Woke up to rain.
Here we go again.
On top of that, the campsite was located only a hundred feet away from the train tracks, with obnoxiously loud cargo-trains passing by several times during the night. Safe to say it was not the most ideal sleep-situation.
During a short no-rain window, I quickly packed up my gear and tent and intended to get into Stevenson to do my resupply for the first Washington stretch. There was a kind gentleman approaching me as I was making my way out of the campsite. He told me he’d hiked sections of the PCT and had done trail-magic at Sonora Pass this year, and subsequently offered me a ride to Stevenson. Great! Saved me 2 miles of road-walking through the questionable weather.
As we were driving towards the Bridge of the Gods, he jokingly asked if I didn’t mind not crossing the bridge, and thus the border, by car. I hadn’t realized I would drive into Washington, before I would hike into it! I didn’t mind though. However later that day I would hitch back into Oregon, and do the ‘official’ border-crossing on foot.
The people in both the post-office and the grocery store were very kind and helpful; they offered me an empty counter in the supermarket to sort out all my resupply boxes. So much better than to fumble around with that tedious chore someplace outside. This has been my largest resupply yet; a total of 3 boxes which I will send ahead in addition to the groceries for the following stretch. If all goes well, there should be only two other separate stops along the way where I need to do additional shopping. That’s a comforting thought.
After getting all the logistics out of the way, I went to a local diner, known for its gigantic portions, and recharged a little before commencing my hike through a new state. The blue-cheese hamburger was indeed out of this world and super tasty, so that should fuel me for the rest of the day. Time to hitch back to the Bridge of the Gods.
I got a ride within 5 minutes and hiked back into Oregon. According to the weather forecast it would be raining another 2 hours before clearing up. I decided to bide my time in the Cascade Locks diner, leaving me with some extra time to charge my phone and power-bank.
A little after 1800 I thought it had cleared up sufficiently to get out. I hiked back to the PCT and approached the Bridge of the Gods for the second time today. But this time on foot.
Looking out over the vast waters as I hovered above the Columbia River, and out of Cascade Locks, I took a moment to reflect on how far I’ve come already.
And now I’m heading into Washington.
The final state.
I continued hiking for a little under 3 hours, covering a total of 7 miles. It was very damp and wet in the forest, but fortunately it didn’t rain for the remainder of the evening. Happily I arrived at my tent-site around 2130, making my presence known to the camper who was already in his tent, trying not to startle anyone, as he was probably wondering why I was flashing my headlamp through the area.
I’ve got a little over 80 miles left to Trout Lake, the next resupply possibility where there’s the option to have a hot shower too I believe. Let’s see if I can catch up to anybody in front of me. I know Arms, Double-D, Gourmet and Benjamin Button shouldn’t be too far ahead.
I
I came here by day, but I left here in darkness
And found you, found you on the way
And now
It is silver and silent
It is silver and cold
You, in somber resplendence, I hold
Your sins into me
Oh, my beautiful one
Your sins into me
As a rapturous voice escapes, I will tremble a prayer
And I’ll beg for forgiveness
Your sins into me
Oh, my beautiful one
Silver and Cold – AFI
