First, a little shout out to my parents. They bought tickets to a random city with full intention of getting in a car and trying to find their child, not knowing where we would be or if we would be available. Luckily it worked out, and I got to spend time driving around a beautiful section of Oregon with them. We saw Crater Lake, hiked a few trails, provided trail magic, and got to spend quality time together. I am forever grateful for them coming out. I got to share the tallest point in Oregon and Washington on the PCT with them.
They also listened to me complain and fed me real food. Anyway, thank you parents, you are amazing people that have supported and encouraged me in all my endeavors, no matter how silly they seem. Thank you thank you thank you.
Back to the trail!
Now that everyone was together and my parents had left, it was time to hike. We took a trolley up to the beginning of the trail and finally! We got to see Crater Lake. The trail opened up and it was beautiful. The lake is not something you can put into words or really believe is real until you see it. I was staring at it and I barely believed it.
Then the clouds came in. It was a bit chilly, but the views were worth it. We waited for Matt to show up so we could hike the rim. Once he was there we headed out.
Everyone went up to Watchman's Tower, the highest point on the PCT in Oregon and Washington. I skipped this because I had just climbed it with my parents. So I sat down in the cold waiting for them. Finally, I gave up and was headed to the outhouse just to get out of the wind when Alex, Emily's childhood friend, appeared! He offered a spot in his warm car. I promptly took him up on it. He had brought us chicken wings and potatoes. Delicious. As always, Alex provided amazing gifts! He went up to Watchman's to meet everyone. Slowly we all tried to pile in his car.
Eventually we decided we must move. It was time to leave the car. Alex offered to drive our packs a 5 miles up. So Alex and Emily drove off and we decided to jog those miles. No packs, no problem. It was fun to switch it up. Our jogging club made the 5 miles fly by... And it kept us warm.
We camped at a nice site, but it kept getting colder. We made a fire and took some warmed rocks into our tent. It snowed most of the night and the rocks could only hold their heat for so long, but we made it through. We woke up and made another fire. We didn't leave camp that day until 11am. It was a rough start, but eventually the sun came out. When it did it was so nice. Drying off our tents and camping gear is a must. When we looked back on the trail you could see small fires still burning near Crater Lake.
Ahead of us on the trail was Mt. Thielsen, a very beautiful mountain. We passed it with not enough time to climb it, but the views were amazing. After 16ish miles it was time to hunker down before it got cold again. There was a campsite near water, and we found a friend, Paco, to camp with. He gave us some of his extra Mountain House meals....amazing. We crawled into our sleeping bags, preparing for another cold night.
The next morning we hiked a few miles and hit the Oregon/Washington high point. This is technically the highest point on the PCT in Oregon and Washington at around 7,500 ft. I celebrated for a bit by myself until Emily showed up. We had a small dance party and Loverboy joined in. Then we headed out for the rest of the day. Our views were mostly filled with trees for the rest of the day. In the trees we found a hiker we hadn't seen since day 2: Perry aka The Dude. He is the man responsible for Emily's trail name. It was great to see a familiar face after so long! We hiked together for awhile, but eventually we said our goodbyes. That night we camped on the edge of a road after about 20 miles of walking. A friendly section hiker joined us for the night. We had an actual fire pit, and benches for the fire. It is the small things. :) Just before I was headed to bed Lomax and Happy Little Trees came into camp to join us!
The next day was Shelter Cove! We had 20ish miles till civilization and Loverboy's family was meeting us there! So it was extra exciting. I woke up to a chilly morning, but I was ready to hike. We were taking an alternate trail, the Oregon Skyline Trail. It was supposed to have more water than the PCT so we thought we would try it. I busted out early, and never really looked back. The trail was dusty and poorly marked, but we made it to Shelter Cove. I made it there before 3pm and ran into the Mob Squad! We all laid in the lawn of the resort and bathed in the warm sun. It was so nice after so many days of chilly weather.
After everyone made it in, Loverboy's family was kind enough to drive out and pick us up. They took two full car loads all the way to Bend. Loverboy had rented a house so he could see his family, and we could all hangout. His family also cooked us dinner! We had a home and dinner! Amazing. We got to know his family and hangout for the rest of the evening.
The next day, we slept in and enjoyed not having to move. Then we went out for Thai food and a picnic at Bend's local park. Then....the Ale Trail began. Bend has one of the most breweries per capita. Sooooo we decided to try and visit as many as we can. We ended up going to 6 breweries and one cidery. The beers were good, but the people are better. It was a great way to celebrate our journey so far.
The next day we decided to watch Hercules. Everyone needs a quality Disney movie! It was quite a scene with all of Loverboy's family, and all of the trail family into a tiny room. Then the usual errands had to be run -the store, post office, and REI. We got all of them done by the time the post office closed. Emily and I split off from the group to eat dinner with a family friend of hers. We had about an hour before our dinner so we went and got tea. Emily's friend Bridget took us to an amazing dinner. The meal was delicious!
The rest of the night we packed up our things, and got ready to go back out. In the morning Loverboy's family was kind enough to drive us out again, and clean up our mess at the house. I can't say enough thank you's to his family for all of their kindness. They made us feel so welcome!
So here is to families and all they do for us!
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