Saturday, August 28, 2010

Crater Lake and Oregon

"America is all about speed - hot, nasty bad-ass speed .~"Eleanor Roosevelt.

Well I've been flying through Oregon. All the rumors were true, this by far has been the fastest and flattest section of the trail. Train and I have been moving at about a 4 mph pace and doing 30+ mile days like no one's business. I'm not sure if its my ipod Julia sent me to Ashland, the new shoes or the terrain, or maybe just being a well built hiking machine at this point but I'm definitely killing the miles.

Currently I am in a very nice hotel in Portland. Train's parents drove down from Seattle and picked us up off the trail for a weekend of relaxation here and over in Cascade Locks. The Widmaiers have been wonderful to me, treating us to a nice dinner and putting us up in the hotel where the tvs and showers actually work. (We're used to staying in the cheapest motel we can find in towns)

Cascade Locks is the border-town between OR/WA on the mighty Colombia River, which the trail runs directly through. They are having a big celebration and all sorts of activities for thru-hikers called 'PCT Days' this weekend. We were about 150 miles short of making it via trail, so thats why they've picked us up so we can partake in all the fun. We'll actually make the town by trail in a week or so. It should be fun, the PCTA has purchased two kegs for us, so that oughta make for a good time.

While Oregon hasn't had many towns, we've run through many mountain and lake resorts where they treat us like folk heroes because we've hiked so far. Free ice cream, pizza, beer, showers and camping have been some of the few perks they've thrown at us. Its been awesome.

The highlight of not only Oregon but perhaps the whole trail has definitely been Crater Lake. I've always wanted to go there since i was a kid when I did a project on it for school. I've seen many incredible things in my life, but I dont think I've seen anything so breath-taking as this natural phenomenon. Much like the Grand Canyon, pictures will never do it justice, and its something you have to see with your own eyes. The water was the bluest blue I've ever seen. The trail ran along the rim for about 8 miles, and while it was the steepest and most difficult part of the trail so far, every climb was worth the effort to get a different perspective of the lake. If anyone ever has the oppurtunity to visit Crater Lake NP, please dont pass it up.

Brandon flies into tomorrow night to Portland and we'll get back on the trail Monday at the Three Sisters National Forest. Its gonna be good to have him back. We're still on target to finsih by the end of September. Already real world issues are starting to creep back in my head like "What am i going to do when i'm done?" But i'm still very much living in the moment.

For those of you who dont know, my mother has been in and out of the hospital with stomach,liver,glabladder issues for the last 2 weeks. Please keep her in your prayers, I wish i could be there for her. Its a good thing her plans to visit at this time didnt work out, i might had to perform emergency surgury with my swiss army knife.

1 comment:

  1. Just now got a chance to see some of your latest pictures from the trail. I think you should be concerned that there's a canadian lumberjack in almost all the pictures with julia.

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