Day 129 - Seeping Spring to Sandy River

Had a very nice day today.

I got up and left camp by 7:20. Once again, I was the first one up. Foggy Goggles & Soul Craft did not show any signs of getting up, and Six Pack was just sitting in his sleeping bag.

The first few miles down to Wapinitia Pass were nice, and I suddenly noticed the big mountain to the left of the trail - Mt Hood.

Down at the pass, in the parking area, I got good cell reception. That’s always nice. But after a short break I headed on.

The next road crossing, near Barlow Pass, was about 5 miles later. I had another short stop there. And from there, the trail went up Mt Hood, until I finally reached the famous Timberline Lodge.

The lodge is up at 6000 feet, the mountain peak is above it, at over 11000. It’s a very posh and expensive place, full of people on vacation, who got there by car. Inside, I saw many backpacks laying around, and had trouble finding a free outlet to charge my phone. Damn hiker trash! I got there at 13:00, in time for the lunch buffet. It’s rather pricey, at $19.5. But it felt good stuffing myself on all those salads. Everything was vegetarian, except for the pasta salad and the meat. So I ate all the other salads. And then had one of each dessert.

I checked out the tracking information on the phone I had ordered. It seems as though it got stuck at The Dalles. A town about 40 miles east of Cascade Locks. Asking UPS about it, they said that it’s because I sent it to general delivery at a post office, without giving a full address. Calling Google, they said they can’t change the address for security reasons. Seems like I have a trip to The Dalles in the near future. At least there is a bus there from Cascade Locks.

I hung out with some of the other hikers in there. Idan was there since the morning, and finally left in the afternoon. Buck-30 also came in early, and plans to hike out only a few miles later. Rimshot & Kit and Juneau were also spending a full day there. I also saw Peanut & Dozen, Oklahoma, Whistles, some other hikers I didn’t recognize, and some southbounders. Black Hawk Down came in after lunch buffet was over, but I think he still got some food, and was planning to stay for the night.

I hiked out at 16:30, with 9 more miles left to do. The trail was mostly going down, on this side of the mountain. There were many day hikers around. Mt Hood itself kept peeping around every corner with nice views of the peak.

I finally reached the Sandy River just before 20:00. At first I wanted to cross it, and camp at the campsite on the other side, but the current seemed strong, and I couldn’t find a good spot to cross. Finally I gave up. I will cross it in the morning, when it will be a bit less strong. I went back up the trail a bit, and joined a campsite with a group of 3 hikers that came over to do the Timberline Trail. Two of them are from the east coast, and they came over to visit the third, and hike this 40 miles trail around Mt Hood.

The other campsites around are also taken by hikers, though I don’t think I saw thru hikers around.