Timberline Lodge, OR (Mile 2107)

We are just a stones throw away from being back in our home state of Washington, but we've pulled off the trail for a couple of days to complete our Washington maildrops and celebrate our good friend Ken's birthday! Through Sunday morning we will be hanging out in Corvallis, OR, where Oregon State University is located, and then on Sunday we will catch a ride to Portland to see our soon to be new hiking partner, Chandler. He's actually the one who is responsible for setting Dustin and I up, since he encouraged me to join him on the Appalachian Trail over 4 years ago (crazy how time flies). In addition to "Ler" joining us, we will have "Pie" hiking the entire state of Washington as well! We couldn't be happier to have some familiar faces around.

Since hitting the trail after Ashland, OR the tread has been exceptionally gentle, with the exception of a couple of lava fields, and we've picked up our pace substantially. During the 10 day stretch after Ashland, we averaged 26.2 miles a day (that's the length of a marathon) and then our last 3 days before heading to Corvallis we averaged 30 miles per day. Iceman has been handling the big days with little problems, besides the fact that it means we have to hike the entire day starting no later than 6:30 AM. However, the day prior to rolling into Timberline Lodge I've developed a weird Achilles tendon pain on my left lower leg. Hopefully, the time off will allow for full recovery, but we are so close I'm sure I'll just deal with any discomfort.

Weather and air quality have been a major factor/annoyance for our hike through Oregon. Large lightning and thunderstorms have been hammering the entire state causing wildfires to pop up in the drought stricken grasslands and forests. Heading out of Ashland the first four days were limited to as low as a quarter mile visibility and the air smelled/tasted of smoke. It was very reminiscent of our time in India, because there is always some trash or something burning in the major cities there.

After a great stay in Bend, OR with our friend Pat Fleming, we arrived back at Santiam Pass rested and ready to hike. Pat has just finished an amazing adventure of his own--he attempted, with 3 others, a record-setting unassisted row across the Atlantic Ocean, from the tip of Africa to Miami, only to have a rogue wave stop them 400 miles short of their goal. I highly recommend reading their story (here's their website OAR Northwest).  Back at Santiam Pass we found ourselves forced into our tent at the parking lot with a major thunderstorm on top of us. We checked our phone and the National Weather Center had put out a warning to avoid being outdoors or even in your car due to the severe weather conditions--eeek! Flashes of light were filling the air with trailing cracks and booms followed by us counting to try to determine the distance of the storm. In addition to the electrical energy around us, we had to be aware the a fire could be ignited with one bolt. Thankfully, I guess you could say, the storm was accompanied with heavy rain and hail that extinguished any fires. The tarptent held up impeccably and we hiked out the following day.

We are still happy as can be, but are looking forward to arriving at Monument 78 at the Canadian boarder. It will likely be one more month before we cross that milestone, but we are ecstatic to travel through Washington State. Lastly, we can definitely say we are looking forward to seeing all of you when we are done (we discuss this on a regular basis and it definitely serves as a motivator)! Until then enjoy the photos below!!

Smoke-filled skies leaving Ashland, OR due to strong winds blowing smoke from a fire in Western Oregon.

Iceman watering the platform after we filled our bottles with well water. It also doubled as an upper body workout.

The stash Iceman hopes to grow in his older years.

Immaculate trail work by the local crews. These lava fields would have been torture to walk through without this amazing craftsmanship!

Finally starting to clear up!

Creepy burn area just south of Crater Lake National Park. There were thousands of standing dead just waiting for a windstorm to topple over.

The breathtaking Crater Lake Rim. There's even a boat you can take to the Wizard Island behind us.

Large T-Cells were starting to form and we eventually started running for lower ground due to the exposure on the Crater Lake Rim.

Luckily, the storm passed with only one crack of thunder and the rain was just east of us. You can see Mount Thielson just the the left of me. 

A great treat before setting up camp.

The tree is eating the sign...num num!

The first water source after 27 miles! We had no clue there was such a water scarcity on the PCT!

Crazy fungi!

Diamond View Lake with a outstanding view of Diamond Peak (recently crushed by our good friends Hard and Core).

Don't they look lovely?

Operation Bunion Freedom: Iceman's shoes were not stretching at all, so we had to cut a hole to free the Bun!

The South Sister Volcano. There are a total of 3 Sisters and the PCT traverses right next to them

Iceman's ready to make a move.

Pristine water at Sisters Spring. All you had to do was move a couple of rocks and water is gurgling out of the ground.

The ground was covered for a couple of miles with Obsidian rock and even had large boulders completely composed of the cooled lava.

We could see Mount Washington, Three-Finger Jack, Mount Jefferson, and Mount Hood all lined up.

Exhausted and feeling beat up after walking through ~4 miles of abrasive lava near Mackenzie Pass. I'd recommend driving through over walking. 

Mile 2,000!

With the rain comes lots of toads and frogs. One day we saw hundreds of thumb-sized baby toads hopping along the trail (this one's for you, Cassidy and Davis).

The Santiam Pass severe thunderstorm.

The next morning the rain had cleared the air and brought nice cool temperatures.

Looking south through a small burn area below Three-Fingered Jack.

Iceman is so hungry he wanted to eat Mount Jefferson.

Huge glaciers are view-able from the Jefferson Park. I'd highly recommend a hike to this area.

With death comes new life--this fallen tree is now a "nurse log" that will provide nutrients to these baby trees.

Fascinating Little Crater Lake was formed when an artesian spring slowly eroded away the siltstone above it. The water is a cool 34 degrees year round.

We are getting closer! Mount Hood is pictured in the background.