DAY 101, Weds.,Aug 6., 31.7 miles: TOTAL 2155.1

GOODBYE OREGON - HELLO WASHINGTON - ONLY 508.4 MILES TO GO!

Started out this morning from Lolo Pass 18 miles north of Mt. Hood. Coordinates: 45 deg 25'592" N, 121 deg 47'744" W.

Hiked all day with a light daypack (thanks to the car support from my sweet wife). I'm meeting her at the Bridge of the Gods on the Washington side of the Columbia River. The route that I am taking is on the Eagle Creek Trail (the same number of miles of the PCT) but it is a famous hike through the Columbia Gorge area and I am excited about the upcoming views.

And what views! The Eagle Creek trail is one beautiful hike. The trail winds down to Indian Springs fork of the creek and traverses up and around Tunnel Falls - a 150 foot drop (photo #2) into the pool below. I walked through a tunnel BEHIND (photo #3) the falls - the tunnel was blasted out to make way for the trail. Then there is a bridge over Eagle Creek to an overlook and Punch Bowl Falls. This was worth taking the altenate route.

Photo # 4: I'm walking over the Bridge of the Gods, between Oregon and Washington, over the Columbia River. Canada - here I come.

Keep hiking,

Greybeard

DAY 100: Tues., Aug. 5: 20.7 mi. Making up lost miles.

Today marks my 100th day of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Yesterday and today I hiked through the Three Sisters Wilderness to catch up on the 50 miles I skipped because of deep, impassable snow. The hike has been just beautiful through the volcanic range named after the three volcanic mountains, the North, Middle and South Sisters. Each one is over 10,000 ft elevation. The trail winds around the base and climbs up in areas that afford a spectacular view of the trail ahead of me. I am glad I came back to hike through this area.

I just passed through a section covered with Obsidian rocks. This is the result of lava that cools very quickly on the surface. It is actually glass and is very sharp. In fact, one of the hikers I talked with just leaned against one of the huge rock formations and cut his hand. It is a good thing that the trail has been built through this area - no one could walk on this for very long.

I only have 30 miles left of hiking in Oregon. Shirley and I will drive north to Lolo Pass today and camp out at the trailhead so I can get an early start day hiking from Lolo Pass to the Oregon / Washington state line. Here are the coordinates where I am camping tonight: 44 deg.10'747" N, 121 deg.49'.045" W.

Keep hiking,

Greybeard

DAY 99:Mon.,Aug.4: Hiking North to South from Hwy. 20, Santiam Pass to Elk Lake Resort

Out early 0530 this morning. Shirley drove me to the trailhead at Highway 20 and I hiked south through the section I skipped due to impassable snow report. I meet up with several north-bound thru-hikers I hadn't seen in some time, Slider, Thrust, Neighbor Dave, Chickety, and others. They were surprised to see me and it was great to catch up on their progress. Everyone is safe and that is the most important thing.
THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE EMAILED & POSTED COMMENTS!
More later,
Greybeard

DAY 98: ZERO DAY WITH MY BABY!

Sunday, Aug. 3 we stayed at the Best Western in Sisters, OR. I will be hiking south in the morning across the Three Sisters Wilderness. This is the section of 52 or so miles that I skipped last week, due to reports of bad snow. Shirley will be visiting with our friends, Pat and Kelly, and then meet me Tuesday at Elk Lake Resort. Will post more photos later.
Keep hiking,
Greybeard

DAY 97, Aug.2: 19.4 miles: TOTAL 2124.4

I had heard that the trail to Lolo Pass was 'treacherous' but in reality, it was easy. The snow and streams were no problem and it was a great day. I hiked with SloJoe. Shirley was waiting for me at the pass - it was sure great to see her - as usual, she had food waiting for me - KFC and a cold Pepsi. Shirley told me about an incident she had on the Lolo Pass Road. Apparently a gate that was normally closed was open and she passed the actual pass where we planned to meet. Well, she ended up on a forest road that was not "automobile friendly". It was a frightening experience for her but "thank the Lord" she is okay. We are heading to the Mt. Hood Inn for time together. She plans to stay out here and support me for the rest of the hike.

Keep hiking, (Photos show Bear Grass, me at an elevation sign and a foggy morning view of the trail)

Greybeard

DAY 96: Aug. 1, 31 mile day: TOTAL 2105

Coordinates: 45 deg. 18'869" N, 121 deg. 42'504" W. Another 30 mile day brought me to Gully Campsite and spring, about 2.2 miles from Timberline at Mt. Hood. This day was a beautiful hike through pleasant Oregon alpine forest. The ultimate site of Mt. Hood close up was breathtaking and the avalanche paths or routes of rock debris gullies are ominus remiders of the dangers and power of the mountain.

Keep hiking,

Greybeard Photo 1: self-pose; #2 avalanche path; #3 Greybeard and SloJoe.

DAY 95: Jul.31: 31 mile day: TOTAL 2074

We (Chinaman, Rambi, SLOJoe and me) left the rim above Jefferson Park, crossing an icy area. We had no idea what we were in for. First of all, my hiking shoes (2nd pair) were shot. Then we found the ice very slick - I had no purchase (no solid surface beneath me). Chinaman was leading the way. After a while he said "for safety sake, we must turn around - this is not going to work." Everyone got turned around easier than I did. I had to literally kneel down and jab my hiking poles into the ice to get turned around. I know that the angels of heaven (and the prayers of everyone back home) had to be with me. This was the most dangerous situation I have ever been in.

We climbed above the slope and crossed over the rocky area to a minor slope, a more safe area. Had we continued on the ice slope we could have slid down to the rock shelf below, and, at the very least have broken some bones or worse. Chinaman's knowleged and experience made our climb over the rim and subsequent descent on the other side much quicker, easier and most importantly safer. SLOJoe and I were fortunate to hike with Chinaman and Rambi through the most difficult section of the PCT for me to this point. I left SloJoe, Chinaman and Rambi at Olallie Resort and hiked to Warm Springs river at 4:45pm.

Praise the Lord of all creation!

Keep hiking,

Greybeard

DAY 94: Jul.30, Weds.,15.3 miles: TOTAL 2043

Today's hike: a learning experience! I could not locate the trail. After I finally found the trail, I stopped at Russell Lake, ate 3 Mountain House dinners and decided to make camp and get a fresh start on Thursday. I had bushwacked 15.3 miles through brush and blow downs, but my camp site was nice - a good ending to a very long / short day. Coordinates: 44 deg. 727" N, 121 deg. 48'124" W.

While I was eating three hikers walked up: Chinaman, his wife Rambi and SLOJoe. Chinaman and Rambi were experienced skiers who knew the trails and terrain. They informed me that there was a beautiful camp site up ahead and a great place to see the sunset and sunrise from the same crest. They asked if I was up to climbing with them. Absolutely! Photo #1: Chinaman, Bambi, Greybeard, Joe.

We reached the crest at 6,900 ft. elevation. What a glorious view! We were looking down into Jefferson Park with Mt. Jefferson in front of us and if we turned 180 deg. Mt. Adams and Mt. St.Helens was behind us. The sunset was beautiful and we were anticipating the sunrise the next morning. Photos: #2 Mt. Jefferson; #3 Camp site up on crest - Jefferson Park; #4 Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens .

Keep Hiking,

Greybeard

DAY 93: Jul.29, 20.3 miles: TOTAL 2027.7

After hearing that the snow across the Three Sisters Wilderness was horrendous, I decided to hike out at Highway 20, Santiam Pass. The plan was to hike north as far as possible before Shirley arrived on Saturday. However, I can't imagine snow much worse than I had today. I literally spent an hour trying to locate the trail and determine my location. Pitched my tent around 4:30p and will learn tomorrow if I figured "it" out. Today was cold, windy and slightly rainy.

Keep hiking,

Greybeard

More photos from Northern California

Here are 5 photos beginning with a view of Castle Crags (photo 1). The PCT traverses 19 miles through the spires of Castle Crags National Forest between Castella and Dunsmuir CA. The towering spires and steep canyon walls are a unique volcanic sight. The sides of the spires are unstable and not suitable for climbing.

Photos 2 and 3 are photos of the trail in an area I thought was peaceful - a place where a hiker can enjoy walking alone on the quiet earth.

Photo #4 is of a trough set up to carry water for hydraulic gold mining operations, but which was soon abandoned.

Photo 5 is a flower called Bear Grass.
Enjoy!
Greybeard