Day 116 - Saturday, August 21

Tenting at the Indian Ford Campground (left PCT at mile 2001.0). Walked 26.1 miles today.

The wind blew occasionally last night which made things chilly and looking outside, we were enveloped in fog with occasional drizzle. We reluctantly got up, donned our rain gear, and began hiking through the first of four lava fields.

It was slow going, but really beautiful as the drizzle had wet the rocks and made the reds and blacks more vibrant.

We walked slowly, the rocks shifting under our feet with every step, but finally reached the other side. After a mile or so of dirt path, we reached the second lava field which was easier than the first (as far as the lava rock), but involved a steep climb.

After this ended, we had a nice long break of walking on dirt; however, this is when the rain really started. It was rainy, windy, and my hands were freezing. We just kept walking through a meadow and then a burned area. Finally the rain let up, but it was still cold and windy. The fine soils also stuck to our shoes as a result of the recent rain and we had to knock them off occasionally.

Frank mentioned that her sister had been talking about maybe doing trail magic at McKenzie Pass a few miles ahead and that we might see her there before she drove around to Santiam Pass to pick us up.

Eventually, we entered the third (and largest lava field). We did a mile of slow walking on the lava rock before reaching McKenzie Pass, during which the sun started to make an appearance and warm us up slightly.

We walked around another quarter mile and right before the dirt road there, we saw a paper plate with writing on it that Frank tried to read from a distance:

"Free Hippo? No. Free Alpaca? No. Oh! Food Ahead!"

We rounded the corner and there we saw Kaurine and the dogs set up doing trail magic.

She had the whole setup: eggs, sausage, homemade cookies, and a hand washing station. It was great and we hung out here with her and another hiker for about an hour. It was here that we got to do something we hadn't had the chance to do yet on the entire trail: slackpack. This is where somebody ferries most of your gear around to another part of the trail and you just take what you'll need for the day: pack, food, water, first aid kit, and a few miscellaneous items.

We set off through the lava with sub-10lb packs now and although it was still difficult to walk on the rock and it still hurt our feet a bit, it was definitely easier. We had some cool views in this section including the massive glacier on North Sister.

We reached the end of this section and got back to dirt - and some cell service which allowed me to call home and check in. After this point, the trail gradually transitioned back to the lava rock for about a mile before going back to dirt and we had our final climb of this section up the slopes of Mt. Washington.

We hiked through a recent burn area for a while and then into an area that was recovering nicely from a burn. We hiked quickly, having told Kaurine we'd meet her at the 2000 mile marker at 6:10 pm (which meant we had to do 3mph to get there by then, but it was all downhill or flat, so it was definitely doable). I calculated our speed every 15 minutes to keep us on track and at almost exactly 6:10, we rolled up on the 2000 mile mark. I had spent the past few miles reflecting on how far I'd come on this trip and how I wasn't certain if I'd make it this far.

We took some pictures, but Kaurine wasn't there, so we hiked on, finally reaching another 2000 mile marker a few tenths of a mile farther along. She was here along with Laddie and Skye and we celebrated again and took some more pics before hiking the final mile to the road together.

Kaurine drove us all several miles up the road to the Indian Ford Campground where we ate dinner and set up for the night. Upon entering my tent, I realized it smelled like smoke. This is the first time I've noticed that and shows how long we've been in those conditions that I can just now tell it smells.