PCT: Days 25-29

fly agaric

9-9 1st night in the wilderness alone - not really - other tents at Dewey Lake - biggest blueberries I'd seen coming down here. I was just blowing into my ocarina flute to practice, to play - and freagin elk started to respond to my flute with their freaky sustained high-pitched call from all over the mtns - repeatedly across the lake and loud! Wow!

Ranier, day 29

Day 31

Goat Rocks Wilderness! Oh my wow.

Overlook near Hidden Springs

9-12 Last night was the warmest in weeks. Slept with the big moon shining down on me on an overlook of the mtns - would never have guessed that today I was going to traverse the top ridge of all that!

9-12 Came through the knife edge today in Goat Rocks - wow! astonishing scenery and gnarly best shit since N. of Snoq. Pass. Felt like I was floating and didn't really want the ridge line to end...almost sketchy at times. Ate more boletus mushrooms tonight with my dinner and there have been more blueberries! And spotted a herd of white goats atop the ridge.

Mt. Ranier in distance

Mt. Adams to the South in the distance

lake on left, Ranier on the right

Day 33

Mt. Adams Wilderness

day 32 arriving at amazing lava spring - i raced toward the rocks for the sunset after hanging out with the Dog Pound and then meeting the legend H&R Huff & Puff whom I thought looked like a section hiker. 9-23 - Missed Brian's concert in Portland tonight. But - hiked 23 miles from Cispus River to Lava Spring.

mt. adams at sunrise from top of lava rocks

fire belly

lava rocks with mt. ranier in distance

huge glaciers almost close enough to reach out and grab on north face of adams

adams' west side

Days 34, 35

Indian Heaven Wilderness, Southern Washington

bolete/porcino
thanks to booth for introducing these tasty boletes to me. I enjoyed them with many dinners along the way.

full moon rising!

Day 35 sunset from rock where I slept

Day 39, Oregon

1st day hiking in Oregon and rejoined with Ghetto Blaster after misadventures with Waffles and Suntan in Cascade Locks.

I didn't think I would see any more northbounders when I ran into Waffles and Suntan. I had just arrived in town after dark after crossing into Oregon across the Columbia River on the Bridge of the Gods. It was the longest I had hiked in one day - 26 miles - and I was pumped about eating dinner in town. Yet, at 9:02 all of the eating establishments in Cascade Locks had stopped serving food and even the pub had stopped serving beer. I was very bummed but at least a grocery store was open for chips, salsa, beer and ice cream. That's when Waffles generously invited me to split a motel room with the two of them. The next day Ghetto Blaster showed up in town and Waffles had been cut off from ordering more drinks from both bars in town by 3 PM...9-29 - got drunk and when we were crossing railroad tracks to get to a nearby park and island to camp out and drink more beers we lost Waffles. The last time I saw him he was collapsing towards the pavement in a gas station parking lot. Waffles ended up on a train and fell asleep. He slept out in the rain under a highway underpass later learning he had traveled nearly 160 miles away - missing one shoe and wearing a trash bag as rain gear with only sweat pants and a sweat shirt - he had to hitchhike back in his condition.

Eagle Creek detour, Tunnel Falls...

ghetto blaster swimmin in the rain

Days 41-42

ramona falls

mt. hood

When we arrived in the dark at the infamous Timberline Lodge, a giant historical ski lodge, there was snow on the ground and ice covering the sidewalks. Various food fantasizing and hunger ravaged northbounders had been telling us about the incredible Timberline Lodge all you can eat buffet breakfast for the last 500 miles. That night, we didn't hesitate in indulging in an overpriced delicious dinner with drinks. I ate so much that I thought I might throw up. I couldn't even finish my carafe of wine. After satisfying our appetites, we couldn't stand the idea of stringing up our thin hammocks in the chilly, freezing air above 6,000 feet when we were in an enormous and heated wooden structure full of empty conference rooms. After we found out that we could rent a bunk bed in a shared room for like $140 each...we went into survival mode. We found the sauna, stashed our backpacks and stripped down to shower and soak up the dry heat. I used some of the hotel's towels for a pillow and blankets and we slept that freezing cold night on the hard, wooden benches of the sauna. At the time I didn't realize that it would be my last hot shower for over a month. The night passed without incident and the breakfast buffet was truly epic.

mt. jefferson

Days 44-46, the end

maples in mt. jefferson wilderness

mt. jefferson shrouded in clouds

Ghetto Blaster's failed bow became a spoon, slowly chiseled with his hatchet

3-fingered jack

traces of big fire from the 90's, saw smoke from new fires; our last evening on the PCT

first morning waking up on the oregon coast after hitchiking from the mountains near Sisters, OR

walking on the PCT

Oh, I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 hundred more...on the Pacific Crest Trail from Manning Park, British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to California maybe. Or Marcelo and I will see how it goes. So I won't be posting any photos anytime soon. But there's plenty to look at from the last year and there will be more. Thanks for being here.