July 16-20, days 108-112
PCT: 3,455 km; total kilometers hiked: 1,740 km
We spontaneously decided to stay a day longer at Timberline Lodge because they have a separate computer room – including an iMac keyboard! Sabine took advantage of the opportunity to write another article for our local paper. Lots more fun with a big screen and a real keyboard – more room for creativity and corrections! Finally reviewed our film and photo material on a big monitor. Also caught up with billing, to refuel our account. The relaxing time on the keyboard gave us the idea of ordering a lightweight foldable Bluetooth keyboard (only 141 grams), to be sent to Cascade Locks. Blogging will be much easier than having to type on the cell phone. We need to go to the PO anyway, to pick up shorts and a belt for Olli (Sabine's been wearing his because she's down two sizes!), and new SD cards. Blogging will be a lot more fun and much quicker!
(Note from the translator: GROAN...is this going to mean more work for me?!)
We ended up spending a third night near the lodge: in our tent on a small hill just above the hotel. Actually, it was just Olli who slept there. Sabine spent the entire night in the computer room, turning up in the morning with fresh coffee for Olli, then had a 3-hour snooze inside the sunwarmed tent. Other hikers camped at the small campsite under evergreens. While pitching his tent, Olli met Old Goat, Tow, and Rabbit, whom we would get to know better later, during our hike.
On July 16, we set off for Cascade Locks around 5 pm, a short section totaling 80 km. Cascade Locks is on the Columbia River, which forms the border between Oregon and Washington. The Bridge of Gods spans the Columbia – in the film “Wild,” Cheryl Strayed (played by Reese Witherspoon) finishes her PCT hike here, and meets the man who would become her husband.
These four days were tough going in terms of altitude. First there was an ascent of over 500 meters altitude in only 3.9 km. We had a lovely encounter here with Greg from Portland (originally from Illinois): Around midday on July 17, during our 500-meter ascent, we met Greg coming towards us with his dogs Sami (named after soccer star Sami Khedira because he and his wife Sigrid had gotten him during the 2014 World Cup) and Choco. Turns out Greg’s wife is German, from Oldenburg. They met at Wyoming University, where she was doing a year abroad. He came to Germany in the 80s because of her, enrolling in German studies and philosophy at the University of Constance. Then he switched to plumbing in order to be more independent workwise: as a post-doc researcher, Sigrid needed flexibility and a plumber can always find work anywhere. An American plumber with German customers, that must have been quite the senstion! He was often invited to have a Schnaps and tell his story before even starting a job. The couple eventually returned to the US because of better prospects for Sigrid in research. We exchanged views on the differences in the educational systems between Germany and USA – and we were astonished at how much education costs in the USA! We have a terrific variety of educational options in Germany, where a university degree or vocational training are practically free! Many people here envy us for that. Another topic was the fall of the Berlin Wall. Greg also gave us some tips for Cascade Locks, including where to get the best and biggest soft ice cream. After standing around for an hour on a steep slope, we started to feel the cold; it was time to say goodbye. Greg kindly invited us to Portland. His German is wonderful, by the way: "Wir haben ein Gästezimmer und wir kochen gerne ..." (we have a guest room and we love to cook.)
The weather left much to be desired. In the meantime, it was heavily overcast, cold (4 degrees Celsius in the evening), and on July 17 it started to rain in the afternoon – just when we returned to the PCT after having taken the Ramona Falls Alternate Trail (beautiful, somewhat longer, terrific waterfall). Along the way, we met Old Goat, Tow, and Rabbit again. They remembered Olli and his absentee hiker wife, who'd spent the night in the computer room. We are a rather unusual sight, we must admit. It turns out that Tow (Brent) is 18-year-old Rabbit’s grandpa, and they were hiking with Tow's buddy Old Goat (Doug): the men – both retired, both 64 years old – wanted to introduce the girl to outdoor life. We recorded a long interview with them as the evening and heavy rain set in. In turn, we became part of the men’s YouTube blogs, "Old Goat Club," and answered questions about our tour in Tow’s GoPro. Later that evening, thoroughly soaked, we pitched our tent. It rained all night and the next day till midday. Not until the sun came out again did we pack our stuff – everything was totally soaked. Fortunately, our clothes dried quickly attached to the outside of our packs. However, we do need to figure out a better solution to waterproof the more vulnerable belongings.
The descent to Cascade Locks took us along a 15 km stretch with an altitude declining from 1,300 meters to 70 meters! The lowest point on the PCT!
We reached Cascade Locks on July 19. We hiked the descent separately in the end – because Sabine discovered she had internet reception and wanted to send a few messages, e.g., to wish our translator Gabi a happy birthday, and to cousin Philipp in Australia. (Note from the translator: A much appreciated gesture ;-D) The boon and bane of being available thanks to mobile data! On the plus side, Sabine encountered Adam and his daughter Eden. Sauntering past, Adam asked Sabine, “Are you a thru hiker?” After Sabine confirmed this, and the topic of backpack weight had been exchanged, Adam revealed his true concern: He and his daughter were on a two-week hike from Cascade Locks to the Sisters. It was their first day, and at 2 pm they had only managed three miles from Cascade Locks – the easier part of the ascent – and were resting in the shade. They were carrying enough food for 2 weeks and their backpacks were incredibly heavy. Sabine was only able to lift Adam's backpack about an inch off the ground. Eden’s backpack was heavier than Sabine’s, which was empty of food and water. They asked Sabine if she wanted some trail mix, jerky, and a giant jar of peanut butter. Sabine delightedly accepted their offer, thus lightening their load by nearly 2 kilos. Adam had previously offered the same to other hikers (likely day hikers), who had appeared somewhat disconcerted. Now everybody was happy. An interview followed. Eden wanted to improve her physical fitness on the tour. Adam, a programmer, and Eden hail from Olympia, WA, and offered their assistance if we should need it when we arrive there.
Olli awaited Sabine with a big grin, and off we went! In Cascade Locks we got a room at the Bridge of the Gods Motel. The to-do list: eat, resupply, service the technology, recharge the devices, do laundry. And, of course, stop by the PO to pick up keyboard, belt, shorts, SC cards, and coffee bags (similar to teabags, which we discovered in the hiker box at Big Youth Camp). Signed the trail register, checked the hiker box, took gas and teabags. Yes, at American post offices you can find such things as hiker boxes and trail registers! After that, we headed to the ice cream parlor. Next up: the brewery. First beer free for hikers. En route, we stopped at the Oregon-Washington-Terminus, a reconstruction of the terminus in Canada commemorating the PCT’s 50-year anniversary, installed last year. Had a very nice interview with PCT hikers Doc and Hex (who got the nickname from her German grandmother), a doctor and a teacher.
Culinary highlight of the evening: a beer float – vanilla ice cream and stout. Totally delicious, and a super alternative to iced coffee. We're making a note of that for future reference. To top it off, the tub in our (tiny) motel room turned out to be a jacuzzi – so we finished the evening with a water massage.
We plan to continue on July 20 – "finally" another Zero Day ;-)! Washington is next up: just over 500 miles to the Canadian border. We're calculating 5 weeks. Though we expect little to no snow, the stretch is a constant up and down, which means more elevation overall. More extreme than in Oregon. Still, we hope to get through rather quickly.
Link to photos (photos from July 20, including the "Bridge of the Gods," to come): Link