Ch. 108 – Fuzzy Bear & Feeling Bleh

I woke up early this morning to take a shower, and it ended up being perfect timing. As soon as I dried off and put on my cleanest set of clothes, my phone rang. Frodo stayed at the campground last night, and was calling to figure out what room we were in.

He arrived at our door only a few minutes later, and Boostie was still sleeping. I laid on the bed and scrolled for a bit, and Frodo did the same, but in the chair. Both of us waited patiently for Boostie to wake up, but it took a while. I grew hungry and impatient after an hour went by, so I gently woke him up.

Huckleberry mimosa.

Bridgeside Family Dining is where we decided to have breakfast. I had the country fried steak and a huckleberry mimosa. So tasty! I’ve been trying all of the huckleberry and marionberry flavored goods while I’m out here. We don’t have those back on the east coast, at least not so frequently!

After plenty of dillying and dallying, we finally got packed and moving. I bought a Dr. Pepper at the grocery store, but as soon as I stepped outside, I dropped it. My hands were full, and I couldn’t catch it in time. Honestly, I’d already been dreading the day and felt mentally drained… so I cried. Luckily, Boostie grabbed the Dr. Pepper and did the rational thing – he went inside and asked to swap it for a non-shaken bottle.

Picture at the Cascade Locks monument, since we won’t get a true monument photo this year.

Most of the morning, I debated throwing in the towel on the hike. We made it to Washington, that’s good enough. Not like we can make it to the Canadian border, anyways. We could be done here, go to Portland, and begin our roadtrip home. I think lately, I have been feeling so ready to give my body some rest. My body needs physical rest, and my brain needs mental rest. The PCT has been a lot more challenging as far as decision-making than the AT was, and I’ve got serious decision fatigue.

I told myself Snoqualmie Pass, though, so we took a final few photos in Cascade Locks before getting back on the trail. Crossing the Bridge of the Gods was a moment I’ve been looking forward to the entire trail, but it didn’t feel as emotional as I expected it to. We ran into Hot Girl Summer going SOBO on the bridge, which surprised us. He said he’d gone forty or so miles into Washington, but is deciding to end early for family reasons back home. At least he lives pretty close to Boostie and I, so we might see him again someday!

The stunning Bridge of the Gods.

The rest of day contained different variations of uphill, but almost always at least a bit of incline. I saw a bear standing on its hind legs just off the trail, and thought it was Frodo until the front paws slammed forward back onto the earth. “Ope, that’s not a person!” I said to myself, out loud.

Washington is so green!

The last half of a mile, we gained 500 vertical feet. No wonder I felt too exhausted to cook dinner by the time we reached camp! I ate some snacks, but decided that was good enough. Not that I am tired of instant mashed potatoes, but I’m looking forward to having real dinners every night again soon. Only a couple more weeks of eating food out of bear canisters and smelling like sweaty, stinky hikers!