We had been waiting the night before for the clouds to clear so we could get a decent picture of Mount Adams, with mixed results. I told Princess to put in an order for clear skies, she was working on it. Clouds were gone in the morning, Princess did her job! What we hadn't had the chance to see due to the clouds the day before was another mountain to the north. I noticed it through the trees while breaking camp. Before we left camp I walked out about 200 feet and was greeted by an amazing view of Mount Ranier.
It looked as if floating on a cloud.
I went back and grabbed the others and we all marveled. What a special morning.
A look back at Mount Adams from the north with Tidy Camper in the foreground.
Mount Ranier in the background.
I had heard of the beautiful Goat Rocks Wilderness over the years. Now the chance to see it for myself.
A 23 mile day that took most of the day. I took a nap in the middle of the day. With some elevation gain we're now about 6500 feet. The climb may have sapped some energy from me. Two weeks ago 23 miles would have been easy. This was not easy.
