Aug 26th
Sawyer Bar(1980.6)-Big Lake Youth Camp(2001.2)
Today’s Mileage: 20.6mi(plus .7mi side trail)=21.3mi

I woke up really refreshed and excited about today. I had 20mi to get to my next resupply at Big Lake Youth Camp and just before it, I would hit my 2000th mile! The morning was one of my favorites on the whole trail…but it didn’t last long…

 I started off with a peaceful and serene hike over Opie Dilldock Pass as the sun was rising. I passed LaFonda and Euro Trash taking down their camp and we saw each other on and off as the day went on. This section of trail overlaps with the popular backpacking loop around the sisters and I’ve seen many backpackers. Most have overly large packs and I made note of three guys walking towards us who had small packs and seemed to know what they were doing. I said something to them as they approached us and realized it was Henry Shires who created my Tarptent. He was with Ron who owns Six Moon Designs and Glen who owns Gossamer Gear. They even said the guy from Ultra Light Adventures was joining them tonight. It was all the kings of ultralight backpacking gear on one trip! I was so happy to see they all hang out because they are competitors. That’s why this community is so great though. It isn’t about the money or competition. I told them that and Henry said they even have a name for the group of them and it was too geeky for me to take it all in, but it ended with Brain Trust. He said they joke about how one well placed missile or natural disaster could wipe them all out at once. Of course, I had to get a picture.

 Soon after that, the painful hiking began. There was almost 2hrs of painful lava rock to walk on AND it was uphill. Ouch! The only consolation was the great view of Sisters.

I thought it was over when we hit the burn area and it didn’t! There was still a good deal of lava rock mixed in there and the sun was beating down with a lot of uphill.

 It really got to me and was exhausting. After what felt like an eternity, it got slightly shaded around a corner and I caught up with LaFonda and Euro Trash eating lunch and they were also not amused. We did have the 2000th mile coming up and that motivated us to push the next couple miles. I sat there and tiredly ate some Cheetos and Chips Ahoys to celebrate.

A mile later, I hit the side trail for the Big Lake Youth Camp. I got to shower, do laundry, and resupply. I was quite psyched about my awesome treats from my sister, my sister-in-law and brother, and Deb and Linda. Thank you all! This might be my best resupply yet!

 I had gotten there by 2:30pm and was trying not to get pulled into the vortex and get right back on the trail. Murphy, Dump Truck, Half Fast, and Red Blaze were there too. They served dinner at 5pm and I was still determined to get back on trail a few miles after eating.

 Then I ate…and was ready to fall asleep…plus, I had emails and phone calls to tend to…and to top it all off, they had a bunk house we could stay in and I wouldn’t have to set up my tent…vortex here I come! I decided to stay and I’m so glad I did! My feet are still aching and I need the rest for big miles ahead. Plus, the sunset over Big Lake was great! What a day!

Pin It on Pinterest

Walking With Wired
undefined
undefined
undefined
undefined
undefined
undefined
undefined
undefined
Winter Break In San Diego!😎
What a great trip! With so much sun and great weather, it felt more like spring break than winter break. San Diego has definitely won us over. Here is a compilation of some of the many things we did. 
-Coastal walking 🌴🌊
-Biking around the bays🚴🏻‍♀️
-Revisiting the Pacific Crest Trail💕
-Exploring the city 🌇
-Sea World 🐬🦦🦭🎢
-Beautiful sunsets 🌅
-Puzzling:)🧩

#sandiego #winterbreak
Thanks for all the bday wishes! Since my birthday falls on a Monday this year, it was a great excuse to take an extra day off and make it a 3 day weekend🥳. I indulged in puzzling and pasta (artisan jumbo raviolis) over a great fall weekend. Today was a fun day of going to local places for bday freebies. Almost $100 worth of treats and there are more I can get throughout the month! Here’s the list for anyone looking for bday treats. 
*The hand-made artisan raviolis came from Foglia in Beaverton. 
-Dutch Bros
-Einstein Bagels
-Starbucks
-Jersey Mikes
-Baskin Robbins
-Baja Fresh
-Noodles & Co
-Pips (donuts)
-Old Spaghetti Factory
-Cheesecake Factory
-Dennys
The week got away from me and I meant to post this last weekend. Better late than never! Three weekends in a row spent in the Gorge. It’s been a great fall so far and we feel lucky to have all this nearby for quick excursions. Hiking in the gorge, camping at Ainsworth SP, checking out the “fruit loop” in Hood River, and a visit and some trail work at Nesika Lodge with the Trails Club of Oregon.🍁💛🍂🧡
#columbiarivergorge
We finished up our July trip with some days at Olympic National Park. The original plan included a backpacking trip to the Seven Lakes Basin, but we had to cancel it due to a foul weather front that moved through the days of our permit. Someday we will do that one. Once the skies cleared, we spent the remaining time we had exploring the Hurricane Ridge area. I’m a big fan of mountains, ridge walks, and clouds, so it was a good finale to this summer’s travels:)

Included in the photos is our campsite at Heart O’ the Hills Campground and the puzzles we completed over the last few weeks (many of them waiting out that weather the last few days🧩). #hurricaneridge #olympicnationalpark
We moved over to the east side of Mt. Rainier and explored the Sunrise area for a handful of days. Still many grand views of Mt. Rainier, but with even more wildflowers on this side. I even got to visit an old friend;) Feeling fortunate that the weather has continued to be clear, good temps, and minimal bugs. Summer break continues! #mtrainiernationalpark
Back in the PNW and taking a couple weeks to explore and relax at Mt Rainier Nat’l Park. Our first week was spent in the Paradise area of the park with impressive views of the south side of Mt Rainier. The weather was so ideal (and somehow no bugs!) that we easily spent half the day getting some much needed R&R at camp (especially hammocking and puzzling) before heading out for afternoon hiking. It’s great to have this area just a few hours from home. #mtrainiernationalpark
For the last leg of our Northeast Coast trip, we spent a few days camping at Blackwoods Campground in Acadia National Park. We did many of the recommendations for first time visitors to Acadia: popovers at Jordan Pond, hiked the Bubbles, rode bikes along a carriage road, toured around Bar Harbor and stopped for a whoopie pie, walked the popular ocean path, and went up to Cadillac Mountain at sunset.  Overall, a successful trip to the opposite coast. We look forward to finishing up the rest of summer break in the PNW!  #acadianationalpark
Next stop on our northeast coast trip, Cliff Island off the coast of Maine. We got a taste the island life from our amazing hosts Abby, Matt, Joan, and Scott: our own lobster boil, fireworks on the beach, a bit of sea kayaking, biking around the island, exploring the tide pools, puzzling, and collecting sea glass. The best part was reconnecting with Little Lottie who I cared for and bonded with in Portland during the first year of her life. It was great to see the world Lottie lives in now💕🦞🌊🐚🦀
Kicked off our summer break with an east coast trip this year. First up, a couple days in Boston. Great to see friends Andrea and @jdavischi85 again! We were happy to get our legs warmed up for summer hikes with walking and biking around Boston. Even got in some candlestick bowling and my first evah lobstah roll. A great start to our northeast part of the summer:)
Aunt Erin’s Portland Adventures, Days 7&8: Coast Camping Cont’d
The last two days of the visit were more camping along the coast. They were filled with all the things I’d hoped for the boys to experience. They made friends and played with the other kids at camp, feely rode bikes around the loop, played in the hammock, played soccer and frisbee on the beach, ate s’mores, ran over dunes, explored a low tide (Hug Point and Haystack Rock), had a foggy coastal day and a blue bird day, and slept in the trailer making it their little cabin. They really loved the trailer and it was super cute to see then use it so well. They had a great time and hopefully a memorable trip overall of all the things I love to share living in the PNW💚💙.
Dirty Girl Gaiters Logo
Trail Designs Logo
Stickpic Logo