PCT SOBO WEEK 5

Day 29 – 0 miles

I slept for around 13 hours and had a wonderful day of literally doing nothing. My feet feel almost like nothing even happened and I feel extremely rested and nourished. I feel like I really dodged an injury bullet.

I get drunk and cut my hair and I think it looks great. I know drinking isn’t good for me, but I don’t drink because I hate myself anymore, it’s just fun sometimes.

I ride a bike over to the diner and get a burger, I also get the best damn Pepsi I’ve ever had. This isn’t an admission of guilt, but I for sure crashed the bike on the way over to the diner (myself and the bike were ok). Then I head over to the store to see if the guys are still there. Only Alex is left and we hang out for a while, he’s fun to talk to.

I’m taking off tomorrow and am ready to finish up this state! I’m hoping I’ll see my friend from the desert, Katey, she just got to Washington going NOBO.

Day 30 – 13.9 miles

The shuttle ride was much longer going back to trail than I remember it being to town, and there was trail magic at the parking lot when we got dropped off. I thought it wise to not consume any more alcohol than I already had and made my way back to the trail.

These new shoes have made a world of difference, I had absolutely no foot pain in any way for the entire day. I actually had no pain at all for the first time on trail. I’m crossing my fingers that this continues and I just needed a good rest.

I found an odd trail campsite and got there a bit earlier than I like, so I took some time to set up my morning, and to do some stretching. I also find some tiny frogs and watch them hop around for a while. I’ve decided to try to bag at least one peak per section and have my sights on Sawtooth Peak tomorrow, I’m excited to see how that’s gonna pan out.

Day 31 – 20 miles

Throughout the night, I hear what I thought was coyotes howling. “Cool”, I thought to myself, “coyotes are dope”. I also heard locals being kinda rowdy with their trucks. “Shit”, I thought to myself, “that makes me nervous”. It was a stressful night.

I awoke to dog footprints all around my tent, I knew I had heard something out there. I backtracked on the OHV road and was met with not one, but four off leash dogs… I guess it wasn’t coyotes last night. They were snarling and barking at me, getting closer. I whipped out my pepper spray and was about to spray them but then opted last minute to whack them with my poles. I nailed three and the fourth went running. Time to get the fuck outta here.

I hiked fast until I got to the junction for Sawtooth Peak – a side quest I had committed on. The trail was nice, and then I got to the cutoff for the peak. Cutoff is a loose term, it was a barley trail that quickly turned to a spicy class 3 scramble up to the summit. The volcanic rock was awkward and crumbly at times. The down climb scared me so bad I was shaking at the bottom, I liked it.

My next quest was Blue Lake. I enjoyed a spot of cell service on the way. All the locals have been telling me that I gotta go, so it must be worth it.

And it pays off. I whip out my “emergency Fireball” and enjoy my long lunch. I plunge into its icy depths and flung myself to shore. Shivering, I lie in the hot sun. This is what happy is I think.

Some day trippers stop to talk to me. They ask me why I’m doing this. I answer with the truth – because we don’t know how much time we have here, so if you wanna do something, even if it sounds crazy, you do it. It’s worth it every time. But why precisely? I don’t know, guess I’m tryin to figure that out.

Alex shows up at the lake, and we leapfrog for the rest of the day. Bonding over lukewarm lake water that tastes like marsh – probably because we got it from a fucking marsh. The water isn’t great here, but it doesn’t have any dead animals inside, so good enough for me.

The rocks get extremely interesting on the last few miles of the day. Volcanic crevasses are all around the trail, and even some small caves. I stop to try to explore one but it’s not even deep, still pretty cool though. Definitely different than anything I’ve ever seen.

I find a small Mexican sombrero party hat at a dirt road crossing and put it on. I name him Papi. I hike the last 4 miles with Papi, he’s silly and I really like it. I’m gonna keep hiking with him.

I end the day with the slowest spring I’ve ever had to collect from. Really tested my patience. Camp also tested my patience because it’s busy and I hate that, Alex is here though, so I guess that’s cool. I decided not to care if it’s weird to do yoga at camp, and had a nice relaxing evening.

I think today has been my favorite day on trail. I felt really happy today, and my body felt great. I’m glad that there’s always a good day to balance out the bad.

Day 32 – 18.4 miles

It was breezy and a hint of smoke hung in the air. I spent the better half of the morning thinking about my childhood. When there would be fires and my dad would take us to the lookout off of Coudelinc to watch the bombers drop retardant, or we’d drive around town to get a better view of the plume. It would rain ash for weeks, the sky burnt umber, that was normal growing up. I still can’t believe that the Camp Fire happened sometimes.

I do a decent amount of self reflection today. I think about an old friend, so I reach out. It’s nice to have some cell service.

Sometimes, I feel really disconnected from the vast majority of people, and I used to hate that. But as of late, I’m learning to love that I’m an individual, and I don’t see it as something I wish were different anymore.

I think about home a lot. Not that I want to quit, it’s just what was on my mind. I thought about how I really like living with my brother, and how it makes me feel kinda like we’re teenagers again, I never want to grow up.

I suck at talking to people. I tell someone how sometimes a good slap in the face is just what you need, and I’m sure I sounded crazy. I probably am. You could ask my mom, she’s seen me slap myself in the face before…. She thought it was weird too. Sometimes things are just weird and that’s ok.

I stop at a river, but someone is naked there and I feel embarrassed. Nudity makes me uncomfortable, which is my problem, not theirs. So I move along. I see another river is coming up and there are directions to a beach swimming hole that I decide to follow.

Boy howdy, did that pan out well for me! I got there and was immediately greeted by friendly locals who showered me with tequila and weed. I guess I’m staying here for a while then. We all hung out and had a great time. I love swimming, something about swimming on trail just hits different.

It was hot, like super hot! I left the river and immediately felt kinda drunk and dehydrated. I went another three miles before calling it, the campsite was too good to pass up! Its right next to a creek and some gorgeous old growth cedar trees. I didn’t get nearly as far as I planned but I sure had fun today! It’s cool what happens when you just let the day unfold.

Alex turned up here also, we found a big primo spot and claimed it and it’s nice to not camp somewhere hella crowded tonight. Alex caught baby trout in his hat and we skipped rocks. I’m being a cowboy and I don’t even care if it’s a big dew.

Day 33 – 20 miles

My cowboy camp was unsuccessful, and we were harassed by a mouse all night. I would shoo it away from my pack, and then I would hear it run right over to Alex to fuck with him. This went on for most of the night.

I didn’t set an alarm cause I barely slept, and awoke to Alex tearing down his tent. Needless to say, I got a late start. But it actually worked out great cause I ran into Katey! It was great to see her and great to hear that Kylee was still following her in the van.

The climb was hot and long. It’s hella hot today, I guess I got my wish. I walked by the spot where I quit last year and oddly felt nothing. I stood in the spot for a bit expecting some existential something to come, and alas, nothing.

I took a long lunch at Rock Creek and met some cool NOBOs there. One knew me through another friend, and asked if I would be at Trail Days. I had originally planned to go, but with my current state of not feeling like I really fit with this crowd, I have decided not to go.

I have trouble feeling like I fit out here too. I have a lot of trouble with this in my “citizen Maddie” life. I used to hate the quirky differences that at times alienated me, but I’m actually realizing I love all the weird things about me. It feels a bit lonely at times when I have trouble relating, but the times I do relate, I at least know it’s genuine. I’m just letting my freak flag fly and I’m not really sorry if people don’t like it.

Alex shows up at the creek and we both chicken out about going under. It’s pretty cold. But we enjoy a nice siesta to escape the heat. I tell him I think it’s actually a bit cooler now, and boy, do I eat those words literally a tenth of a mile into the second climb.

I climb and climb, every ounce of liquid feels like it is leaving me in the form of sweat. It’s so hot, at times I feel like the air is too thick to even breath. I pop out into an exposed area of clear cut. I remember this from last year and this part is bullshit. It’s rocky, it’s steep, it’s hotter than all sin.

The sun beats down on my overheated body, and I take the first shade. I cower under the thick underbrush, half delirious I lift my shirt entirely over my face and just lie there. I’m not sure why I felt like I needed to do that, but it sure felt better!

Some weekend warrior types came across me in this slightly compromising position and all didn’t seem too convinced when I told them I was fine. Just letting that freak flag fly.

After cooling off a bit, I felt like I could continue on. I pushed to camp – an awkwardly slanted site with a royal bitch of a spring to get to. I dropped my pack and immediately went down the steep trail to the spring. I rawdogged a liter and took two more liters up. I just laid on my Tyvek and stared at the leaves quiver above me for a good hour.

I’m done with Washington tomorrow. I can’t believe that! This has been (and always proves to be) harder than I even thought. This state really beat me up, but I’m feeling a lot stronger now and ready to see what’s up with Oregon (fires, I presume). I’m really proud of myself for making it this far, but not nearly as proud as I am for having the courage to just be myself.

Day 34 – 9 miles

HOT! Today was hot.

Alex woke me up with his crinkly water bottle at the spring and I was eager to get out of my shitty slanted campsite. I hardly slept because it was so slanted and unbearably hot.

We cruised through the morning, only stopping briefly to get water. We were anxious to get to town and find some air conditioning.

After what felt like an eternity, Bridge of the Gods came into view. It felt good to cross it and not be quitting. I think I’m finally over the resentment I was holding onto.

I made a beeline for the brewery and Alex to his hotel. I got a bunch of food and a cider and enjoyed the cool indoors. Alex showed up and we ate together before splitting up again.

I got to the hotel and just laid in front of the AC for a good while. I was feeling dehydrated so I went to the store to buy some Gatorade and other snacks for the evening.

I was so tired, I swore I was just going to go right to bed, but then felt like I wanted to talk to some people at home, so I called my grandma. It’s always great to talk to her.

I called my good friend Blair, we hadn’t talked as much since I’ve been on trail and I missed talking to him. Then I called Dave and we bonded over it being hot as balls.

Fires seem to be breaking out all over Oregon and Northern California now and I’m anticipating on having to skip. It’s ok with me, you can’t control that stuff, and selfishly, I want to have some extra fuck around time between now and going back to Arizona. I wanna bag some peaks, and I’ve got my eyes set on a certain peak in the Inconsolable Range.

Day 35 – 0 miles

I slept a ridiculous amount of hours and felt like a whole new person. I devoured two Jimmy Dean breakfasts and made a hot coffee…. Holy crap hot coffee is better than the cold soaked protein powder coffee shake I make every morning. It really is the simple things.

As I prepare to do laundry, I’m chatting with a friend from Instagram and we learn we’re actually hotel neighbors. Small world! It’s awesome to meet people from online in person and it makes me glad I didn’t delete Instagram like I’ve fantasized about often.

Puff and I get some lunch, and make tentative dinner plans. As dinner comes around, we realize everything is closed and opt for a grocery store frozen meal night, it be like that sometimes.

We went over to the brewery to meet up with some friends. I met Barbie, and Alex even showed up. We stayed until they shut the lights off, it was super fun to hang out with everyone.

Puff and I went back to the hotel and sat on the porch to have a smoke. We were out there quite late and saw some very nefarious activities going on. He said he was staying til Trail Days. I didn’t want to go to Trail Days, but also didn’t wanna hike in the heat, I was on the fence about staying another day anyway, fuck it.

We made tentative plans to go to Hood River the next day.