August 12 2391-2395 Drip, drop, drip. We wake up in a cloud, camped under a bush. The water vapor condenses on the leaves above us and falls onto our tent. It feels like autumn. The mountains are telling us to hurry up. It is time to get going. Mercifully, we have completed all the climbing…
I am a little behind on the blog, but in the meantime please check out our final video from our thru hike.
Aug 11 2362-2391 I have essentially nothing to say about this day. I took 3 pictures and did not write myself any notes. We hike up and down steep inclines, gaining 7,000 feet of gain and 6,800 feet of loss over the course of the day. The exertion acts as a form of brainwashing, erasing…
August 10 2333-2362 In the morning we again check the status of the upcoming fires and again find comforting news. Full steam ahead. We walk across the valley from the Crystal Mountain ski area and have multiple bars of 5G service. I check up on baseball stats, the Mariners are fighting for the division, and…
August 9 2304-2333 Amber leaves while I am packing up our camp to race ahead. We are meeting her family at a road crossing in Mt. Rainier National Park about 20 miles ahead and she wants to be sure to meet them at the time she had planned. I hike solo throughout the morning and…
August 8 2293-2304 We stumble our way down the steep slopes of the white ski runs, electing to take the direct path down the instead of of the winding trail. This is probably a poor decision, as the slopes are brushy and meant for fast downhill skiing, but it makes perfect sense in the moment.…
August 7 2263-2293 Today is a celebration of why we love to be on this trail. We climb out of the forest into the meadowy high country of the goat rocks wilderness. Fresh spring water pours from the hillsides as small rivulets and cuts a path through verdant flowery meadows. It is wonderful. The hiking…
August 6 2220-2263 We are in deep forest, with occasional obscured views of the horizon. I see what I think are dark clouds on the horizon, and wonder if we will get rain in the afternoon. I munch on huckleberries and plod along the trail, before coming to a road crossing with a truck full…
August 5th 2186-2220 Overnight a massive lightning storm passed through. Safely tucked in our tent, rain battered against the fabric above our faces and lightning frequently flashed. In the morning we awoke to blue skies. The only evidence of the storm is the dry patch of land where our tent was set up. We worry…
August 4 2157-2186 We spend all day climbing and descending low mountains and peaks walking east to west along the Columbia river gorge. Throughout the day we climb over 6,000 vertical feet, and yet we end the day at under 1,500 feet elevation. During this stretch Amber and I had planned to leave 12 hours…
August 3 2148-2157 We Linger in town putting off the final state, and leg, of our journey. We are excited to be done walking, yet also dismayed to end our summer and return to our day to day responsibilities. We cannot be frozen in time, on this hike, forever. Our hotel allows us to check…
August 2 2137-2148 It is an easy hike out of the eagle Creek gorge in the morning. The area is understandably packed full of day hikers who give us second looks for how filthy we look. Yes, my sweat smells like household chemicals. Don’t worry about it. On the way out we see a young…
August 1 2109-2137 I realized before bed that I had left my hat at the river crossing last night. I can’t lose this hat. It has 5,000 miles on it, a long 4 different trails. It deserves to be memorialized when this is all done. I backtrack a mile and find my hat where I…
July 31 2089-2109 Ten miles of climbing up onto the shoulder of Mt. Hood takes us up to Timberline Lodge. I tried to eat minimal calories in the morning so I could show up hungry, and my sweat reeks of ammonia as we arrive. It is a little disconcerting to smell like toilet bowl cleaner,…
Homestead Hikers 