PCT Day 130 – 134 Trail or Interstate?

Stats

Start: Cascade Locks – Mile 2,147.6
End: Tentsite for an Army – Mile 2,254.7
Elevation Max: 6,139
Elevation Min: 83
Elevation Change: 36,309 up & down
Walking Time: 34 hrs 4 minutes
Date: 8/10/2022 – 8/14/2022

The Walk

Day 130 – Cascade Locks to Cedar Creek (2,148.2 – 2,155.2)
Day 131 – Cedar Creek to Wind River (2,155.2 – 2,180.7)
Day 132 – Wind River to Thomas Lake (2,180.7 – 2,206.2)
Day 133 – Thomas Lake to Slanted root spot (2,206.2 – 2,230.9)
Day 134 – Slanted Root spot to Tentsite for an Army (2,230.9 – 2,254.7)

The Bridge of the Gods separates Oregon from Washington. Walking over that bridge was surreal. 129 days on trail and I’d finally made it to Washington. Canada was 500+ miles away. But it didn’t feel far.

A minute after walking over the bridge I got my first trail magic of Washington! A local brewery set a sack full of ice cold beers beside the trail. I was about to start a long climb and didn’t want a beer. But hell, I can’t say no to trail magic!

I sat for 15 minutes and enjoyed the drink. The climb flew by. Maybe the beer helped. Ha

Elevation and difficulty picked up during the next two days of walking. But I was ready for it. I missed hiking uphill. And I was ready to be back in the mountains.

On day 133 I made it to Trout Lake. I’d heard rumors Trout Lake was slammed with hikers. The fires in Oregon hadn’t slowed down. And hundreds of hikers had to jump up to Northern Oregon or Washington. In Northern Oregon I had only seen a handful of people each day. But this was different. This was a true hiker bubble.

I walked into Trout Lake and joined 50 hikers sitting outside the tiny market. Trout lake had a few restaurants and a market. They were so overwhelmed but handled it well. They were kind to me, eventhough they had to be sick of all the hikers.

I resupplied and grabbed a burger / blackberry shake at the diner. This was the best shake I’ve ever had. The berries were freshly picked.

We decided to walk a mile out of town to escape the horde of hikers. But the campsite was packed. The next campsite was ahead up a 3 mile climb. There’s no way I would make it before dark. Plus it would probably be full as well.

The only option was to make due with the spot… I guess this is my life now.

I found a flat enough spot. It was slanted, but not so much that I would roll down the hill. There was no room for a tent, so I slept on a tarp with my bug net covering my head.

I heard mosquitos buzzing all night and didn’t sleep much. I normally set up a tent when mosquitos are buzzing around.

It felt nice to get up and hike the next day. But the trail felt different. I kept seeing new faces. Normally at this stage of a hike you know all the people around you. Some days you pass them and other days they pass you.

But this was different. Tons of people I’d never seen or met either passed me or I passed them. These were displaced by hikers who had to jump ahead.

I spent a few hours bummed about the change in trail culture. But decided to make the most of it. That night we camped with 50 other hikers. Thank god the campsite had enough space to fit an army. This was one of the biggest campsites I’d seen along trail and we needed it.

It felt great to be sleeping in a tent away from the bugs. I needed the rest because Washington wasn’t getting any easier.

I’m overwhelmed by the amount of hikers. There are nice people around but they aren’t my people. I can’t cope with the idea of hiking around so many hikers yet. Going faster isn’t the answer. The bubble ahead is enormous. 100 hikers left Trout Lake yesterday.

Hotels aren’t going to be available in the small Washington towns. I don’t know what to think right now. My goal of putting myself in the best possible mental state to experience trail got thrown for a loop.

I’m in one of the worst mental states on trail. Cowboy camping with mosquitos. The rapid change in new people around really affected me. I could no longer expect to have a camp spot at night.

So I journaled. Why do I care how many people are around? What is that taking away from me? It takes away my autonomy. But it’s not the people who have taken that away. I gave it away.

Why then am I in a bad mental state. What is bothering me? Cowboy camping on a slant is annoying. Mosquitos buzzing at night and biting is annoying. The recent mosquito problem I had is annoying. I don’t know. It’s still only 8:00. So how early we got to camp is annoying.

I spent a lot of time reflecting on. How do I put myself in a positive mental state with my new reality?

Days 130 – 132