This morning OG arrived in his van and took us all back to Rhododendron where Johnnie had left their rental car. Then we said goodbye to Peter and Jo, and Johnnie took them to Eugene.

OG and Ros and I drove to Medford, as did Johnnie. OG left his van at his wife’s cousin’s place, and Carol generously had prepared taco salad for our dinner. Now Johnnie is taking us all to Old Station so we can start hiking northbound tomorrow.

Don’t worry if you couldn’t follow all those logistics – suffice to say we are keen to get back on the trail. We hope to go all the way to Santiam Pass without snow problems.

We have had a great time with our family and special thanks to OG and Johnnie for helping with the transport.

We have had a relaxing day in Cascade Locks doing not much at all.

As usual when we are in town, we eat up to replace calories used up hiking. It is strange to be scanning the menu looking for dishes with more rather than less calories.

The Columbia River marks the border of Oregon and Washington, and there is a PCT monument in the town.

We were walking along the lock at the river and saw a fisherman land a good size salmon.

We woke to the patter of raindrops on the tents and, after some deliberation decided to hike through to Cascade Locks rather than spend the whole day at the lake as previously planned.

After packing up wet tents we began a gradual climb out of the lake basin. Having started late we had to keep a steady pace to get to Cascade Locks before nightfall.

The skies cleared in the afternoon but it was a long slog to the town.

Rob and I were very impressed with the family who have now completed 50 miles of the PCT. We all felt that the cold drinks by the Columbia River were well earned and well deserved.

Sharing our PCT experience with family has been really great. Since we haven’t planned long hiking days we were able to sleep in this morning and eat a leisurely breakfast before breaking camp.

OG and Jean headed home to Seattle and we headed on north past Lo Lo Pass and up the hill. The path looked and felt very different from our south bound adventure a week ago which took us over snow while we experienced rain, hail and snow.

The views of mountains in the background and forested hills in the foreground then were hidden in mist and cloud but now, at a leisurely pace we enjoyed the views and were able to chat and share news with Peter, Joanna and Robert’s brother, John.

We have found a lovely campsite beside a peaceful lake and have enjoyed a hearty meal around the campfire. Hot drinks, chocolate and toasted marshmallows ended a near perfect day.

So the plan today was to hike the section we had missed out north of Timberline when we left the trail due to rain and snow.

When we arrived at the car park at Timberline we could hardly recognise it as the same place we had hiked south from only a week before. Today the sun was shining in a clear sky and there was barely any wind. Where there had been a foot of snow there was now dirt and rock.

Once we got onto the trail it was fairly easy going and despite some residual snow drifts, we had no trouble finding the path. We were excited to see bear tracks near the beginning of the walk but we didn’t see the animal that left them. We did see beautiful views back to Mt Hood and over to Mt St Helen and the place we stopped for lunch had open shady space as well as views to the valley below.

We took it slowly and made our way to Lo Lo pass by 4:45. OG’ s wife, Jean, joined us at the camp spot and brought in water, food and other supplies to make the camping more comfortable. We enjoyed good food and a campfire and spent time discussing plans for the days ahead with the family.

We left Bend early in the morning and went by bus to the town of Sandy. OG’s wife Jean joined us after lunch having driven down from their home near Seattle. After visiting a very interesting local museum we drove about 18 miles to Rhododendron where we again stayed in the same hostel as a week ago.

All of this was in preparation for the visit of our son Peter and daughter Joanna and Robert’s brother Johnnie. We have been looking forward to this visit for ages and it was great to see them when they arrived by rental car mid afternoon.

We took a drive up to the famous Timberline Lodge to check out the interesting construction and art work. What a contrast to when we were there a week ago – there was much less snow, and we are hoping it will be much more straightforward when we all start hiking northwards towards Cascade Locks tomorrow morning.

We will be able to do the 17 mile section we and OG missed before, and repeat the remaining distance to the Washington state border. It will be a lovely section for our family to get a taste of the PCT.

The past few days have been very gruelling both physically and mentally but fortunately we only had 4 miles to get to the road at Santiam Pass.

We originally intended to go to the town of Sisters but were fortunate to get a lift further on to the town of Bend, which had cheaper motel options. And a welcome lunch!

We were up at 5 to get an early start as it is easier going on the crisp frozen morning snow. Before setting off Rob and OG had a careful look at the maps to see what the gradient was like on the slopes ahead. We are wanting primarily to keep safe and traversing the tops of steep snowy slopes is quite scary. One wrong step is a very fast way to the bottom!

We decided to get down as best we could off the snow and onto lower ground. That allowed us to avoid some exposed ridges but of course we then had to get back up through snow to a saddle and work our way back to the trail.

After that for a few miles we were happy on dry trail but the path headed up to another saddle with even steeper slopes. By hiking beside the snow up a cliff of loose rock we avoided one steep part but at the saddle we rejoined the track as it turned and then commenced descent all through miles of snowy slopes! Anyway with Rob leading again (and catching me when I slipped) we have made it safely most of the way down and are again camped surrounded by snow.

We didn’t count on being out here tonight but fortunately carried an extra dinner so we aren’t going to bed hungry. Hoping for a quick and easy hike out to town tomorrow.