7/31/18 - Day 23 - Campsite North of Santiam Pass to Milk Creek

Daily Miles: 22.7

Total Miles This Hike: 326.5

PCT Miles Covered: 2027.6

Last night was a little interesting.  Just as it started to get dark and I was settling into my tent, I started to hear some twigs break to the right of the direction I was laying down.  One of the things I learned a long time ago is if you hear a stick or two break at a time it is usually a small mammal such as a squirrel or chipmunk.  If you hear a whole lot of sticks breaking back to back, theres a good chance it is something a bit bigger, such as a deer, elk, moose or bear.  The one animal I left out because of their stealth in stalking is a mountain lion, or couger.  That would be one of those animals so stealthy that usually you have no clue they are even there, so any twigs/sticks breaking would be minimal like a small mammal.  One additional general comment I have heard from those few I have met to encounter a mountain lion is that they will usually circle you a whole bunch of times trying to completely figure out what they are up against.

I have never seen a mountain lion and I’ll be honest, I really have no ambition to ever see one outside of a zoo.  Back to my stick breaking.  So I peeked my head out of the tent, and didn’t see anything.  As soon as I got back in and layed back down, then I heard snaps from the other side of the tent.  Another quick check and nothing, then the in front of my tent started to snap.  This put me so on edge as it continued from all sides for about a good half hour to hour.  At this point it is pitch black out, and me camping under the canopy gave me very little starlight, so periodically I would nervously continue to peek my head out and scan all around with my headlamp.  

Finally, i said to hell with it and just left my headlamp on, and pointed it out one end of my tent and tried to force myself asleep.  Batteries be damned, if the light helped ward off whatever it was then it was worth it.  Somehow I fell asleep and made it through the night without waking up too much.  My lamp was still on when the sunlight came up.  I searched the whole area for tracks this morning and couldn’t find anything significant, but deep down I feel as though it really could have been a mountain lion.  

After my late departure and low miles yesterday, I decided to try to get as many miles as possible today.  All of the established spots to camp seemed like they only would accomodate a couple of hikers so I would have to plan based on who was around me and go from there.  The big views today were of Three-Fingered Jack which the trail wound around all morning and early afternoon.  

As you can see from the photos there was a little bit of smoke still lingering in the area.  

My initial goal today was just past Shale Lake, which is a limited access area that you are not allowed to camp at.  I got there, and there were about 5-6 other people hanging out there.  I got some water and decided to keep going past the first legal camping after the lake.  It was all downhill to Milk Creek which is a glacial creek I would have to ford.  I figured if I could ford it tonight, it would be better than if it was deep and having to ford it first thing in the morning.  

When I got there, I found 3 tentsites before the ford stuffed into very thick bushes, one of which was completely covered with horse poop.  Thank you equestrians!!!  I dropped my pack to claim one of those spots just in case and walked to the ford to take a peek.  It didn’t seem too bad, but my feet/shoes would most likely get wet.  I really wanted to do it tonight, but looking at the other side, I could only see one tent site that looked very lopsided.  It was almost 7pm, and I had no clue what was farther up the trail, so I decided to just go back to where I dropped my stuff and setup there.  One other young female hiker came in about a half hour later and took the other non-horsepoop spot.  We really didn’t chat aside from talking about the ford and campsites, but after having an animal stalk my tent last night I was glad to have somebody camp nearby tonight.

Keep on keeping on,

Patch

7/30/18 - Day 22 - Bend, OR to Campsite North of Santiam Pass

Daily Miles: 3.9

Total Miles This Hike: 303.8

PCT Miles Covered: 2004.9

So I got up this morning and decided that I didn’t really want to rush around.  The process of taking a bus, then hitching just to get back to trail just seemed tiresome.  I knew I had to go though, but I just decided to take the second bus out of Bend instead which left mid-afternoon.  Same bus driver as 3 weeks ago, and at least this time I knew which stop in Sisters to get off at near the McDonalds.  

I sat and had one last meal at McDonalds and then proceeded to go to the same spot I went to before and put my thumb out.  Last time it took me about 5 minutes to get my first of 2 hitches.  This time it actually took over an hour, but I finally got picked up by a woman in her 40’s/50’s who had just started picking hikers up after having seen them for years hitching to and from trail.  She said she wanted to get more involved, hopefully hiking some larger sections herself someday.  I told her she had some great sections nearby to start on.  Since she hadn’t picked up many hikers before, I wasn’t sure of her expectations for giving me the ride, so when we got to the trailhead, I offered her $10 and she accepted it.  Anything I could do to possibly encourage her to pick up more hikers in the future.  Though some hikers may not offer anything for these hitches, I feel as though every hiker SHOULD at least offer something.  If the person declines, then that is awesome too.  I just feel as though there are too many entitled hikers now a days that hike on such a shoestring budget that they forget that these people are doing this for them and should be compensated if they so require.

Once back at the trailhead, I was officially full circle. I walked up to the trail where I turned South 3 weeks earlier and now turned North headed towards Timberline Lodge, Washington, and eventually Canada.  It was about 5:00PM at this point and I knew I wasn’t gonna get too far, so after about 3 miles I started to look for a spot.  Finally found a nice opening shaded in the trees right off the trail.  Another night camping alone.  I have seriously done this more already this hike than on any other hike.  Back to full days of hiking tomorrow.

Keep on keeping on,

Patch

7/29/18 - Day 21 (Zero Day # 4) - Bend, OR

Daily Miles: 0.0

Total Miles This Hike: 299.9

PCT Miles Covered: 2001.0

Probably had a few too many drinks last night as it was a little rough getting up and moving around the hostel today.  Wound up taking the free shuttle bus that runs around Bend with another hiker to a giant shopping complex that had an REI and a movie theatre.  I bought some new trailrunners (The newer version of my old La Sportiva Wildcats) and a new fuel cannister for my stove, then we went and saw Ant Man and the Wasp.  After the movie it was basically back to the hostel where I finally packed up all my gear to be ready for tomorrow.  Another early morning and an early bus back up to Sisters tomorrow.  I finally will be back on trail and actually heading NORTH this time.

Keep on keeping on,

Patch

7/28/18 - Day 20 (Zero Day # 3) - Bend, OR

Daily Miles: 0.0

Total Miles This Hike: 299.9

PCT Miles Covered: 2001.0

Today I needed to get some “business” done.  Whenever you take days off in town you never really get a day off, as you are constantly doing all the chores you need to do to get back on trail.  When I got into town last night I had used the rental car to go to the post office and get my bounce box, and had gone and bought my resupply to get me to Timberline Lodge.  This morning I quickly got my resupply in order and my bounce box packed back up because I had to get it mailed out today as the post office closes at Noon, and wouldn’t reopen until Monday after the time that I needed to be on the bus to Sisters.  With that done, I now had to get the rental car back.

Last time I rented the car and drove to Bend it was through Enterprise which was about 1 mile from the hostel.  This time however it was with Budget, and the rental office was about 5 miles away.  Unfortunately there wasn’t anyone who could bring me back from the rental drop off, so once I got there, I started walking back.  There was a Best Buy nearby, so I stopped in there and was able to pick up a small 2nd battery pack to give me a little extra juice to charge my phone.  Right next door there was a Panda Express so I had some lunch as well.  

At this point walking all the way back on my day off was not in my best interest, so I called an uber and sucked up the cost of that.  Back at the hostel, I decided to put off my last chore, which was to get to REI and buy some new trail runners and fuel for my stove.  I had all day tomorrow to do it, and there was a movie theatre near the REI so I would plan that trip tomorrow.  

Bend has a lot of breweries, so I figured if I was going to partake in discovering some of them, today and tonight was the best day to do it, as I would have all day tomorrow to work off the consequences of that decision.  I was lucky enough to run into a few hikers at the Hostel who were in the same mindset as me, so as a group of 6 of us we wandered the downtown streets of Bend that night jumping from bar/brewery to the next.  It was a good group of guys, and I would love to continue hiking north with them, but I also know they are all going back to MacKenzie Pass instead of Santiam on Monday, so I will be ahead of them by about 20 miles to start.  I’m sure it will take them no time at their full Mexico-Canada thruhiker pace to catch me though.  Hoping I can time it right to meet up with them at Timberline Lodge for one last meetup before they take off faster than me to the north.  

The day did go by fast.  One more day of rest and then back on the trail on Monday...

Keep on keeping on,

Patch

7/27/18 - Day 19 (Zero Day # 2) - Medford, OR to Bend, OR

Daily Miles: 0.0

Total Miles This Hike: 299.9

PCT Miles Covered: 2001.0

I was up at about 4:30 in the morning as I had to be back at the Greyhound Station by 6AM to catch my bus back up to Bend.  The first leg of the trip would take me to Eugene, where I would get on a different bus which would take me over the Cascades to Bend.  

I haven’t had a lot of luck with Greyhound in the past which is why I try to stay away from them most of the time, however this was the most economical choice for me as I have spent a lot of money the last few weeks on hotels and rental cars and need to start cracking down on expenses if I plan to make it to Canada and back home without going too far in debt.

As soon as I got to the station though, I realized my Greyhound luck was going to continue once again.  Using their live tracker I soon realized that the bus which was coming up from California was about 3 hours behind schedule.  The fires down by Redding had closed roads and affected traffic causing the delay. This essentially made it so I would miss my connection in Eugene.  There is only 1 bus a day from Eugene to Bend, so I was looking at another unplanned night in another unplanned spot.  I had also already booked 3 nights back at the hostel in Bend and it was past the point of cancellation.

I decided that I would rather get to Bend as fast as possible and instead of spending money on a hotel in Eugene, I would just get another rental car from there and drive it to Bend.  The costs worked out roughly the same as getting a hotel in Eugene and taking the bus the next day, but this way I would already be in Bend, and I wouldn’t jeopardize my hostel reservation.  

The actual ride from Medford to Eugene wasn’t that bad once the bus actually showed up.  Getting into Eugene, I was told that there were 3 of us that missed the connection to Bend and that Greyhound would pay for a taxi all the way there for us.  The idea of sitting in a taxi with 3 (including the driver) other non-hiker strangers for multiple hours didn’t excite me, so I told them I had already made other arrangements and proceeded to call  my own cab to get me to the Eugene Airport where the rental car office was.  

About 4 hours later, I was passing the trailhead at Santiam Pass where I started the hike south this year, and would be hitching back to in 3 days time.  I had hoped there might be a hiker or two to bring into Bend or Sisters, but alas nobody was up there.  As I came down the hill into Sisters however, I saw two guys with their thumbs out heading towards Bend.  I pulled over, picked them up and headed into town.  

One of these hikers was from Bend, so he knew exactly where they wanted to go, and drove me directly to this small taco and beer place where he knew someone who worked there.  I hung out with them for a beer, wished them luck and headed over to the hostel.  3 nights here, and I will take the same bus to Sisters on Monday morning and hitch back from there to the trail.

I definitely feel like I have spent more time travelling by car and bus than I have hiking so far this year, but hopefully on Monday all that ends and I can get back to just plain walking again....

Keep on keeping on,

Patch

7/26/18 - Day 18 (Zero Day # 1) - Callahan’s Lodge to Medford, OR

Daily Miles: 0.0

Total Miles This Hike: 299.9

PCT Miles Covered: 2001.0

Today starts a few days off from hiking (4 actually).  Since I haven’t taken any zeros yet, I am somewhat able to justify this.  I have to find my way back to Bend, where I can pick up the trail where I started this year, but heading north instead.  Hotels, hostels and transportation are already booked, it’s just a matter of getting where I need to be at the time I need to get there.  

The majority of the rest of this post is copied and pasted from a post I put on Facebook.  I never expected when I set out to hike (and finish) this trail that I would get the chance to be part of something much bigger than myself.  Today that finally happened.  Here’s the story:

“So, after having breakfast at Callahan’s, another former PCT hiker happened to show up and offer rides into Ashland.  I gladly accepted and a little while later I was back full circle where I started this flip in front of the hotel I stayed at in Ashland a few weeks prior.

 

I really didn’t have any chores to do in Ashland, all I had to do was be in Medford by the end of the day at the hotel I had booked there.  That being said, one thing I did need to purchase at some point were blister bandages for my feet, as I had gone through the small amount I had brought already.  In trail towns, these are sometimes hard to find because hikers tend to clean them out quickly when they find them.  So I walked over to a Rite-Aid and was able to find some large ones that cover heals, but I wanted to get some smaller ones for my toes as well.  Figuring I would just check I headed next door to the Albertsons Supermarket as well.  

It was pretty dead in there early in the morning, but I found what I needed and proceeded to the cashier.  When I got there I was in line behind an older gentleman who had a bunch of items.  I really wasn’t paying too close attention when I heard him start to question pricing and his total with the cashier.  He started to make a bit of stink and started to give the cashier a bit of a hard time.  The stink went to snarky comments which pleasantly were returned with a few polite but snarky comments from the cashier as well.  After working for so long in customer service it is nice for me to watch an employee give a little of it back now and then and not just roll over to rude and arrogant behavior on behalf of a customer.  Finally the gentleman realized he was in the wrong and unsincerely apologized before taking his purchase and storming off.  

As it became my turn to check out I waited for him to be out of earshot and before the clerk started even ringing up my small purchase I said to her, “Well, I hope your day gets better from here.”  It was just a small comment to lighten the mood, but the cashier grinned and I could tell she had already shaken off the experience.  I paid and was just about to take off, when it looked like a lightbulb switched in her head and she asked me “Are you hiking the PCT?”  I said yes, and she asked me if I had a minute because she wanted to talk to me about something.  

This is where I met Shawnna Siewell Meyer.  

She proceeded to tell me a very personal story about her daughter Amanda who had been disabled and had spent most of her life wheelchair bound but always loved the idea of travelling and meeting new people but had not had the ability to do that much because of her disability.  My heart sank when she told me that her daughter had passed away the year before.  However, this amazing mother had found a way to ensure that Amanda would get her dream of travelling and seeing the world.  As she proceeded to tell me more I found myself choking back tears, finally giving way and letting them sneak down the side of my face.  She had taken her daughters ashes and placed them into hundreds of small envelopes so they could be carried by friends and loved ones throughout their travels going forward.  She had then set up a special facebook page called Amanda Adventures dedicated to her daughters memory where people could share videos and pictures of everywhere Amanda has now visited everywhere around the country and around the world.

She then blew me away by asking if I would be interested in carrying Amanda along with me on the PCT the rest of my way towards Canada.  Here was this amazing woman entrusting a complete stranger with something so important and close to her heart.  After hearing her story there was no hesitation that I wanted to be involved with Amanda’s Adventures.  A lot can happen in the next 650 miles, but this has given me an additional unexpected motivation as I head north.  I hope to be able to show Amanda some truly amazing places as we travel together north to the Canadian border.”

With Amanda safely tucked away in my pack I spent a little more time walking around downtown Ashland before catching a bus into Medford.  The bus dropped me off about a mile from my hotel and I slowly made my way in the blazing heat to the Econo Lodge I booked.  I normally like to explore new towns as much as possible, but Medford seemed a little sketchy (maybe just the section I walked through), and I had to be back at the bus station at 5:30 AM to catch my Greyhound to Bend.  So I decided to just get some Dairy Queen next door and try to get some sleep.  This time tomorrow, I should be back in Bend.

Keep on keeping on,

Patch

7/25/18 - Day 17 - Campsite South of Lone Pilot Trail Junction to Callahan’s Lodge

Daily Miles: 8.2

Total Miles This Hike: 299.9

PCT Miles Covered: 2001.0

Since I did a bit more distance than I planned on yesterday, I knew I didn’t have as many miles as planned to get back to Callahan’s today.  I am still amazed that this gambit of flipping north and hiking south from Bend actually wound up paying off and working out.  After the rain last night, I was very excited to wake up and see that even though I set my tent up on a bit of a slope I picked a great spot with a wide open view of Pilot Rock behind me.  

After a bit of procrastinating, I finally got myself packed up and headed up the trail skirting around Pilot Rock and finally making it to the road that led into Callahan’s.  It was kind of weird having just been here 3 weeks ago in a rental car, and now having hiked into here after 300 miles on trail so far this year.

Callahans has a hiker special where you get to tent in their back yard, laundry, shower and 2 meals dinner and breakfast, so I immediately jumped on that and started to get some stuff done.  I have a couple complicated days of travel back to Bend ahead of me, so the more I could get done in advance the better.  By the time it got dark there were about 15 tents set up in their yard, though I’m pretty sure I’m the only person who walked in southbound.  I have also officially passed the 2000 mile mark on this trail which is a crazy good feeling as well.  Only about 650 more miles to go!!!

Keep on Keeping On,

Patch