We made our usual early start from the Cascade Locks camping ground. There were many more hiker tents than last time we were there.

The PCT actually follows the road bridge across the Columbia River. There is no separate path for pedestrians so we had to watch out for cars. But a sign welcomed us into Washington and soon we were on the usual earthern track.

Since this is the lowest point on the PCT, there was only one way – up. It was a long steady climb of about 3500′ over 8 miles.

Towards the top, we met Brian aka “Has Feet” who was waiting in his 4WD for his friend to help him do some slack packing. Brian gave us each a cold can of Coke – thanks Brian!

Today was one of the busiest days on the PCT we have had for a long while. We met 5 northbound hikers (like us) and 24 southbound hikers, most having started at the Canadian border.

We have enjoyed snacking on huckleberries and blackberries which are coming into season. We did not enjoy large amounts of poison oak near the track for the first six or seven miles.

We have made a good start into Washington, doing nearly 25 miles. The weather was beautiful and we hope it continues. One southbound hiker told us they had had 17 days of rain and 3 sunny days.

Today was mainly resupply and planning for the next section. The advantage now is that we have OG’s van to store extra things in.

I had a haircut and beard trim. We also went REI outfitters and got some new gear including replacement pants, shirt and shoes.

Afterwards OG suggested dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory which we enjoyed. As usual we looked for the dishes with the most calories as we are noticing that we are both getting skinnier.

Not much else to report, so this is a good chance to give kudos to my wonderful wife who has walked nearly 1500 miles, hiking nearly all day nearly every day, has set our steady hiking pace (she usually goes in front), organised and cooked our meals, slept in a tent on a 15mm foam mat for 3 months, and generally put up with me.

Today’s morning hike was a mere 5 miles from the Big Lake Youth Camp but it brought us back to the highway at Santiam Pass, which we had reached before southbound. So that means we have hiked all the Oregon section of the PCT!

A couple of trail angels had set up at the trail head and we enjoyed muffins, drinks, fresh peaches and a chat.

Then it was down to the road to hitch to Eugene. Although the highway was busy we did not get a lift until a couple who had pulled in for a break came over and offered a lift to Corvallis, which we gratefully accepted as it was not too far from Eugene and had a car rental place. We rented a car so we could drive south to Medford and pick up OG’s van, then drive up to a motel in Portland. We finally arrived about 11:30pm.

We will stay another night in the motel and use the time to rest, eat, wash, eat, resupply and eat.

Our sleep was patchy last night due to the cold and in the morning we found that the cloth hanging to dry was frozen stiff. As we walked we were crunching on a lattice of frozen mud. There were patches of snow, frozen hard and crunchy but nothing too slippery.

The views of mountains were again quite spectacular and hiking in the crisp morning air was pleasant. Late morning we started hiking on a rough path of volcanic rocks – slipping and sliding on pebbly lava rocks was hard work and it continued well into the afternoon.

We reached McKenzie Pass at lunchtime and walked a short way up a road to an observatory which was built out of the volcanic rocks. Basically it was a viewing point for the mountains with windows around all the walls, each window showing a different mountain. It was great for us as we had hiked on or around many of them.

Although the trail remained scenic, the afternoon dragged as we worked to complete the 26 miles to camp at a Christian youth camp which welcomes PCT hikers with food and showers. Fed and cleaned we are camped by a lake.

With only 6 miles left in the morning to get to the highway (which will be the end of our Oregon section) we can sleep in and won’t start hiking until 6:30.

This morning started bleakly with drizzling rain and swarming mosquitoes. We packed up the wet tent and moved quickly down the trail both to keep warm and to avoid the mosquitoes that had drawn new optimism from the rainy day and were attacking every time we slowed or stopped.

Around 9 am the rain stopped and, with the sun struggling to shine through, we saw clouds of steam rising from the ground all around. The track was at times a series of muddy puddles which occasionally joined to form small streams. Our wet shoes and socks started to dry as the sun shone and, when we breaked for lunch we chose an open sunny meadow where we could take them off and finish the drying process. The mosquitoes were fewer in the open area which was an enormous relief.

Directly after lunch we walked around a corner and were treated with the most spectacular view of the South Sister mountain peak iced with snow. The hike continued towards the mountain across a grassy clearing and all afternoon we were hiking in much more open ground with regular views of the mountains.

After 25 miles we have camped in a clearing with an unobstructed view of North Sister mountain. We were able to water up at a swiftly running stream – a relief after last night’s murky water – and we enjoyed our hot chicken and rice dinner supplemented with couscous and peanut butter which gave a satay chicken flavor.

We are lying in our tent listening to the rain which started up just after we retired for the night. Today was more walking through forests on a pleasant path which wound around numerous little lakes and ponds.

Around midday, when we were about to stop by a lake for lunch, we met a couple of older folks who wore Tshirts with PCTA volunteer logos. They are involved in trail maintenance at the northern Sierras section. It was nice to be able to pass on our thanks for their hard work.

In the afternoon we hiked past a series of lakes closely spaced. At one Rob noticed a snake swimming. We watched more closely and saw that there were actually 2 garter snakes and one swam over to us to say hello.

We planned to hike until 5:30 and then camp at the next lake we came to. Unfortunately there were no further suitable lakes after the allotted time so come 6 pm we camped on flat ground overlooking a swamp from which we accessed our water. Hopefully the filtering system is effective!

It ended up being a 27 mile / 44 km day.

After a sleep in until 6:30, we wandered down to the cafe beside the lake and ordered bacon, sausage, eggs, potato and pancakes to have with orange juice, coffee and hot chocolate. So you can see that our appetites are good and we are doing our best to stock up with calories when we can.

With OG and PCT hiker friends Sebastian and Mary.

After uploading our blogs and saying goodbye to friends, we set back out to the trail. The weather remains favourable with clear skies and cool air – pleasant for the outward climb.

On the way we stopped to eat lunch – chicken and salad rolls we had bought at the Cafe – and look out at the view of the lake below us. Further on we passed a number of very pretty lakes – blue and emerald green. We saw a deer down the hill from us at one spot and a weasel (or maybe a mink) ran across our path and off into the forest.

We are camped right beside Bobby Lake which has supplied us the water we need for camp. While we were eating dinner a cheeky bird flew down to us and took away an apple core – OG informed us that it is called a Camp Robber!

Yesterday and today we have hiked an alternate trail to the PCT mainly to avoid a section over Diamond Peak which still has 5 miles of snow.

This trail takes us past a number of small lakes like the one we camped beside last night. It was a beautiful sunrise this morning.

About 17 easy miles got us to Shelter Cove where there is a camping ground with cabins and RV sites. OG’s relatives Carol and Bryce are camped here with their large trailer and we spent the afternoon with them including a lovely dinner and campfire.

Unfortunately none of the cabins were available so we are tenting tonight, but we have had good showers and done laundry. We plan a lazy morning then to start our final 93 mile section of Oregon at noon.

Up again for a 6 am start, we crossed about a mile of patchy snow and then, after a further ascent, we reached the highest point of the Oregon/Washington PCT at 7560 feet.

Mostly we have been walking through a green tunnel of forest without a view despite the frequent ascents towards a saddle. The weather continues to be fine and good for walking but the swarms of mosquitoes show no signs of abating. Many hikers are resorting to head nets and those who hike in shorts and short sleeves are regretting their choice of clothing.

We have enjoyed hiking in the company of ‘Simless’ (no Sim card) who is from the UK. OG had met him in the early stages of the PCT and helped him manage sore blistered feet. He is younger than we are and walks at a faster pace but we manage to keep mostly together and it is good to have a new face and new conversation.

In the afternoon we reached a path junction where we chose to hike an alternate route around a series of lakes. Apart from a different outlook it has the advantages of less altitude, less snow, possibly fewer mozzies, and cuts 7 miles off our way compared with the other route up Diamond Peak.

Despite all the snow, we managed a tenner again today and completed 26.8 miles by the time we reached our campsite beside Oldenburg Lake.