Date: September 1, 2017
Miles: 10.5 miles (16.9km), from mile 2,134.1 to town of Cascade Locks.
Health: Well rested and feeling good.

I wake up to the sound of the girls playing Jennifer Hudson’s “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from their phone. It’s still pitch black in the forest but the light of the sun is slowly starting to come through the trees. We cowboy camped right on the trail and while it was a bit cramped and uneven, I feel amazing and well-rested.

Today is a big day for us! Not only is today a town day but we’re also arriving at the town of Cascade Locks, meaning we have hiked the state of Oregon and will be arriving on the Oregon – Washington border. That means later today we have hiked two of the three states of the PCT. Only around 450 miles (724 km) of Washington standing between us and the Canadian border!

Everyone’s in an extra good mood and we take a little longer to enjoy the beautiful sunrise. Soon we’re back hiking and the trail couldn’t be more beautiful. The girls and Sam are really pushing it and I have a bit of a hard time keeping up with them. My knees have been acting up lately and it takes a while for my muscles to warm up in the morning.

Soon we pop out of the forest and get our first views of the Columbia River Gorge below us. The Columbia River Gorge separates the Oregon and Washington states and reaching the Bridge of the Gods along the river is one of the major milestones of a PCT thru-hike.

So far I’ve been nothing but smiles but the trail quickly starts descending towards the river and the steep decline is killing my knees. I have to slow down as each step hurts so bad and soon I lose the sight of Sam and the girls. The downhill feels like an eternity and I find it hard to enjoy the gorgeous scenery and all the little waterfalls along the trail.

Our first view of the Columbia River Gorge.

Finally, after what felt like an agonizing eternity, I reach the outskirts of the town and the steep downhill ends. My knees sigh in relief as I walk under the highway and reach the town center.

My first priority is to do the resupply for the entire state of Washington. I’m in a bit of a rush as today is Friday and I have to buy food for the next 17 days, package it and mail it all before the Post Office closes. If I can’t get all of it done by today, as next Monday is Labor Day, the next time the Post Office will be open is Tuesday. I really can’t wait for four extra days.

I get to the grocery store and try to guestimate what 17 days' worth of food would look like. Lots of mashed potatoes and candy. I leave all my food with some of the hikers outside the grocery store and head to the Post Office across the street to get boxes for the food. I’m told they’re all out of boxes so I have to head back to the store. Thankfully they find some empty boxes from the back and I get to start dividing up all the food for each section.

As I’m running out of time, I just dump and divide all the food into the boxes and run back across the street to the Post Office. After labeling and addressing all the boxes and paying for the postal fees I’m finally done with the Washington resupply. I’m definitely not a fan of sending food resupplies. It’s expensive, takes too much time and effort, and I have no idea what I want to eat in two weeks.

After all the resupply stuff I ask for my bounce box which I had shipped here earlier. The bounce box holds all my rain gear and mid-layers I need as the Washington section is notoriously rainy and as the autumn is getting closer the air is getting colder. Sadly they tell me my bounce box hasn’t arrived.

As the Post Office is closing I have no option but to ask them to bounce my box to the next town and hope it will be there once I get there.

After all the running around I’m super hungry and head to the Ale House for a combined breakfast and lunch. I meet some hikers I’ve seen before and we share a table.

This place is known for free beer for PCT hikers and their Hiker Trash Burger. The Hiker Trash Burger is a burger and bacon sandwiched between two small salami pizzas and it looks just as gross as it sounds. I had to order one!

After stuffing my face with what I can only assume is a massive amount of salt, grease, and calories, Sam and the girls soon arrive. As they’re hungry and I don’t want to be the only one not eating I order extra fries and a small burger as an appetizer. Hiker hunger is real.

We chill at the Ale House for quite some time but then decide we need some fresh air. We get some chips and PBR (cheap beer) from the store and head out to the Thunder Island along the Columbia River. For the next few hours, we lay on the soft grass, relax, enjoy the sun, and watch all the boats go by.

As the sun is starting to set, we pack up all our gear and head to the campground in the middle of the town and set up our tents. Cascade Locks is a dream town for us hikers. Everything is within a walking distance, there are great breweries around every corner, and there’s a campground right in the center of the town along the riverfront.

After the sun has gone down we message Cannonball and Storyteller and join them and few other hikers at the Thunder Island brewery. There’s good music and food, and the rest of the evening is quite blurry. I just remember laughing a lot.

But since we’re all hikers, we can’t really drink too much or stay up too late so we all soon start heading back to the campground. I don’t feel like going to sleep yet so I take my camera and a couple of leftover PBR’s and walk to the river to take some night shots of the Bridge of the Gods. Sam soon joins me and we have another late night chat while drinking beer and watching all the stars above the river.

We soon run out of beer and both of us are getting sleepy so it’s time to call it a day. We head back to our tents, say good night to the girls, and go to sleep. What an epic day today was!