Aug 28, 29 Eagle Ceek Trail to Cascade Locks

2122-2143
Steve got up at four am to scare away a bear which turned out to be a mouse who was trying to get into our food. We got little sleep after the interruption so decided to get an earlier start.
We hiked in beautiful forest and on ridges with ideal weather all day.








We entered the Mark O Hatfield Wilderness with more lush landscapes to enjoy...









Just before reaching Indian Springs we saw views of Mt St. Helens, Mt Adams and Mt Rainier. Unfortunately they were in the clouds so I did not get a clear picture. It was damp and chilly most of the day but we were spared any rain.
We met 74 year old George on the trail just before the Eagle Creek alternate. He was a bit confused about the route and was out of water. We helped him and together got to the Indian Springs Campground. The campground had been abandoned for many years but had a good spring and picnic tables so we took a break, cameled up and headed down the 2 mile VERY steep trail to Eagle Creek. George decided to call it a day and get a fresh start in the morning. As it turned out it was a wise decision on his part. The trail was hard on my bad knee and I had to stop often to give it a break. We finally made it to the bottom and once we joined the Eagle Creek Trail the going was much easier. The next 10 miles was filled with the most fabulous tropical scenery making the Indian Springs Trail worth it.















We reached tunnel falls where the trail goes through a tunnel right behind the falls...












We came out at a parking lot which led to campgrounds, a 2.5 mile hike on a bike path lined with ripe juicy blackberries




And picked and ate our way into Cascade Locks



Cascade Locks and Bridge of The Gods in the background
Our first stop was Char-burger where we mingled with other starving hikers. We will nero here and head to Washington tomorrow. What a great way to leave Oregon!



Heart

Aug 27 Leaving Timberline Lodge

We reluctantly left Timberline Lodge



but not until we made one more visit to the breakfast buffet.
From the dining room window we saw many hikers arriving, Ooops was among them. He shared his detour story of how he was pickd up from the road by a ranger then later found a campfire smoking and adjacent logs and trees burning. He tried telephoning for help but did not have phone service. Other hikers came in and using the water from the lake they doused the fire burning embers. Later they got a message through to the ranger. That was a close one!
We hiked 15 miles - from mile 2107-2122.



In-route we found a great blueberry patch and picked a pint of delicious berries.


Along the way we took a side trail to view Ramona falls.



We leap-frogged with Portrait and Castle most of the day and saw a few day hikers.
The tread was very inviting and the forest tropical with moss covering rocks and numerous waterfalls. This was the Oregon we were longing for.









We found more berries-






They looked exactly like a blackberry but the were yellow and not as sweet. They tasted more like a grapefruit. We added a bit of sugar to them and had them for lunch.
We found a nice campsite and made the pudding we got from the hiker box. The berries added to the pudding were a great addition.
Heart

Mt Hood National Forest and Timberline Lodge

2071-2107
Our day started out with freezing temperatures as we crossed this unique bridge made from a log.



By 1030 we had hiked 10 miles and we entered Mt Hood National Forest.



It warmed up nicely by lunchtime and we stopped at beautiful Timothy Lake. We dried out our tent and gear and took a long break.












Mt Hood

In route to Frog Lake Campground we were treated to gorgeous views of Mt Hood.




We got to the campground just before dark and as we were filling our water bottles we were approached by a camper, Ron, who invited us to share his campsite with he and his family. So we had a delicious meal with
Ron, his wife Nicole, son Reed and daughter Cedar. What a treat! Unfortunately my pictures did not come out as it was dark and they were asleep when we left in the morning so I took a pic of their campsite.


Thanks Ron, Nicole, Cedar and Reed our gracious trail angels at Frog Lake


We had just 10 miles to go to reach Timberline Lodge and a delicious buffet lunch awaited us so we headed out at 730am. The weather was cool and we made good time. We reached another milestone and celebrated it with Lupine Leaves bordered in moss.








The last 5 miles of uphill sand dunes of pumice leading up to the lodge was a killer but we were motivated and made it before the buffet closed.



Timberline Lodge is the only year-round ski resort in the US. Many come from all around to ski the glacier and climb Mt Hood.




Many of our friends were already there chowing down.



Hiker Packs lined up outside the lodge

The lodge was built under Roosevelt's Work Project Administration program in 1937. The architecture is incredible. Everything was hand made.









Even all the furniture



A beautiful mosaic at the water fountain just inside the entrance



Gone Fishing's Belgium Waffles

In the evening the Lodge hosted a Star Gazing event and we looked through various telescopes at planets and constellations.



Just another unexpected part of the PCT adventure!




Heart

Mt. Jefferson Wilderness

2004-2022 18 miles
Around midnight it started to rain and continued to rain all night. We hoped the rain would help put out the fires but when we started hiking we saw it barely wet the surface and was scattered with some areas completely dry. We hike all morning through forests previously burned by fire-not a pretty site. But soon the area changed as we entered the Mt Jefferson Wilderness.















Mt Jefferson - you can see the smoke on the right side of the mountain from the waterfall 2 fire



We would have hiked more miles if it hadn't been for the wild blueberry bushes we found on the trail. We stopped and picked a pint of the most delicious blueberries and later I made a hiker-type blueberry tart for dessert. It consisted of fresh blueberries, butterbuds, sugar and cinnamon inside a tortilla, cooked on the fire. It actually was pretty tasty (ok, so you had to be there and be hungry).
We leapfrogged with Ooops as he was busy taking more pictures. At sunset we ran into Backwoods at Rockpile Lake where we camped for the night.



The weather turned cold and windy and we had a restless night.
The next day we hiked 20 miles and went around Mt Jefferson.
We ran into many hikers and I was surprised to climb up a hill and see some familiar faces making breakfast-- none other than Liane, Nico, Alex (now called Tom Sawyer) and Dan. They were back on the trail, having rejoined at Callahan's. It was so good to see them again.
We later met a new hiker, Masa Fumi, from Japan. He was very familiar with the Tankara fishing rod I had secured to the side of my pack and gave me a private lesson on how to use it.



Thanks Masa !
We were in a much more scenic part of Oregon now. See for yourself...










The next day we walked through the detoured area until we reached the highway. There we found other hikers getting a ride to the trail head and were fortunate to get an invitation to join them. Honey Bear, Spud, and a few other hikers piled in the back of Honey Bear's dad's truck. We picked up Masa along the way and saw no other hikers on the road. Once at the detoured trailhead we bushwhacked our way through part of the Indian Reservation until we reached a logging road and eventually rejoined with the PCT.
Heart