Pacific Crest Trail Hike: OR & WA Section G – Mile 2094 – 2149

Hello! This was the tail-end of Oregon, which felt like such an accomplishment. This post only contains part of this section as I had completed the other part of this section over a day I outlined in my previous post. The primary purpose of these four days were to get me to Portland, Oregon. I was able to use this brief reprieve as a way to prepare for my final state of Washington – which was so surreal. I am thankful for my time hiking alone and it was a great reset. But mostly I am thankful for dear friends who not only took care of me while I was in town, but also those that deeply understand/appreciate my wild dreams.

PCT OR & WA Section G Summary

Statistics:

Days: 4
Full hiking days: 1
Zeroes: 2
Neros: 1
Total Trail Miles Hiked: 35.8
Total Miles Hiked: 36.2
Trail Elevation Gain: 5625 ft
Trail Elevation Loss: 8769 ft

Highlights:

Time in Portland, Oregon with dear friends.
Arriving at the Oregon/Washington border… from Mexico!
Completing Oregon, period!
Completing a large section of Oregon alone.
Berries!

Lowlights:

Arriving in Portland feeling a bit broken.
Personal life outside of the trail triggered an intense bout of insomnia that would last far beyond this section.

PCT OR & WA Section G Detailed Version

Day 130: Mile 2109.1 – ???

Trail Daily Miles: 29.2
Total Daily Miles: 28.2
Total Trail Mileage: ???
Elevation Gain: 4674 ft
Elevation Loss: 7361 ft
Weather: Rain, fog
Overall Day Sentiment: Berry bounty!

I woke up early this day because I had wanted to do a solid amount of miles to get as close to Cascade Locks as possible. When at Timberline lodge the day before, there was updated news of a new fire that had broken out near Cascade Locks that had actually closed the PCT. The option was to do the Eagle Creek Alternate, which may be the second most popular alternate behind the Crater Lake Rim. The Eagle Creek alternate includes the famous Tunnel Falls, so it was a clear choice even without the fire closure!

Straight away in the morning near camp I had a decent river crossing and a substantial climb. At this point, it was somewhat sunny, but I was prepared for weather to roll in at any moment. It is just an assumption when in Northern Oregon and Washington that you will eventually get rained on. I am happy that I properly prepared for the weather as it came soon after I summited that climb. With my poncho being my primary rain gear now on – I was ready for the remainder of the day!

The day dragged on a bit because of the rain as it was hard to stop and rest for any restorative amount of time. But the biggest gift of the day was the amount of berries I stumbled upon. There were; huckleberries, blueberries, blackberries, marionberries, raspberries, and strawberries. I was so thankful for the bounty I accidentally made myself a bit sick with the sheer volume I consumed. It was worth it though as walking while collecting the berries replaced some of my typical sit down snack breaks.

Eventually I got to the turn off for the Eagle Creek alternate and began to pass a large amount of Pacific Crest Trail south bounders! It was helpful to get some insight into Washington which I was quickly approaching. The Pacific Crest Trail is generally graded for stock animals meaning that it is never too* steep. There are some parts that have an animal alternate and they become steep, but on the whole it is nothing like the Appalachian Trail. Because the Eagle Creek alternate is not officially the Pacific Crest Trail, it can be any grade it chooses and oh boy, it chose steep.

In 2017 there was a huge fire in this region and although much of the vegetation (as evidenced by the berries) had grown back, there were large dead trees that had created a lot of blowdowns. One specific mile section was terribly steep going down in combination with going over the tree blowdowns, I fell… a lot. I’m happy that this day was poor weather which meant there were less day hikers in the area, because they would have gotten a funny show. Between the steep grade, the mud created by the precipitation, and the blowdowns – what a comedy of errors.

This day encompassed a notable amount of elevation gain, but primarily it was full of descent as seen in my daily stats above. This is because the Oregon/Washington border is nearly at sea level on the Columbia River Gorge meaning I had to drop and drop quickly. The further down in elevation I went, the better the weather got because the clouds had been hovering at a higher elevation. The last few miles of the day were along the aptly named Eagle Creek and they were spectacular. This is where I ran into Tunnel Falls which was a breathtaking view. A slim trail lead you around a small canyon and then behind the falls through a tunnel. The pictures I took do not fully capture the essence of it, so I would recommend looking up other photos and videos to gain perspective. I was also lucky enough that I got it all to myself!

Campsites are few and far between on the Eagle Creek alternate but I was able to find a small spot near another tent for which I was thankful. Once I got my tent set up, the rain came down in elevation and really poured throughout the night. The weather had me contemplating heading into town to seek relief but I was going into Portland the next day, so I decided to work on my grit. Growth comes from discomfort, right?

Day 131: Mile ??? – 2149.7

Trail Daily Miles: 6.6
Total Daily Miles: 8.0
Total Trail Mileage: 2149.7
Elevation Gain: 951 ft
Elevation Loss: 1408 ft
Weather: Hot, Sun
Overall Day Sentiment: A city?

This was a short hiking day because I had set myself up to arrive early in Cascade Locks as I needed to catch a bus into Portland. Luckily, there was great public transportation along the Columbia River Gorge, and the transportation into Portland was very easy to figure out.

I continued on the Eagle Creek alternate all the way into Cascade Locks while eating whatever berries I could find. The last 2 miles heading into town were all on a bike path and pavement, and it was surreal walking up to Cascade Locks and to see the Bridge of the Gods, knowing that I walked there from Mexico. As previously mentioned, I had been on a trip to this area Fall of 2023 and I had driven across the bridge and remember thinking there is absolutely no way that I would be able to walk here all the way from Mexico. It was a great reflective moment and one that made me very proud because the Leeann from the year ago would never of believed that she could do this – and mostly on her own.

I arrived into town early and was able to grab breakfast before the bus but I was just too excited to see my friend Beth. The bus ride and the subsequent Uber went quickly. This was the first time I had been in a large city since San Diego (aka the start of the trail) because all of the other towns along the trail are small mountain/rural towns. Being in a city was a bit overwhelming after being out of the chaos for so long. Unsurprisingly, while driving around Portland, I had to consciously and consistently cover my eyes because I was too stimulated.

I arrived at Beth’s house and she came down from her apartment to discover me on the sidewalk. I had not prepared myself for this reaction but I started crying when I saw her. Again on that trip to this area the year prior, I remember saying “I will eventually see you when I walk from Mexico to Portland”. Though I, deep my bones, believed I could do it there were so many things working against me that for a while, I did not think that that would ever ever happen. I am sure her vision of me looking dirty and raggedy from pushing big miles primarily alone for the last half of the state was quite a sight to see and also quite a smell to endure.

Beth was the best host and had gluten-free snacks for me, a bottle of champagne ready to go, and just a sense of friendship that had nothing to do with the trail. It was strange but nice to see someone from non-trail life for the first time in many months. I swiftly showered and did laundry and she provided the coziest of spaces for me. I was able to relax that afternoon and catch her up on all of the experiences from the trail. That night I went out to dinner with Beth and another friend Katrina, who also lives in the Portland area, and it felt like a normal girls night out which was such a treat.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of things happening in my personal life at this time and I started to get a wild bout of insomnia when I arrived in Portland. This would end up continuing for the next 10 days or so where I got around three hours of sleep per night, which is a problem when I needed to have as much energy to hike as possible.

Day 132 & 133: Mile 2149.7

Trail Daily Miles: 0
Total Daily Miles: 0
Total Trail Mileage: 2149.7
Elevation Gain: 0
Elevation Loss: 0
Weather: Hot, Sun
Overall Day Sentiment: Thankful for friendships

My two days in Portland were filled with chores. My at home support person decided they no longer wanted to be of assistance for the state of Washington which meant I needed to get a lot of logistics together in reference to my resupply boxes. For this, Beth and I went to REI and stocked up on my dehydrated meals that I had chosen to eat every night (because it is the easiest as I am gluten-free).

As previously mentioned, I needed a new sun hoodie as mine had gotten shredded and my replacement one from Bend was a sensory/fabric disaster. The REI in Portland also did not have any sun hoodies much like the REI in Bend. I am unsure what this run on sun hoodies was but it really threw a wrench in me preparing for the next state. I also needed new socks and as I discovered in the desert, I needed specific non-wool socks. REI and other stores around Portland did not have the type that I needed, which meant that I had to do some very quick online shopping for both son hoodies and non-wool hiking socks. In addition, I looked around to find a ultralight replacement battery pack for the one that I had sacrificed to that other hiker.

I was also waiting on the last two boxes that I was set to receive from my at home support person with extra resupply items, my medication, and my passport. My passport was necessary as I had not received my walk-in Canada permit for the finish. Plan B if I did not receive that permit was to rent a car and drive through the border to Manning Park, hike the 8 miles in, and then tap the border. These boxes were slated to arrive two days before I got to Portland and they did not end up arriving until my third day in Portland so they were five days behind schedule.

As I was joining back up with Prick and Bags in Cascade Locks to hike the Bridge of the Gods hike together again in Washington. I was on a tight timeline and so I was concerned for the entire three days in Portland that these boxes were not going to arrive. They ended up arriving the last day that I was there in the afternoon, so I quickly threw together the rest of my resupply boxes for all of Washington. Beth and I went to the post office with a comical stack of boxes and we sent them out. My sun hoodie and socks arrived in time as well, but the battery pack did not. I canceled that order and was not so silently cursing at my people pleaser choices that would inhibit my hiking experience.

Once all my chores were done on my last night in Portland, I went out to dinner with Beth and Katrina again and had delicious Portland pizza. I was able to enjoy it because they had gluten-free options, because of course Portland did. Beth and I spent the last night snuggled in our pajamas with face mask on watching funny shows, and it really filled up my cup.

xoxo Leeann/Kanga