Day 30
Start: Tentsite, mile 490.9
End: Cascade Locks, mile 505.8
Miles hiked: 14.9 miles
I woke up this morning to a wonderful realization: it was town day! Sun and I were going to head out early, but ended up having a relaxing morning eating the chilled berries fresh from the bushes and enjoying the sunrise. Misty clouds rushed overhead, tinged peach with the morning light. I would miss this campsite, but I was more excited for Oregon.
Soon, though, the time came for us to pack up and leave. As we hiked, we passed our planned campsite for last night and it didn’t compare at all to the one we had. There were no views or berries to be found; it was just a patch of dirt in the forest. We made the right decision to stop early.
As we went up the trail, we found even more berries to feast upon, including a few of my favorite candy blackberries. After a quick break for second breakfast, it was time to descend in Cascade Locks. Before us stretched the Columbia River and the surrounding hills. It was a magnificent sight!
Once the descent started, it seemed to stretch on forever. I’m finding that the descents into town on the PCT are extremely long, especially when the impatience of wanting to get to town is wearing on me. Still, down and down we went. I kept a vision of a juicy burger in my mind to keep me motivated.
Soon, we passed the 500-mile mark (wow!), but were then slowed down by the appearance of the biggest blackberry bushes we had seen on trail so far. There were so many berries!! I forgot about how anxious I was to get to town for a while and just ate endless blackberries. There were even a few people out there collecting them in buckets!
Still, the blackberries were no hamburger, so we got moving and suddenly found ourselves face to face with the Bridge of the Gods. Woohoo!!! Stepping onto the grated bridge was exhilarating. The air whipped up from the river while cars passed too close for comfort. There’s no pedestrian walkway or shoulder on the bridge, so I had to walk in the car lane. Scary! It being a weekend, there was quite a bit of traffic. But, the view from the bridge of the river was absolutely stunning. I wished I could’ve concentrated more on the view than on not getting hit by a car.
Our first stop was for food (obviously) at Thunder Brewing Co. Because we were thru-hikers, we got a free beer compliments of the thru-hiker beer fund. Of course, I got the burger and fries that I dreamt so much about.
Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that yesterday, while picking berries, I was stung by a bee or wasp on my ankle. Again! Last year on the AT, I was also stung on the ankle but on the opposite side. Today, though, it looked like I had a sprained ankle, it was so huge. Aside from itching, however, it didn’t bother me too much.
The rest of the day was spent getting situated at the hotel and doing chores. Sun and I took a risk and caught the last bus to Hood River to resupply at the Safeway there. There was no return bus for the rest of the day, so we had to hitch back and, man, was I nervous. As we hitched, the sun started to go down and no one looked interested in giving us a ride. There were no Ubers or Lyfts to use as back up and we didn’t even have a good hitching location. But, just as I was dialing a local taxi company, we got a ride! I guess I should have a bit more faith.
Our hitch was super cool. Her friend had hiked the PCT, so she knew a bit about it. Outdoorsy herself, she did a lot of bike-packing. It was cool to listen to her story and share ours.
Back at the hotel, Sun and I ate the snacks we’d bought at Safeway. This would be our last full day together for a while. He was going to take a zero day while I went ahead so I could meet Janitor in Bend. I was sad to say goodbye, but I knew I would meet up with him again later on the trail.
And that’s a day in the life of a PCT SOBO hiker!
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