EAT – EAT – HIKE -REPEAT

PCT DAY 130: Mile 2216.1  -Mile 2226.5 

Sunday August 21, 2016:  10.5 Miles (17 km)

Stayed overnight in Portland and it was one of the better nights sleep I have had in a hotel recently. It was down to the hotel breakfast for some yoghurt, omelet, sausages, bacon, fried potatoes and fruit juice and bagels. All of which was very good and again I amaze myself with how much food I seem to be able to eat. It is like I have grown a second stomach.

Jim had generously offered to drive me to Trout Lake, so I could pick up my resupply package which would save me hitching there in the morning. I retrieved my box from the general store and we had lunch at the cafe, which had a nice outdoor dining area with a creek nearby. In fact they had dug up the road where the creek went under the road which means you cannot drive down the main street of the town.

It was then a drive over some rough dirt roads to get back to where I left the PCT on Saturday morning. I said my farewell to Jim, who has been an excellent host and friend. He packed me off with a fantastically cold Gatorade. Jim will also be hitting the trail tomorrow to give his knee a good test on the walk out of Santiam Pass. So hoping all goes well with the knee.

It was about 1.30ish when I got going with the aim to make it the 10 miles to where you cross the road to Trout Lake. The walking was good, soft underfoot, a slight breeze was blowing which made the hiking temperature about perfect. I made it here in reasonable time and was almost tempted to push on for another few miles but laziness got the better of me. So I am cozy in my sleeping bag with the fly off and looking up through the trees at the darkening sky.