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
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