July 16th
I had set my alarm for 4am so that I could possibly cross the river when the water was lower. You might be asking why in the world I am worried about it because I’m just heading back to my car today. Because, that’s why. Just something about it makes me want to be able to cross it.
Getting out of my tent with my head lamp on, I clumsily walked over the rocks to the river bank to check it out. The river was lower than yesterday, but to my dismay, it was higher than when I was here last week.
Standing there as the sky slowly brightened, I made the decision to come back another time. Elizabeth and I had already talked of an alternative plan of returning to the Ramona Falls campground later in the fall and doing a loop that included crossing the river. I was ready to go home.
As we departed from camp, I debated putting those darn cans from last night inside my pack versus tying them on the outside to be obnoxious. Prudence got the better of me and because I had little food left, they fit easily inside. But that’s not to say their burden was not heavy. Having to carry them out in itself was rude.
The trail out of Sandy is 4 miles uphill and it was slow going for Elizabeth who is just getting into the routine of long distance hiking. Today was cooler than yesterday, which helped. As I reached the top of the ridge, the winds refreshingly blew down off the glacier. This section of trail is again covered in sand, but there is more vegetation and trees. I had observed the day before that the leaves had a fine dusting of the sand on them. I had guessed that it was because of the wind during the thunderstorms on Sunday. Today, it was obvious it was a normal occurrence, as I had to use my bandanna through the dust filled air.
Around 8:30am, down the trail in front of me came Charlie Dayhiker (AKA Kurt), who I had met on the trail last year. We ended up chatting for more than 30 minutes as I waited for Elizabeth to catch up with me. I told him about meeting Raindance and Chimp, and he laughed saying that they were actually a competitive couple and hated it when he would pass them on the trail. He caught me up on his current life plans and how the trail was going. I asked him about Dude (Anthony) whom I had also met last year and he said he was doing fine and living in Arizona. He also told me that the lunch buffet at the lodge was better than breakfast; it included things like tri tip steak. However, it closed at 1pm which meant I would have to save it for another visit.
Elizabeth soon met up with us, I wished Kurt happy trails, telling him I might see home in Washington and we continued our trek back to our cars. Passing increasingly more day hikers as we approached Timberline, we made it to the spring just north of the Zig Zag River Lookout around noon and had a conversation about how to finish. At our current rate, we wouldn’t get back to Barlow Pass until 5pm. With me having to drive home tonight, I was hoping to be on the road sooner than that. I was kicking myself for not leaving my car in the lodge parking, but I told her that she could stop at the lodge and I would book it down to the cars and come get her. I knew she could make it all the way, but I also wanted to end the trip on a good note. She decided to see how she felt when we got to Timberline, but as I rambled on towards there ahead of her, my phone rang and she told me to go ahead to the car. One of the benefits of being within cell coverage, I guess.
Making it back over the quickly melting snow around the lodge, it was nice to see the flowers in their different stages of growth as they emerged from the thawed ground. There were normally leafy plants with small white blooms that are only visible during this time. The lodge area turned out to be even busier on our return, kids with parents falling through short mushy snow bridges and older adults who kept asking, “How far is it to the lookout?”
After eating a quick lunch at the top, I booked it down to the car by 3:30pm. It was amazing how much easier it is to go DOWN a sand covered trail than up. On my last ridge before heading into the trees the last three miles, I could see the billowing of wildfire smoke to the south. It looked like wildfires started by the thunderstorms on Sunday are close to the PCT and right in the direction I would be continuing my PCT journey in a few weeks. Hopefully, they won’t do much damage or cause much delay!
I drove up to get Elizabeth who had been tired enough to give in and had eaten lunch at the bar in the lodge; she was feeling a little ill. As we drove down to the pass, I observed that snow boarders, once they disrobed from their colorful attire, didn’t look that much different from your average thru-hiker. I was thinking I might have an opportunity to provide a ride to someone if needed, but the boards swung over their shoulders told me they were more likely waiting for one of the many activity shuttles parked in the lot.
We discussed about how the trip had been good for Elizabeth to learn how her gear would work and she already knew what she wasn’t going to be bringing in two weeks in addition to a new shopping list of things she wanted to add. When we arrived back to the trailhead, we were not alone. There was both a couple with their car running checking out the historical marker and young woman taking a picture of herself by the Pacific Crest Trail sign for a book her book club was reading. I wonder which one? After changing clothes, we parted and I headed home via Portland, where I stopped at my favorite restaurant, Cultured Caveman for some pork carnitas.
One of the things I observed was that when I got into my car, I had very little swelling but by the time I got home, there was quite a bit. Maybe the problem is more of the sitting down after hiking than the hiking itself. They do say that sitting is the new smoking. How am I going to avoid sitting after I leave the trail next time? Will it make a difference?
For the continuation of this journey, visit Snuffy’s 2014 Pacific Crest Trail Journal-Oregon Zeros Part 2
To start at the beginning, head over to Snuffy’s 2014 Pacific Crest Trail Journal-Oregon Day 1
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