PCT Day 121, Double Flip and a Flop, Day 40

August 11

Big Lake Youth Camp to mile 1997.1, then 1997.1 to mile 2001, 3.9 PCT miles + 1 mile of alternate trail, 4.9 miles total

PCT miles: 1202.8

Running total: 1317.8

I had to pee since like 4am, but since we were camped between two water sources and you’re not supposed to pee within 200 feet of a water source I held it…for once I was so excited when it was time to wake up!

We woke up to a wet tent, so we left it up while we went to do our morning chores, hoping that it would dry out before packing up. {It ended up raining again…so much for a dry tent!!} We went over to the PCT building, where Matthew jumped in the shower before breakfast. {Guess who didn’t shower…dirt bag!!;)}

Gosh, serendipity at it’s finest- sitting a few chairs down from me was a fellow PCT hiker from San Diego that is a flight attendant AND a nurse!! Omg my dream! I’ve been saying for years that I could be a flight attendant- it’s answering call bells all shift, but when you’re done, you’re in a new place!!! I ended up introducing myself to this badass, Socks, and we exchanged numbers. She is soooOOooo cool! She works full-time as a flight attendant and part-time as a cardiac RN- she will work her hospital shifts in a row then work a flight to Hawaii, rest a day on the beach in Hawaii, then work a flight back home. 19 years of seniority gets you all of the good flights! She told me she would contact me when they are hiring newbies- ahh!! 🙂

Once Matthew finished with the shower we walked over to the cafeteria building. Breakfast consisted of waffles, berry compote, vegan sausages, and homemade ice cream- seconds were most definitely had!!

After breakfast we went back to the PCT building to do a load of laundry and figure out lodging in Bend. After researching hotels and Airbnbs in Bend and nearby Sisters, we decided to splurge on an Airbnb in the heart of Sisters, a cute town closer to the trail than Bend and an apparently easier place to hitch to. Once that was settled we headed back to pack up our tent and we were shocked to find that it was dry! Win!

We brought all of our stuff to the PCT building and started to go through our resupply boxes. If we could do it again, we probably wouldn’t have sent ourselves so many boxes and we definitely wouldn’t have sent ourselves dehydrated veggies, beans, potatoes, and soups- I was so aggressive with the healthy options, not realizing that I would rather go hungry than eat that shit on trail (fresh salads, veggies, and fruit in town are TOTALLY different stories, though…) We salvaged the few items we would eat (some snacks, bars, and dried fruit) and placed the stuff we didn’t want aside- since we were now going to a town, we could send the food home for the future and buy new processed shit for the trail! Cheers!!

When all was said and done and we finally got our packs on our backs, it was lunch time.

Same gaitors and same packs!

Fairie Feet and her hiking partner Fraggles convinced us to stay {by simply mentioning that it was lunch time…} and we enjoyed eating a taco-bar lunch with them.

We finalllllyyyyyyyyy ended up leaving the camp after lunch, my stomach cramping again as we set off on our 5-mile, nearly flat hike. Not too long into the hike I passed a day-hiker, Sue, who ended up hiking the rest of the way with me.

Sue is pretty badass: she is 70 years old. Last year a pick-up truck ran over her feet. A few months later she summited Mt. Kilimanjaro. She went on her first backpacking trip last week. She was currently on a 17-mile day hike. Bad. Ass.

When we reached the incredibly busy road that Matthew and I were going to hitch from, Sue called up her hiking buddy Robin and asked if they could give us a ride to Sisters- yes!! We first had to cross that busy road, though, to get to the parking lot. We sprinted across the street at the first semi-opening we had (it definitely wasn’t really an opening- I blindly followed Sue as she started running across- I think I legit held my breath and closed my eyes as I ran- not my finest moment!!) & jumped in the car with Robin and Sue. Matt and I were so thankful that we didn’t need to hitch.

Sue was funny and assumed my trail name was Paws since Matt’s name is Jaws & I have paw prints on my gaitors- she said, “and what’s your name, Paws?” And I said, “nah, it’s Yayy!” But I think she thought I was cheering her on for guessing the name Paws 🙂 I liked it, though, so I kept it for her!

Sue and Robin really are super cool- Robin started a hiking club (I believe for seniors?) & they go on some pretty neat hiking trips together- she just recently returned from from a walking Safari in Kenya- So. Friggin. Cool!

The ladies were taking the next day off, as Matt and I were, and planned to hit the trail again Tuesday morning- they offered to pick us up at our Airbnb at 730!! Matt & I were again grateful for the ride, but we said we would have to be in touch- 0730 is mighty early!!

Our Airbnb was so cute! It was a small house with a loft- Matt and I both agreed that if it had one more bathroom it would have been the perfect home for us!

We went to bed excited for our day off tomorrow!

Happiness is: the Big Lake Youth Camp, meeting awesome older people, Airbnbs, and town food!!