Two of our favorite couples came out to visit us while we were on trail. We were not able to hike fast enough to get to Portland by the time they arrived, so we left the trail at Willamette Pass and hitched to Eugene, where we rented a can and then drove to Portland to pick them up.
Nate and his wife Meg hiked with us on the PCT from Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, to Cascade Locks.
Nick and Jess, the Newlyweds (and smart couple), dropped us all off, and then enjoyed exploring the Oregon Coast. Meanwhile, the four of us hiked the 48 miles of trail that took us along the flanks of Mt. Hood before dropping us down the Eagle Creek drainage, and finally depositing us along the southern bank of the Columbia River.
It is late July and the avalanche lilies are in full bloom.
Mt. Hood
Crossing a tributary of the Sandy River.
Tiger is enjoying the views of Mt. Hood as we loop north of this volcanic peak.
The huckleberries were still a bit green, perhaps a couple of weeks from perfection.
Columbine
Mt. Adams is the next peak to the north in the Cascade Range.
Eagle Creek is one of my favorite areas to hike in all of the Columbia Gorge area. I cannot count the number of times that I hiked this trail as I grew up and went to college.
There are numerous water falls, the most outstanding being Tunnel Falls, which the trail passes behind through a tunnel. For portions of the hike, the creek flows through narrow, steep gorges, and the trail has been built by blasting away the rocky cliffs.
After reaching Cascade Locks, Nick and Jess picked the four of us up, and we all spent a few days in Hood River exploring more of the area, especially the microbreweries and wineries :)
In Hood River, we received three care packages!
One from our friends in Decorah, full of wonderful notes, art projects, food and libations!
One from Tim's Uncle and Aunt. MMMM cookies!
And one from Tim's brother and his wife. Dutch letters from Jarsma!
After the week of fun was over, Tim and I had to make our way from Portland back to Eugene, and then figure out how to make the 2 hr. hitch/drive back to Willamette Pass. Hitching is fairly easy when you are in small towns and near the trail, but feels nearly impossible when you are in a large city and on large, busy roads. Lucky for us, in 2009 I had met a hiker who went by the name of Road Runner, and I remembered that he was from Eugene. He happened to be going to Willamette Pass the day after we got into Eugene to do trail magic for this years hikers. He and his wife invited us to spend the night at their house. The next day we helped them hook up their trailer, pack it full of food for the hikers, and then made our way back to the trail! Tim and I were eager to get back on trail, so we left without partaking in the feast they were preparing. As we left, a few hikers began straggling in, their eyes lighting up as they heard the menu.
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