August 5th Evening

I am camping again. I took some time away from the trail, as some of you may have noticed. Thanks for the concern, but I did not get mauled by a bear or sucked dry by mosquitos.

I was quite enjoying the company of “Boone” and “Sas” on the trail. So when “Sas” invited me down to her Cabin to take a little vacation with them, I took her up on the offer. While there, we enjoyed wonderful food, fun, and games. Most of the days were spent skiing, kneeboarding, tubing, and wakeboarding on Trinity Lake. All in all it was a wonderful vacation from the trail. Thank you Denise for having me.

After that, I returned to home for a short bit, before going up to the San Juan Islands for a family reunion. A few days were spent up at my parents, enjoying fabulous meals cooked by my various family members. The nights were generally spent sitting around the campfire talking of our lives. All in all, it was what I would assume is a typical family reunion.

Returning back to Portland, I ran a few important errands to get myself back in hiker mode, and left to the trail 22 hours after my arrival in Portland.

For now, I plan to hike the 30 miles down to the Columbia River Gorge. Then I will return to Portland to take care of some business. After that, I will return to the serious hiker mode that existed the first two months of my travels.

August 6th Evening

Today started slow and got better each hour. I rose earlier than I have been lately, but fairly late for a hiker. After breakfast, I hit the trail around 9:00. The hike started with a fairly gradual ascent, followed by a simple flat walk along the crest of the Bull Run Watershed, a source of water for Portland, Oregon.

Then the trail started offering some views. First through the trees, I was able to look down to Lost Lake, a popular weekend camping destination. Then I was offered views to the North face of a glacier draped Mt. Hood. Apparently the glaciers have carved several hundred feet off the top of Mt. Hood, which use to rise above 12,000 ft.

Along the way I met a group of seven hikers. Conveniently, I met them at lunch time, so I sat and enjoyed lunch with them. They were a group of Mazama Explorer Post hikers, five highschoolers, and two adults.

Over lunch, I was bombarded with questions about my travels. Happily, I answered all the questions. Informing them of the trail behind, and the trail ahead, I realized that we would probably be camping at the same location, Wahtum Lake. So after lunch we leapfrogged down the trail, all the while answering the occassional question. It was nice to have a social element added to my hike.

As the Hemlock and fir trees started occuring in random patches, I was given nice views of Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Larch Mountain. Coming around the bend at Indian Springs, I had a sweeping view of four mountains. Taking frequent breaks at perfect sitting rocks, I enjoyed these peaks, knowing I had the time to.

I continued on, where along the trailside were fresh huckleberries, ripe for picking, and dense overgrowths of ferns.

Arriving at Wahtum Lake, the group was sitting there after having just arrived themselves. I sat and ate my dinner with them. They had caught some crayfish for dinner, so while they ate I read a few journal entries to them so they could catch a better perspective of my experiences. I read about returning to a city after months on the trail, my solo experience on snow, a trail town visit, and my quasi-poem “What is a thru-hiker.”

After talking for awhile with them about the group, my hike, and the alternate trail I was recommending to them, I wandered to another group of campers. Four friends from Oregon, Washington, and the mid-west, they somehow managed to get all together for a weekend camping trip. As the sun set the five of us sat around the campfire doing a casual open-mic night.

We shared stories, jokes, songs, and poems for a few hours. Laughing away and enjoying the company, I wanted to stay longer, but knew I had to hike in the morning. Eventually I parted their company, but not before telling them that I had a wonderful time. Before I left they gave me their email addresses so that they could follow my journey on the trail. (Thanks again, it was quite fun)

Tomorrow I will head down the Eagle Creek Trail. I look forward to it, as I have often recommended the trail, yet never hiked it.

August 7th Afternoon

What a lovely hike down the Eagle Creek Trail to the Columbia River. The day started with the Explorer Post group heading out just ahead of me. We then leapfrogged down the trail, as a few of them picked fresh huckleberries and salomon berries.

I passed through areas of dense overgrowth. Roughly five different species of ferns brushing my leg, as the Rhodedendron Plants reached out over the ferns. Hiking over a pine duff trail, I eventually made my way to Eagle Creek, where much of the trail was blasted into the side of a cliff.

As the whole trail was a descent to the Columbia River Gorge, there were several waterfalls and cascading pools of crystal clear water. Enjoying the hike I took a break at least every hour. Soon I passed through Tunnel Falls, a magnificent 100 ft waterfall with a tunnel behind it the trail passes through.

Further down the trail, I started passing several day hikers. I talked with a few of them, and then took a break with two hikers. I told them of my hike, and actually worked our way into some fairly deep conversations in a short span of time. One had happened to find $20 earlier, so she offered to give it to me. After refusing it, she insisted, so I diverted the money into a donation for the cause I am hiking for.

Parting our seperate ways, I continued down the trail, passing Punchbowl Falls, and Metlako falls, as well as several bridges over deep crevases through which the creek ran.

Arriving at the trailhead around 1:30, I sat and had lunch while talking to the Explorer Post group. Soon they left and I started toward the road to hitch into Portland. The car the managed to pick me up was the couple of hikers I spoke with earlier. They offered to take me to lunch, but I had just eaten so I kindly declined. They then drove me all the way to my destination. (Thank you Jeannine and Rob.)

Happy Trails, Inner Peace, & Harmony