Once we were back on trail, Tim and I realized that we missed the people we had been hiking around before taking the 9 days off to visit our friends. We were also feeling rather out of shape and pudgy from all the food and beverages we had consumed! We decided to hike faster and harder than we had previously. We wanted to catch our friends before they reached the Canadian border.
The Southern Sister, with the middle sister peaking over her western flank.
By taking time off, hikers we had not seen since the beginning were able to catch up with is. It was fun to run into these hikers again, and to share/compare stories and catch up.
The snow was beautiful, but obscured the trail in some areas.
Although it is hard to tell, the rock in this photo is obsidian, and I am filling our water bottles from a spring that gushes out of the hillside, having passed through an obsidian filter.
Looking back at the Three Sisters.
Looking forward to Mt. Washington, Three Fingered Jack, and Mt. Jefferson.
Much of this area is volcanic, and there were plenty of miles where we walked across lava fields, making us feel as though we were hiking along the King's Trail, which is south of La Perouse Bay on Maui.
If felt pretty good to have 2000 miles beneath our feet!
Big Lake Youth Camp is a possible resupply point along the trail. They hold packages for hikers, allow us to take showers and wash our clothes, as well as feed us all-you-can-eat vegetarian meals. It was heavenly!
Tim and I have been talking about participating in a 100 mile race for about a year now. We looked into the various races, and decided that the entry fees, at $250 per person, were just too expensive. However, we felt that we could do 100 miles in less than 38 hours, which is often the cut off time for these races.
We decided to attempt it on trail.
100 continuous miles starts NOW!
Our 100 miles started just south of Santiam Pass, in between Mt. Washington and
Three Fingered Jack.
We reached Mt. Jefferson midday, and had hiked 33 miles.
There was still snow to be crossed and this required we pay attention to the maps, as the trail was often obscured.
Just after it became dark enough that we had to pull out our headlamps,
50 miles down, 50 to go...
Timmie is tired :) I am punchy :)
And after a long, eye rubbing night, and a long, foot numbing day...
100 miles completed!
36 hrs, 25 mins.
And yes, we were still smiling. Barely.
We were so very tired! Yet we decided to hike the few extra miles to Timberline Lodge rather than set up camp on the slopes of Mt. Hood. The only downside is that it was a few miles of UP... on top of the just completed 100 miles!
At least the views were breathtaking!
AND... we finally made it to the Lodge. How lovely to be off of our feet!
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