Sept 8, 2014
Snake Charmer and I found out that Doc would be getting in a bit late. So we decided to go ahead and start the trail without him (we figured he'd catch up that night). So off we went across the Bridge of the Gods and into our final state: Washington.
 |
| Snake Charmer walking across the Bridge of the Gods |
 |
| Looking down on the Bridge of the Gods |
 |
| Back on the Trail |
The bridge itself was a little intimidating, as there was no official pedestrian walkway and we could see straight down to the river (good thing I'm not afraid of heights!). But luckily the traffic was low and we made it across okay. The trail itself followed a road for quite some miles, which we found to be frustrating. After spending so much time back in civilization, we were extremely anxious to be rid of it. So the sound of cars near-by and the continuously running-into of day hikers (you could smell them a mile away by their deodorant) was disappointing. But, eventually, as the day turned dark, the noises faded taking the day-hikers with them.
That first night I saw one of the most glorious sunsets I have ever seen. The moon looked larger than the mountains themselves as it rose slowly over the river, and the colors of twilight flooded the landscape like I've never seen before. There's a picture below, but it doesn't do it justice.
 |
| The Magnificent Sunset |
SC was, as always, ahead of me. So I had to walk in the dark a while before finding the campsite. For no particular reason, I decided to try walking in the dark without my headlight for a bit. The moon was up and full, but the canopy of the trees made that fact impossible to know. I felt around with my walking sticks and took it slow until it finally got so dark I truly couldn't see anything. And not too shortly there after I found the campsite. We were soon joined by a few other hikers, including Herroh and Shepard. Snake Charmer had somehow gotten himself into a pissy mood and was being anti-social, but the rest of us shared some stories and laughs and went to bed, cowboy style, with our sleeping bags all lined up next to each other.
Sept 9
The next morning it was up early as usual and back on the trail. Doc caught up to us near lunch time, and SC, Doc and I ate lunch atop a dirt mound on the edge of an abandoned road. Doc shared some of his flavored crackers with us, which was needless to say very much appreciated, and told us about the wedding he had been to.
So far, Washington was already holding up to its reputation of having a lot of steep inclines and declines. A definite change from the relative monotony of Oregon's elevation changes. And the woods, while always beautiful, were not strikingly different in any particular way. That was soon to change.
 |
| WA |
That night SC, Doc and I stopped for the night near a bridge and some public campsites. We found a nice little niche and pitched our tarps. Doc and SC moved fast, and I tired out way before them. I could barely move my legs by the time I caught up with them, and they already had their tarps pitched by the time I started on mine. Snake Charmer had again gotten himself into a pissy mood, which killed the conversation. So we all just ate in relative silence and went to sleep.
Sept 10
By now the woods had started to take on their own shape, distinct from the rainforest-dominated Oregon. They were beautiful. I was distracted from enjoying it fully, however, because I hated the shoes I was wearing passionately. Why I decided trying a new pair of shoes out when I loved the Brookes Cascadia I had been wearing, I will never know. So on extremely sore feet I padded through the dirt, eager to keep up with SC and Doc.
 |
| Glorious WA |
That night I caught up to them at a lake, where Doc and SC were trying to find a campsite. I pitched my tarp up next to Doc's, with plenty of room left for Snake Charmer. However, in honor of his pissy-mood week, he decided to not camp with us and went to a site across the way. We discussed how the Post Office would be closing early the next day, and in order to get to it in time for our packages we would have to wake up early and move /fast/. I wasn't fond of this plan but they weren't wrong. It was freezing by the time we crawled into our sleeping bags. Then at some point in the night the wind picked up, and didn't quit. I had tied my tarp up next to a log to conserve space and to add some temperature control. Luckily this also served as wind protection. My tarp, however, was not as lucky as me. One of the tent stakes had come un-staked and my tarp was billowing loudly in the wind, whipping me over and over again. I tried just turning over so it hit my back instead of my face, but it was still so loud that I couldn't sleep. It was so cold and I was so exhausted that I couldn't seem to muster up the energy to get out and fix it. So instead I fumbled for my ear plugs and slept un-soundly for the remainder of the night.
Sept 11
Finally morning came. We all got up. The wind was still howling and the air was so, so very cold. It took me almost an hour before my joints felt warm enough to move normally. Doc and SC were embarrassingly faster than me, so I lost them early on. But it worked out. As it approached lunch time I was walking through a patch of particularly large pines. One ear-bud in, listening to some tunes, I suddenly heard a *eeek.....eeeekkkkk.....EEEEEE!!* One of those particularly large trees was falling. It was falling /very/ close to me. Adrenaline kicked in and I /ran/, suddenly forgetting that my feet were so sore I could barely walk and that I was carrying 40lbs on my back. Seconds later the *BOOM* came as the giant came crashing down. I looked behind me and saw the dust cloud forming around it about 100 yards off. My heart still beating like a drum line, I took a deep breath. If that tree had decided to fall in a different direction, that could have been the end of my adventure. With this thought I resumed my walk. A small bridge was in sight and I decided lunch and some water would be good. I was so distracted that I almost didn't see the gentleman already sitting there.
"Hello!" A friendly voice said to me. "That tree scare you?" Yes, yes it did. We started chatting as I gathered water to filter and opened up my food sack to decide what was for lunch. At this point I can't remember our conversation. Just that he had run in to some other hikers I knew and that he made my day better. I guess in the end you don't always remember exactly what people say, just how its makes you feel.
Even though I felt slow, I was making excellent time. I was traveling around 3 miles an hour (my usual pace was 2 miles an hour) and I was right on schedule to catch the post office if I could keep it up. Rounding the corner not long after, I ran into Seahawk and Bumble-bee. Turns out they had a guaranteed hitch into town. So if I could make it to the road in time, I could get a ride with them. This sounded like a plan to me! I was worried that I would miss the mark, since my pace (as always) was slower than theirs. But I made it in time! While we waited by the road side none other than Gizmo and Dirtnap rolled up to get back on the trail. It was awesome getting to see them and catch up briefly before they headed off into the woods. Not too long after that we got picked up ( I actually decided to ride with the guy who had dropped my friends off), and it was off to Trout Lake we went.
Once in town, I found out that the post office delivered all PCT packages to the convenience store/bed and breakfast across the street....so we hadn't needed to hurry after all, how about that? So naturally my attention was turned from getting my packages to getting food. There was one little restaurant down the street (the only street) from the store. So I walked over and found Seahawk, Bumble-bee, and some of their friends already eating. At the table behind them sat Snake Charmer, Doc, and Shepard. SC and I, if you haven't gathered, weren't getting along very well. At this point in time I was completely in the dark as to why, but regardless when I tried to sit with them he shut me off. Luckily it didn't matter, because Seahawk's table immediately invited me to sit with them and we all enjoyed burgers and fresh huckleberry shakes. During this meal, I met Pepa for the first time as he came to chat with others at the table.
After eating I went back to the store/bed and breakfast to try and figure out where I could stay for the night. For the past month or so it was just assumed that SC and I would split a hotel room plus whoever was with us (in this case, Doc). I ran into Doc in the little store and asked if they had gotten a room yet or not. He hesitantly told me that he wasn't sure if we could share; that he would tell SC to come talk to me.
There were only four rooms available at the bed and breakfast, and a lot more hikers than that. SC and Doc had grabbed the last one. The rest of the hikers were trekking about a half mile down the street to camp in a park.
Shepard had gotten another one of the rooms, and was generously letting hikers line up to shower before going down to the camp. I got on the list and was able to get a much needed wash in. Meanwhile, SC came down and found me. He had been avoiding me like the plague all week and refusing to talk about what he was so upset about, So finally, I got some answers. I won't write them out here, because they're his words to share. But essentially we decided to no longer hike together.
I was feeling a pretty down about the whole thing, but lucky for me friends were close at hand. Blueberry, who I had met before at Cascade Locks, was there! And having no obligation whatsoever to concern herself with what was happening (SC was her friend, too) she came over and lent me her ear and her laughter. It helped. Then Pepa, who also had a room, came and joined our circle. Before I knew it we were all in Shepard's room watching TV together, drinking and generally being goofs. Pepa offered to let me sleep in the room he had gotten, which I accepted. So at the end of the day, I got food, new friends, laughs, a shower and a bed. It was a good night.
