Being in our last Oregon town, Cascade Locks, we took the time to really relax and enjoy this zero. Our plan is to only take two more zeros through the state of Washington. My shin is improving with rest and the ability to ice it, while giving it the treatment time it needed. I’m not sure it will be 100% until we are all done, when I can fully rest it, but it will be good enough to get me the last 505 miles to Canada.

While here in Cascade Locks we found ourselves in one of the bigger hiker bubbles we have been in since starting the trail in March. Many of the hikers got slowed down due to resupply boxes not being available for pick up. Having the Post Office closed on weekends and the Ale House not getting all of the boxes, many hikers, including us, have to wait for the PO to open Monday morning. This means there will be a wave of hikers hitting the trail tomorrow as well. All included, the hikers here with us are Terminator, Dallas, Giggles, 35, Cinderella, Mothership, Pants and Mantis. I think there are a few others here as well but we haven’t met them.

Relaxing by the Columbia River

Double Down and I took advantage of the free breakfast that came along with our room. It was at the Bridgeside restaurant which was nice especially with our window seat over looking the Columbia River. After breakfast, which wasn’t huge, we headed over to Thirsty cafe for second breakfast. Then for lunch we headed down to East Wind Drive-In to grab a shake, burger and soft serve, so tasty!!! Then it was back to Thunder Island Brewing Company for dinner with Pants and Mantis.

Breakfast at Bridgeside
Thirsty Cafe for second breakfast
East Wind Drive-In
Dinner with Mantis and Pants at Thunder Island Brewing Co.

We have enjoyed our stay but are ready to get back out and head north toward Canada. We made a plan with Mantis and Pants last night to hopefully reach the Northern Terminus together. With my shin probably needing a little more rest the four of us came up with an alternate plan. This plan will allow us to maintain a continuous footpath from Mexico to Canada (which was our goal from the beginning). This plan will also give me a little more rest while reducing some of the strain in the next two days with less elevation gain/loss. I can’t believe we will be in Washington tomorrow!!

We did have a follower post a question to us about the trail and thought today would be a great time to address it since I have time to. The question was in regards to our fears planning for this adventure. Our follower asked if we had concerns or fears before the hike that were warranted or were those replaced by others during the hike?

Link: My biggest fear before starting the hike was injury related. Knowing how long this trail is and how much time it was going to take, I was worried if my body would hold up. Well this has been warranted as I have had to deal with my shin. The one thing that I didn’t anticipate was the mental struggles I would endure. The mental toughness that is required to fight through the down moments instead of giving in to the desire to get back to family and the comforts of home, has challenged me more than I ever thought.

Double Down: Going into our trip I was worried that I would be looking forward to towns more than being out on the trail. I do love getting to towns and what they offer but find that I really enjoy being on the trail more than I thought I would everyday. The challenge that I didn’t anticipate is how hard the trail would be. The huge elevation changes and the big miles everyday have been more challenging than I thought it would be.

Here are the stats for Oregon and the total trip:

Oregon Totals

Miles 455.9

Elevation gain – 63,312 feet, loss – 69,310 ft

Trail Angels – 4

PCT Totals

Miles 2,147.2

Elevation gain – 359,947 ft (68.2 miles), loss – 362,654 ft (68.7 miles)

Trail Angels – 30

We hope you all are doing well, and as always thanks for following along!! Link