To the border and back

So we have spent the last 7 days hiking up to the border and back. We have been taking it slow to build up our strength and make sure these old bones don’t fail on us to early.

Day 1 – 11 miles

Our first proper day on trail. Both very excited and glad to be finally out here on the trail. The trail was pretty easy and after 11 miles we pulled in at a tent site where we met up with a girl called Emilia.
That night a deer kept walking round our tent clumsily making noises throughout the night.

Day 2 – Hopkins Lake- 13.2 miles

The trail got harder today with lots of elevation and switch backs to deal with as well as some blistering sunshine.
Thunder rumbled all afternoon in the mountains and eventually the skys opened and we sheltered under a pine tree. It got pretty heavy and  started hailing on us.
We met up with a guy called Stats who had reached the border and was on his way back. He said the weather was even worse on the other side of the mountains and the hail stones hurt as they fell from the sky.
Hailstones littered the trail like polystyrene balls as we continued.

We stayed at a lake 6 miles from the border called Hopkins lake. It was beautiful and after setting up the tent I whipped out my tankara fishing rod and managed to catch my first wild trout on a fly. Was great fun, but as we still had plenty of food I returned him to his watery home.

Day 3 – border n back – 12.6 miles

Waking up at 5 we left camp at around 7. We met up with Emilia on the trail on the decent down to the terminus. The 6 miles downhill was pretty straight forward although the trail was littered with bear scat.
When we got to the terminus we did the obligatory pics of us all standing precariously on the wooden monument. It felt pretty sweet to have finally reached the official start of the trail. And on turning back and facing the 6 mile uphill we were finally starting the 2650 miles as the 1st 30 hiking up to the terminus don’t count.
We arrived back at Hopkins lake around 3:30 and had a more leisurely evening with a bit more fishing for me where I landed another montser and lost 2 more.
Sarah and Emilias knees have been playing up which is a bit if a concern.

Day 4 – Ridge line camp spot – 14.9 miles

Again we started early as we had a big day of dealing with a lot of elevation and uphill.
I think in total we had 3 big climbs to deal with + it was very hot.
On the 2nd big uphill we decided to put our sun umbrellas to good use. They clip onto the shoulder straps of our packs and really help deflect the sun. They worked a treat, although they aren’t great when it gets windy.
After the climb we sat and ate lunch on saddle between 2 mountains. Emilia was waiting for us there and we had a well deserved snack with an awesome view across a glacial valley.
We also met a dude called Vincent – a new recruit to our trail crew. 
That night we met back up with Emilia on ridge where there was enough space for a couple of tents. We both tested our skills hanging our food in the pine trees with very few decent branches. It involves the normal bear line hang, but you use a stick or toggle + you tie the line at an angle so that it means the food bag is pulled away from the tree to keep Mr bear away from our goodies.
We hatched a plan between us that night to get up super early and hussle back to Harts pass where we were dropped off. Our plan was to resupply and do laundry back at the hostel Lions Den.

Day 5 – 3am start – 15 miles

Our alarms went off at 3am and we left camp by 4.  Sarah and Emilia both had sore knees still and walked at a slower pace, but we still walked 9 miles before 8 am.
On getting back to harts pass we saw the Jeff from the Lions Dens pick up truck drive off down the mountain and we missed it by a matter of seconds.
We sat down at a picnic bench and collected our thoughts and decided to carry on. We had enough food and another day or so shouldn’t hurt to much.
Although Sarah’s pack is still too heavy and she is keen to shed some of the things she hasn’t been using.
We carried on from harts pass without much water and as it got hotter and hotter we realised we had made a mistake.
Sarah and I had just enough, but we had to ration and share some of our supplies with Emilia.
After a very exposed afternoon we arrived to a campsite to find literally a lush green oasis with water cascading down through the mountain. It was beautiful and well received. Vincent also joined us along with another girl called Megan and that afternoon we played the game of who can sit in the water the longest. It was very cold, but worked wonders on our aching limbs.
After eating dinner together and sharing some whisky we all turned in early. That night it got very cold and I was concerned that our water filters may have frozen.

Day 6 -Oasis 2- 15.4 miles

The 4 of us spent a nice day all hiking together talking about anything and everything. Sarah and Emilia were both still struggling with there knees, but claimed the cold water dip the previous day had helped.
That night we arrived at another nice camp site which again had a lovely stream running through it.
It was a very cold night and we woke up to frost on the ground.

Day 7 – Rainy pass – 9.5 miles

We had a lot of decent to deal with today on the way down to rainy pass. Something like 7000 ft. It was interesting to see how the plant species and vegetation started to change. It was very lush and lots of bear scat all over the trail.

We met more people today as it was a weekend and lots of day hikers were out of trail. We bumped into a guy who hiked sobo last year trailname Deathwish. He gave us our first bit if trail magic in the form of beer and root beer. Sarah and I enjoyed sharing a can early in the morning on our way down to rainy pass.

When we got to Rainy pass we said our good byes to E and V and got an easy hitch back down to mazama. It was about 10 miles and the old retired couple, Larry and Sally who picked us up were great company.

On returning to the lions den hostel we were greeted by the owners Mary “Lion”and Jeff “Raven”
After our last stay where a guy called Davy Jones (DJ) had made us all burgers and hot dogs we wanted to return the favour and do something similar. So we hitched again into a town called Winthrop and got supplies.
We also popped into an outfitters and sorted out a new drink system for Sarah, where we can connect her water filter to a bag so she can drink more easily.

After resupply and enjoying some drinks in this cute old themed miners town, we hitched back to Mazama. We cooked up a chilli and hot dogs which was well received by all. Mary aka Lion also added to the feast with a lemon meringue pie. Delicious!

Day 8 – Zero at the Lions Den

Today we opted for a more leisurely day and zero’d at the Lions Den. It’s places as nice as this that make it very easy to stay and chill.
In the morning we did a shake down and anything we had not used or we no longer wanted got put in a flat rate mailing box. Jeff gave us a ride to the post office in Winthrop and we we both happy to see the back of those 5 unwanted pounds of gear.
Later we explored the little town of Winthrop. Because its July 4th every man and his truck were lining the streets of this small mountain town.  The great outdoors is a big deal in the US and many were heading out on camping, rafting / kayaking or fishing trips.

On the way back we stopped at the store in Mazama and picked up some delicious fresh bread which had sea salt sprinkled all over it. We opted for a whole schmorgasboard of fillings including turkey + pesto + boursin + salad. The sandwich was huge and we had to squish it down to eat it.

Now back at the Den we are just finishing some admin and plan to go back out on the trail when it cools down. Humming birds are bussing around feeders on Mary’s porch and wind chimes are filling the air with relaxing tones.
I think I might take a nap on one of the hammocks here later + I think after the last weeks 90 miles on trail we deserve a breather.