Cloud cap on Mt McLoughlin

The PCT a few miles out from Fish Lake Resort and Hwy 140 down in the valley below.

Day 5 Soda Mountain Wilderness

We learned in Ashland that the PCT is snow bound above Fish Lake so we're going to take our time getting there later this week. Today was the first hike day after our zero in Ashland. It was rough because of blisters and my energy level was just low all day. Image is Mt. Shasta from Pilot Rock ridge looking south. We are on our longest run of 9 days without a resupply so the packs are heavy with food. Right now I'd pay $20 for an ice cold beer! Happy trails!

Oregon Border to Ashland: The Snow and The Fury

The start of this trip has been tumultuous to say the least.  After driving 7 hours on I 5 to reach the border we started our way down the rocky, remote National Forest roads.  It soon became apparent that we were going to be unable to drive to the border and start our hike as planned, as a large snow drift blocked the road south.  Reluctantly, we got out of the car and prepared our gear, deciding to hike south to the border then retrace our steps northward.

We sped along the slightly snow covered trail, mostly unimpeded for about an hour or so.  Immediately we hit a ridge covered in snow pack and dense trees and watched in dismay as the trail was slowly swallowed by it.  Step by step we travelled through the trackless forest, finding our way with PCT markers and blazes left on trees, occasionally referencing our TOPO maps to check our position.  We hiked the first day for around 10 miles with 65% of the trail being snowbound.  We made camp at Wrangle Gap, a fantastic camp considering the circumstances.  The camp was a short distance off trail and we had doubts of its habitability as we descended the snowbound side road.  The first break we had all day was arriving at the camp to find two shelters, one with a fire pit with dry wood, and fresh water flowing nearby.

The second day we left camp determined to make the Oregon border.  As we continued south, the snow drifts became more frequent, deeper, and more treacherous.  We came to a snowbound ridge at about the middle of the day and checked our TOPO map to verify our position.  Hiking the ridge was slow going as the we had to move slowly to avoid slipping down the ridge which was at an almost impossible grade.  We reached a sheer cliff of snow which impeded our path to glory.  Having remembered that the TOPO map said that the trail traversed the ridge around to the other side, we decided our only option was to go straight over the ridge, no small task considering the grade and we were forced to cut steps with our boots every inch of the way.  All this snow hiking brought to mind last year's through hike through the Sierras and I cursed myself for not bringing my ice axe having to rely on my hiking poles for slip protection.  Once we reached the top of the ridge we discovered that it was mostly devoid of snow and started zigzagging our way down.  We could see the California mountains as we began to taste sweet victory.  Travelling a short distance on bare trail we hit another snow covered ridge.  We had 1.6 miles left to the border and in the heavy snow and sheer ridges we were only able to progress one mile every three hours.  We decided to turn back because the rest of the day would have been spent inching our way along and any progress we made would have to be retraced the next day.  We scaled the ridge at an earlier point and came down the rocky cliffs of Observation Peak.  Afterwards we started our return trek on forest roads and found a nice watered roadside campsite.

The next day we awoke and spent the first half returning to our drop off location.  We arrived at the spot and saw several day hikers.  We knew our troubles were over as we glided down the well maintained and snow free trail 13 miles down to Ashland.  Dad (aka Captain Obvious) immediately checked into the Ashland Hostel while I quickly scouted a stealth camping spot in town.  My spot was near the raging Ashland creek.  During the night a police officer awoke me and told me a teenager had recently been camping by the river and had rolled into the river while sleeping and drowned.  He said I could stay, as I told him I was a PCT hiker, I just had to leave at daybreak.  Unfortunately, I didn't get much sleep because my thoughts were clinging to the thought of falling into the river and being swept away, never to be heard from again...

Last Minute GEAR

As all thru-hikers know: we're all gear sluts.  Fortunately, on last year's big thru-hike I learned a lot from talking to other thru-hikers about gear and from my own personal blunders.  This is the first trip where I'll be totally ultralight.

My sleeping gear:

• Mountain Hardware 20 degree sleeping bag
• Hennessy Ultralight Jungle Hammock*
• Ultralight Thermarest**

* Its awesome!  Its kind of a pain to set up but I know I'll get to be a pro after a week or so of continually using it.  It also doubles as a tent and bivy sack according to the situation.  Keeps you off the ground and dry in the rain.

** I'm bringing this because I found that the hammock doesn't retain heat very well from the bottom as your sleeping bag gets crushed against it.  I bought an old 1970s 3/4s thermarest from craigslist for last years trip and have been all about it.  Its stockier than the newer lightweight thermarests which many of my fellow hikers continually had puncture problems with and still doesn't weigh a terrible amount.

Cooking Gear:

• Snow Peak Titanium Trek 700 mug
• Homemade Heineken keg can stove*
• Homemade flashing windscreen

* My brother spent days figuring out the most efficient homemade stove design once we got back from last years trip.  This thing is badass, made from two halves of a Heineken keg can and cut to have support for my mug.  Using the flashing windscreen I was able to bring water to a rolling boil in a few minutes and have plenty of time to cook whatever.

My pack:

• Osprey Exos 58

I saw many other thru-hikers using this pack last year.  Its got a nice balance of features and is ultralight.  I was thinking of going down to a Exos 46 because I have some extra space in my pack, but I'm tired of switching packs around.  I want to develop a close relationship with this one.  I've named it "Exene" after my friend Thad's feisty cat.

Hitchhiking and Food Boxes

A few people have asked me how we plan to get food along the way. In a nutshell we buy enough food for a trail section, divide and package it in several boxes and then mail them to ourselves from Portland. In Ashland we'll buy for our 8 day run up to Crater Lake. When we get to a trail town or resort we can pick up our boxes at the local post office or at the resort. We also plan to eat locally as much as we can. They call that hiker hungry and it's something to really look forward to when a town or resort is coming up along the trail. Part of the charm of hiking the PCT is visiting these little hamlets and mixing with the locals during our brief jaunts off trail. In Oregon there aren't any towns actually on the trail so we will be hitchhiking as needed.

Basically when we get to an appropriate crossing highway or road we hitch a ride into the closest town to either pickup our food box or resupply at the local food supermarket. We then have to hitch a ride out of town back up to the trail head. The lake resorts in the Cascades are usually within a 5 mile walk off trail to get to them. I'm hoping as we go that we'll use them to eat a little, take a shower and do laundry if they have the facilities.

The towns we plan to visit off trail are Ashland and either Sisters or Bend, depending on our schedule.

A hard decision.....

My youngest son Jeremy has decided to bow out of the trip so he can concentrate on finding a job and a place to live up in Monroe, Washington. He'll be attending Alderleaf Wilderness College for the school year starting in September. Although I'll miss him it's a good decision on his part and I admire his ability to judge his situation realistically. There's a lot to do between now and then. If you know of a part time job opening or small place or room for rent in the Monroe or Duval surrounding area please contact me. Thank you!

Gear Trip #2 Seaside to Cannon Beach Day Hike (20 miles RT)

Via Tillamook Head/Indian Creek Beach/Ecola Point on the Oregon Coast Trail

This was going to be an overnight trip but turned into a long day hike for schedule reasons. Joel couldn't make it after working late the night before. Jeremy and I started at the trail head in south Seaside just off Sunset Blvd at around 9:30am and finished at 7pm. We took two long breaks and a few short ones to eat snacks and take images.

I carried my new pack and 20 lbs to make sure it fit right and to check the hip belt comfort level. Also wanted to do an extended trip to verify the new Columbia Firelane Mid X hiking shoes would work well. Overall had no equipment or foot issues which is a huge relief.

You go up and over the headland pretty quickly the first two miles climbing to 1,200ft from sea level. The backside is a gentle slope at times through some amazing old growth and spectacular views along the cliff edge. It was very muddy at times from recent rains. We reached a State park managed hiker camp at 4.4 miles from where we connected with the Clatsop Loop trail. It goes down to Indian Creek headland and then down to the actual Indian Creek Beach (1.5 miles) where we had lunch. I cooked up some Top Ramen on my stove and fended off the seagulls going for my chips. We went up to the parking lot there and caught the Ecola Point trail to rejoin the Oregon Coast Trail (1.4 miles) at the next parking lot. This portion of the OCT connects up with Ecola Road which we then walked down into central Cannon Beach (about 2.5 miles.)

Actually one of the coolest parts of the trip was walking in downtown Cannon Beach with our backpacks to Bill's Pub & Brewery. We tried a couple different pint beers and ate a full plate of beer battered onion rings before heading back out to Seaside. It was almost 3pm and our goal was to make it back to the car by 7pm and then find a restaurant in Seaside for some good grub. We really hoofed it going back and didn't stop much. By the way, Bigfoot Steakhouse in south Seaside on Hwy 101 has very good food!

I recommend this hike for the spectacular headland views and the rare, pristine old growth forest. Bring your mudders. Overall a pretty awesome hike!