Volcanoes and Views — Adventures With Samson-The-Bear

On 8/24 and on 8/25 we hitched into Bend, OR. On 8/26 we did 24.8 miles to just south of Hunts Creek Trail and slept at 6,329 feet. On 8/27 we did 25.0 miles to a small lake north of Red Lake Trail and slept at 5,164 feet. On 8/28 we did 27.9 miles to just north of the Miller Trail and slept at 3,367 feet. On 8/29 we did 23 miles to just South of Timberline Lodge and slept at 5,615 feet. On 8/30 we did 22.5 miles to Huckleberry Mountain Trail and slept at 3,993 feet. On 8/31 we did 23 miles to Cascade Locks, OR and slept at 221 feet. On 9/1 and 9/2 we hitched into Hood River, OR

After taking an unplanned stop in Bend, OR to rest our feet we hit the trail early on the 26th of August and crossed the 2,000 mile marker. It was awesome to celebrate the milestone with our friends SAS and Rambler, and we may or may not have packed out a celebratory beer for the occasion (we will take any opportunity to consume a few extra calories for the miles ahead). Crossing 2,000 miles is quite an accomplishment. I'm not really sure what to say other than:

-Our gear is falling apart, but can be fixed with tape and dental floss,

-Our feet and knees hurt but our morale is high,

-We still have 650 miles left but are excited about the journey in front of us.

The next large mountain we came across on trail was Mt. Hood. Mt. Hood was a very memorable mountain not only because it appears to be very formidable, but because we actually climb up onto it. Most of the old volcanoes we pass we skirt along their base. On Mt. Hood we climb up about 6,000 feet and circled the mountain above timberline.

On Mt. Hood there is a famous ski lodge and hotel called Timberline Lodge. Hikers have talked about Timberline Lodge since the Mexican border for its famed breakfast buffet. We camped a mile south of the lodge on Mt. Hood and got up early to be first in line for breakfast. Normally the first thing I do when I enter an establishment is try and find an outlet to charge my phone, but when I went into the lodge, the first thing I did was go to the restroom and try and clean myself up in the sink. It was much nicer than I expected and was suprised they even let hikers in. The lodge was built during the depression as part of a WPA project with the abundance of skilled labor, they constructed an architectural landmark (if you have ever seen the movie the Shining, they use Timberline Lodge for all of the outdoor scenes and ariel footage). We sat down for breakfast and ate until we could not eat anymore- and then continued to eat. We were there for 3 hours and easily consumed over 5,000 calories of gourmet food. We would have stayed longer and seen what they were serving for lunch, but still had many miles to do that day.

With our stomachs full we took off for the trail and continued to hike around Mt. Hood. We knew we were going to have to night hike no matter how fast we hiked so we decided that adding a side trip to see Ramona Falls wouldn't hurt. When we got to Ramona falls SketchPad randomly ran into a friend from D.C who was visiting the area and on a day hike with friends up to the falls. We sat and chatted for a while and, after a photo shoot with Fred and Ethel, we had to take off. We talked about all of the decisions we had made that day, let alone since Mexico, to be at the falls at the exact same time as her friend - and it was amazing to say the least.

After night hiking we got up early and took an alternate into Cascade Locks called Eagle Creek. We lost 4,000 feet over a few miles and the forest gave way to spectacular waterfalls and sharp drop-offs. The most notable waterfall was Tunnel Falls which, as you guessed it, has a tunnel behind it. It was a fun side trip before resting in Cascade Locks, OR.

We spent the night in Cascade Locks, OR and hitched 20 miles in the morning to Hood River which has a larger grocery store. We needed a bigger store since we were buying all of our Washington resupply to mail it out again. We also had all of our winter gear sent to us and switched it out for the summer gear we wore through CA and OR. Our good friends also sent us care packages full of dried fruits & vegetables, home made cookies, venison back strap jerkey and bourbon. We might die of exposure but we won't die from hunger. Hood River is relatively close to Portland, OR where SketchPad's cousins live. They drove out to see us and we spent the day eating, drinking and playing in the park along the Columbia river. It was a blast meeting her cousins and it was nice to take a break from all of the logistics that have to be done when in town. We then went back to Cascade Locks and camped in the rain along the old lock waiting for the next day when we would cross into our final state.

All of Washington's Resupply, healthy-nope, delicious-nope, light-yes

Our winter clothes, plus care packages from our good friends Kyle & Amanda and Megan

Looking through the other side of tunnel falls.

Blurry pictue, we were to excited to eat to take a steady pictue.

We are in the tent, SAS and Rambler are cowboy camping

SketchPad on the other side of Tunnel Falls

No need to cry over a potato in the water