Day 119 - Tuesday, August 24

Tenting at the Zigzag River (mile 2101.3). Walked 21.5 miles today.

It was cold out again this morning and it took us a while to get up. I finally left camp at 7:50, ahead of Frank. I took off flying, trying to make the famous Timberline Lodge buffet which has been talked about by hikers now for over 2000 miles. The buffet stopped at 2pm, so I needed to average 3mph for 6 hours to get there by then (the buffet was 18 miles away for those of you who don't want to do the math).

Luckily it was good terrain and I flew down the trail with music on, trying to go as fast as I could through this part because Frank had warned me that the final section would be difficult (she's not interested in the buffet, so will take it easy today and hike at her own pace). I passed several roads and got a nice view of Mt. Hood which is the gorgeous mountain where we are headed for today.

I kept hiking fast and at 15 miles, stopped at a stream to get water where I ran into Sisyphus. He was collecting berries for his cousin who is picking him up from Timberline this evening. I continued on and finally reached a very steep section of trail that was sand (and stellar views of Hood as the trail passed the tree line and entered the alpine zone of the mountain).

This is the section Frank had warned me about and it was definitely tough to hike forward and have your foot slide backwards slightly in the sand. After a grueling mile or so of this, I finally reached Timberline Lodge at 12:50, exactly 5 hours from my start time (meaning I averaged 3.6 mph for 18 miles).

For you movie buffs, this is the hotel from the movie "The Shining".  I went in and briefly explored the cool looking lodge before making my way to the dining room and going to town on the buffet. Fresh fruit, steak, roasted potatoes, spinach fettuccine, and a while lot more awaited me. After having my fill, I went out to a sitting area and charged my phone.

While there, Sisyphus came in and we chatted. Soon after, Frank rolled in and we all sat, relaxed, and talked about our adventures. Apparently with my speed this morning, I missed a lot of things (there was a lot of "Did you see..." followed by a "no" reply by me).

We went outside, packed up, and chatted with an older hiker who is doing the Oregon section of the trail with his wife. Finally about 5:30, we headed out and hiked through flat and downhill terrain (passing the 2100 mile marker along the way).

We reached the river and decided to camp here for the night, in the exact spot where Frank and her sister had camped just about a year ago when they hiked the trail that circumnavigates Mt. Hood.

It's likely to be another cold one and as soon as we got in the tent, condensation started forming, so it'll likely be a cold and wet night.