8/5 - Day 96 Miles 1718 - 1742 25 Hiked

Jackie took me back to the trail the next morning. Heavy smoke had rolled into southern Oregon and it was tough to get excited about getting back on trail. BABS had skipped up to Shasta and didn’t take a break in Ashland so she was going to try and catch me on this day. So at least I had that to look forward to. I said my goodbyes to Jackie and started walking.

I made it a few smoky miles before my ankle started hurting like hell. I convinced myself it was just from the massage the previous day but it made for tough going. I stopped for a solo lunch just off the trail and Tidbits showed up out of nowhere. I was happy to see him and hoped that we would roll together for a stretch. We pushed on for a bit together and the leapfrogged the rest of the day. I stopped to camp and wait for BABS at one front country campground while Tidbits pushed on a bit to camp at another. I knew we would see him again soon.

I made camp in the quiet campground and watched Ted Lasso on my phone until BABS rolled in around 10:30. I was stoked to see her but exhaustion set in and I went to bed after making a deal to catch up on everything the next morning.

8/6 - Day 97 Miles 1742 - 1773 31 Hiked

BABS and I got moving early after a quick cup of coffee and flew the first few miles. We caught up to Tidbits by the first water and the three of us pushed on together. We ran into Bambi, Ebae, and Airdrop at our water stop just before lunch. They were great company and all of them could absolutely haul.

Out of lunch we had just a few miles around an old volcano in a near perfect circle to get to a highway where BABS’ dad would pick us up. I hadn’t seen Clayton since Bishop in the Sierras and he drove us just a few miles down the road to Fish lake for some burgers and beers. This was a nice treat after just 2 days back on the trail. We all camped at the front country site pleased with our 31 mile day.

8/7 - Day 98 Miles 1773 - 1804 31 Hiked

We were slowed down a bit getting to trail the next morning but Clayton dropped us off at some early morning trail magic! We chugged a cup of coffee and Tidbits, BABS, and I ripped up the first climb of the day to make it to the first water 13 or so miles in. We had a long dry stretch which I did mostly solo but saw Tidbits a few times.

I made it up and over a ridge to wait for the others but got a message on my inreach from BABS that she wasn’t going to make it to our planned camp spot that night. Tidbits joined me and we pushed on a few more miles to the 1800 mark. We hiked with Lil Bag who I had met at the Acton KOA and Orange Slice who I met in Idyllwild. Tidbits and I opted to go 0.8 miles off trail to camp at a spring. It was frustrating to do extra miles but we preferred that over a dry camp with the heat and smoke as bad as it was.

The spring turned out to be incredible. just a ton of ice cold water flowing out of the earth just under a tree root. It seemed impossible but we were happy to have it. We camped amongst some downed trees after washing off and having dinner.

8/8 - Day 99 Miles 1804 - 1827 23 Hiked

Tidbits and I got rolling early. We were making it into Mazama today and having a rest at a front country campground with Clayton before hitting Crater Lake the following morning. It was foggy in the predawn light and we passed lots of groups still sleeping in their tents. We pushed into the entrance to Crater Lake National Park and played leapfrog with Ebae, Bambi, and Long-haul all the way to the road into Mazama.

We hiked the short road walk into the small village that had a general store and a restaurant. We met up with Clayton for some lunch before grabbing our packages from the general store and driving down into the campground where Clayton had grabbed a spot for us. Tidbits and I did some laundry under a hose faucet and relaxed the afternoon away.

We read a bit of Jim Whitaker’s book (the founder of REI) and drank beers while Clayton went to pick up BABS, KT, and Olaf who had rolled in later at night. Tidbits and I hit bed early as we had planned to get up the 4 miles to the rim of Crater Lake for Sunrise the next morning. BABs wasn’t sure what her future on the trail would look like and I was sad that she wouldn’t be hiking out with Tidbits and I the following morning. She would end up joining back up with Rock and Pitch and finishing the trail with them.

8/9 - Day 100 Miles 1827 - 1856 29 Hiked

We were up at 4 and hiking by 5. it was a frosty morning and our fingers were numb on our trekking pole handles. Our headlights showed us the way up the steep climb and the pre dawn light started to reveal our surroundings as we made it up onto the rim of Crater Lake. It was breathtaking. we took in the view with other hikers and facetimed our families to share the moment.

we loaded up on water since, ironically, the stretch of trail around Crater lake is incredibly dry and it is impossible to get down to the water to fill up. We cruised around the edge with Ebae, stopping for views often. Tidbits and I made it to an overlook by a parking lot and were bombarded by tourists who had a million questions about our hike. We were kindly offered tuna packets by one couple which made me throw up in my mouth a little. Anthrax would have been a more welcome snack at this point in the hike.

We eventually broke away from the lake rim and pushed down some cruisy but hot miles towards Mt. Thielsen. We got trail magic from Sam’s grandparents at the road just before the climb up and around this standalone peak. Tidbits and I were in high spirits along the well graded climb and enjoyed views of the mountain as we finally made it to an incredible campsite at the base with an ice cold stream nearby.

This became my favorite day on trail. It had everything. High miles, incredible views, cruisy trail, and great people.

8/10 - Day 101 Miles 1856 - 1890 34 Hiked

Tidbits and I were beat out of camp by Ebae but we were still rolling early enough. Tidbits had some friends from home that were planning on meeting him at a site in 34 miles so we had a big day ahead of us after doing 30+ the day before. We felt strong as we cruised the first few miles together and stopped for lunch and Water at Windigo pass leaving us just 12 more for the day.

We made it to the dirt road that led into the campsite and found most of the spots taken by families with car camping setups. It was a little frustrating but we found some spots on the dirt road and hung out with his friends and drank beers. I went to bed early and left Tidbits to have some time to catch up with them. they were incredibly nice people and it was refreshing to spend some time with non hikers.

8/11 - Day 102 Miles 1890 - 1908 18 Hiked

We took our time in the morning and enjoyed coffee with Tidbits’ friends before saying our goodbyes and getting back on trail. Tidbits and I rolled together most of the morning and flew the 18 miles that we had into shelter cove. A RV park located on a lake with a little store and restaurant.

We found lots of hikers there resting under some tailgate type tents and giving the restaurant plenty of business. We resupplied on snacks and crushed some pizzas before a quick swim and nap. It was hot as hell out which made it easy to rationalize wasting away the afternoon. Our friend F-Kat was about to attempt the 24 hour challenge and chugged a monster energy drink before setting out at around 7pm with the goal of doing 75+ miles by the same time the next day.

Tidbits and I left as the sun was setting with our friend Huevos and the three of us just made it back to the trailhead where we made camp. I fell asleep instantly and was woken just as fast as I fell into a dream that I was hiking solo and was suddenly alone in a dark forest. I woke up to find myself in a dark forest and panicked thinking I was alone. I yelled out “Tidbits are you still here?!?” as I sat up quickly form where I was sleeping in my tent. Tidbits was obviously still there and he and Huevos calmed me down while I remembered where I was. I’m not sure if it was the beers or several months in the wilderness that caused this episode but it was the most scared I ever got on trail

8/13 - Day 104 Miles 1908 - 1938 30 Hiked

The three of us got moving early and had a quick climb up from the road to get water at a small lake. We all played leapfrog into lunch at Charlton lake where Tidbits was woken from his nap by an adventurous chipmunk climbing all over him. Huevos beat us out of lunch and Tidbits and I quickly found ourselves in a massive burn area as heavy smoke started to roll in. We broke out the masks and pushed on through the afternoon.

The smoke got worse through the day and we became a little worried as we developed coughs. We made it to camp by a muddy, stagnant pond and went to sleep still wearing our masks. We didn’t talk about it much but we were both nervous of what we would wake up to the next morning.

8/14 - Day 104 Miles 1938 - 1952 14 Hiked

We made the decision when we woke up that we needed to get out of there. The smoke wasn’t improving and we had concerns about our long term health. My mom and sister had planned on coming out to help Tidbits and I navigate some upcoming closures but my mom had broken her foot and wasn’t able to make it. Tidbits’ sister lived in Portland so we made a plan to get off the trail and rest for a few days. I would fly back to Chicago and we would rejoin the trail at Timberline lodge where we had booked rooms in a few days time.

This would mean missing some open miles of trail but a good chunk of it was closed due to downed trees and previous fires. There is a detailed breakdown of what I missed below and we rescheduled our Airbnb for the summer of 2022 so Ill be able to get back out and hit the miles that I missed.

Tidbits and I made it the 14 miles down to Elk lake resort. Similar to Shelter cove, this was a resort style establishment on the banks of a large lake. We enjoyed quick showers and ice cream before grabbing a long hitch into Bend. We spent the afternoon getting back some calories at a local brewery before Tidbits’ sister picked us up for the late night drive all the way back to Portland. We grabbed another shower and went to bed with our alarms set for early as hell so I could catch my flight home.

Ok so, Tidbits and I got off trail at Elk Lake mile 1952 and rejoined at Timberline lodge at 2097. There were two different trail closures in that stretch which totaled 49 miles. One was from McKenzie pass to Santiam Pass (1984 to 2001) and one around Mt Jefferson (2027-2049). The area between them would have been incredibly difficult to get to without my mom’s help so we kind of wrote that stretch off as well. So this means I missed what I am calling 80 miles of open, reachable trail. The BnB is booked for 2022 so Ill hopefully get to close the gap.

8/14 - 8/16 - Days 105-107 Chicago Zeroes

Tidbits woke up early with me and dropped me at the airport. I slept most of my early flight back to Chicago where my sister Kara picked me up. She had dropped me off at this same spot 3 and a half months ago to leave for my journey. We went straight to Portillos for hot dogs and fried chicken sandwiches before heading to see my grandpa and then up north to Wisconsin to my parents’ place. The next few days were spent relaxing in the sunshine, playing golf, and swimming in the lake. It was very tempting to call it quits here. I was already home, had hiked more than 2000 miles, and dreaded the thought of going back to eating 5 protein bars every morning. Perseverance persevered and my sister Emma dropped me back at the airport on the morning of the 17th. Only 550 miles to go.

8/17 - Day 108 0 Hiked

I landed in Portland and Tidbits and his sister picked me up late morning. We drove back east up towards Mt Hood where we had gotten rooms at the Iconic Timberline lodge. we hit a bar for lunch on the way and made it up to timberline as a cold drizzle fell around us. I felt guilty for any hikers that were out in this weather. While checking in I noticed a hiker walking around with soaking gear. I could recognize that it was Goblin even with the mask on and called out. I hadn’t seen her since the end of the Sierra and it was nice to reconnect with an old friend. She had just come in from a freezing night of rain on the mountain and asked if I had a floor that she could sleep on since the lodge was fully booked. When I told her I had a spare bed she could have I could have sworn she was about to cry.

Goblin joined me, Tidbits, and his sister in the hot tub for a while before we grabbed dinner at the ski lodge area and called it an early night. Our little room with bunkbeds was incredibly cozy (Goblin called top bunk) and I hope to get back to Timberline some day. Future hikers, plan ahead for this and definitely grab a room here it is so worth it.

8/18 - Day 109 Miles 2097 - 2115 18 Hiked

Tidbits, Allie, Goblin and I hit the breakfast buffet the next morning and enjoyed the sun outside. Tidbits had to sign some papers for his new job so Goblin got rolling and Allie and I played cornhole while Tidbits took care of his affairs. We got moving ourselves around mid day and enjoyed great weather and views.

It was steep climbing for some of the afternoon around Mt Hood but we met some new hikers and felt good to be back in the mix of things.

We made it to Lola pass after one final climb where we found a full on party. Sam’s grandparents and big red both had their vans there and were dishing out sandwiches, beers, and “cocktails”. Big red asked if I wanted a cocktail and returned with just a shot of rum “we ran out of mixies sorry”. It was great. I sat around a circle and met Ramblin Rosie, jukebox, Survivor among others and wasted the fading daylight with the new friends.

Tidbits had grabbed us a small spot just down the dirt road and I stumbled over there eventually to set up camp.

8/19 - Day 110 Miles 2115 - 2148 33 Hiked

I made coffee for both of us the next morning and used it to wash down some Tylenol. We packed away our damp tents that the fog had gotten to last night and moved out. We hiked with Double Barrell for the first few miles of the day. He got his name from starting the trail with two of the large bear cans in an attempt to only resupply like every two weeks. One of these cannisters was enough to seriously test me by the time we hit the sierra. He was a fun guy and the three of us enjoyed negotiating some downed trees.

We opted to take the Eagle Creek detour to avoid the crazy descent down into cascade locks and to see Tunnel Falls which were an iconic part of the trail. We had two shitty miles of steep descent through a burn area with ashy soil before settling into an incredible stretch along Eagle Creek. Cliffs fell away from us to our left where the river had carved its path and we had to be sure of every step. Tunnel falls were incredible and we lingered there for a bit before pushing down to the road and walking the last two miles to Cascade Locks. We had finished Oregon.

We went straight to the brewery where Big Red was performing a comedy / variety show and enjoyed the company of other hikers and locals before stumbling to the city park to setup camp for the night. Captain was getting back on trail here after skipping most of Oregon for the smoke and it was nice to chat with him again.