For the time being I am going to skip the Timberline to Cascade Locks post. In part because it was fairly uneventful, mostly because I am falling behind.
Cascade Locks:
Cascade Locks is a small town on the Columbia River. Nearing the bottom of the gorge and headed to the trail head we were greeted by Tiffany's sister. She hiked in to meet us before driving us into Portland. In Portland Tiffany and I went our separate ways. She spent time with her family. I went to my grandparents.
I washed Xena and must say I have never seen so much dirt come out of her fur. I had to rinse her before I washed her, then the wash, then rinse her three times before the water ran clear(er).
Being in Portland in such a familiar place was surreal. It is amazing how quickly it can seem like the trail doesn't exist.
Back on Trail:
From Cascade Locks the trail crosses the Columbia River via the Bridge of the Gods. You pay the 50¢ pedestrian toll at the booth and away you go. I did not realize two things; there is no sidewalk and the surface is large open grating looking all the way down to the river far below. While Tiffany was watching her spit fall to see how much hang time it got I stayed focused. I tried to look fairly cool about the whole thing, but I am not sure that was accomplished. I kept my left hand on the railing and focused my eyes on the other end the whole time.
Once the half mile bridge walk was over and I could breath again Tiffany and I joined my sister, her boyfriend, and a friend on the other side where they started hiking with us for a few days.
Berries and Poison Oak:
If we thought we had a lot of wild berries in the last stretch, this one beat it hands down. Climbing out of the gorge we had blackberries! They are in season and they are almost a weed at lower elevations in Oregon and Washington. As we climbed higher we got blueberries and blue and red huckleberries. You can pick and hike at the same time. Although sometimes you find yourself just standing there picking a handful. The fresh berries are so good.
What is bad, poison oak. This also grows very well at lower elevations in Oregon and Washington. I tried to avoid as much as I could, but somehow I managed to swipe a leaf and transfer the oil to my side. I had a small patch on my right hip the first night, then a little bigger patch in the morning. After hiking and sweating for 7 miles the second day it was all over my right hip area. I was not happy to have to deal with this again.
Having Colleen and friends along was fun, but eventually they had to leave us. I asked Colleen what she thought of the hike. I don't remember exactly what she said, but something to the effect of "I had a good time, but confirmed this is not something I would like to do." Yes, there is a difference between backpacking and through hiking.
Aunt Jeannie and cousin Carol met us at forest road 23. It was here that I met a guy who had been following my register entries since Mexico. For some reason he really likes my hand writing, enough to inquire about a future marriage. I guess I'll have to see how he signs the next trail register.
Jeannie and Carol brought us our next resupply and a whole lot more. When they pulled up we had fresh fruit, beer, and extra bars. We loaded up and soon said our good-byes. This was also the end of the trail for Xena. She hiked over 400 miles with me from Diamond Lake. It was a bit harder than I thought it would be to see her go. For Xena on the other hand, she seemed pretty content to be in the cushy back seat of the car.
After forest road 23 the trail goes through Goat Rocks Wilderness. So far Goat Rocks has been my favorite section of trail. You hike above tree line, get amazing views of Mt Rainier, and the mountain range the trail winds through is stunning. Decending the ridge from Old Snowy mountain the trail goes right on top of the narrow ridge. This section is referred to as the knife edge. I was a bit apprehensive about this piece, but as it turns out, it wasn't too bad.
After 8 days with no shower or laundry we were ready for White Pass.
Trail Statistics
Days: 138
Miles: 2,303
Xena Days: 32
Shoes: 5
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S™II Skyrocket™ an AT&T 4 G LTE smartphone.
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