From the Journal: July 23, 2013
We left Cascade Locks yesterday and walked 14 miles up the Eagle Creek alternate route to Indian Springs Campground. The terrain was beautiful, a lush green valley with water running down the center. The highlight was definitely Tunnel Falls, a narrow ribbon of water cascading from the cliffs above. The trail is carved out behind the falls, so you walk through a tunnel of chiseled black rock which is dripping water from the falls above. The surrounding rock walls are covered with bright green moss and ferns. The mist from the falls drenched me as I walked past, which just made me laugh with joy. The whole scene was mystifying, like something out of a fairy tale. The last two miles were steep, and evening wore on to night as we reached camp. As the days get hotter, evening hiking is very comfortable. The late afternoon sun is beautiful, as the golden rays hit the greenery below. I was so tired last night that I fell asleep before even finishing the pizza we packed out from town.
July 24, 2013
I am relaxing in the Timberline Lodge after a day of much more sitting and eating than walking. We woke up to the sunrise at Paradise Park early this morning. The nearly full moon was still in the sky and the first rays of sun were rising behind Mount Hood. All of the surrounding mountains were lit up in soft pastels. I am rarely motivated to be up for sunrise, so it was very special. We walked six miles into the Lodge, which was painful as my blisters are flaring up again. We got to the Lodge shortly past 10 to discover that the breakfast buffet was open until 10:30! We went from walking to having delicious Bloody Mary's and amazing food in less than five minutes! I love it! The rest of the day we swam, napped, caught up with loved ones, and had dinner looking out at Mount Hood. It has been a peacful and rejuvinating day.
Yesterday ended up being too chaotic to write about before bed so I will try to catch up now. Most of the morning was uneventful. We were planning on a 26 mile day because we had a specific campsite in mind near Mount Hood. We took the alternate to Ramon Falls, which was beautiful. The water cascaded down the rocks in so many different streams and rivulets. When we got back to the junction with the PCT, we somehow headed the wrong way. We dropped about 1,000 feet and then saw cairns to cross the Sandy River, which we did need to cross. Once we got to the other side and found ourselves on a trail overgrown with Devil's Club, we realized our mistake. After a very discouraging few moments we picked ourselves up, crossed the river on a precarious twig of a tree and made our way back up the trail. At this point, our stubborness kicked in and we decided that since it wasn't getting any darker, we might as well hike to the camp we had been looking forward to. We crossed Sandy a third time (now in the dark) and started climbing ever closer to Hood. As we got higher, the moon rose above a ridgeline, bringing the silhouette of the mountain into view. You could hear and hardly see roaring waterfalls below us and the stars starting popping out. At this point it became difficult to be upset about much of anything. We turned our anger and frustration into determination. The evening really reinforced how well Ben and I work as a team. So we made it to camp at nearly midnight and cooked dinner and ate chocolate and watched the moonrise. We cowboy camped (slept without a tent) for the first time. Drifting off under the night sky was a beautiful end to the day.
"Empty yourself and let the universe fill you."
"Wherever you go, go with all your heart." (Confucius)
A River Crossing Earlier on the PCT
"Tree Pose" finding peace within
The feet that are doing the walking
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