best breakfast

Day 125 ~ miles 2107.5 - 2111.7

Today we indulged in what we would rate as the best breakfast on the trail.  The Timberline Lodge breakfast buffet is one of those legendary things that you hear about for the entire trail; it's hard to believe that we actually made it!  The dining room was full of hikers, skiers, and vacationers.  We sat with Thor and Fern Toe for a two and a half hour dining session.  Our bellies were filled with Belgian waffles with fruit and fresh whipped cream, cheesy eggs, home fries, artisan cheeses, sausage and bacon, fresh baked bread, fruit, and smoothies, among other delicacies.

In a food induced stupor, we lounged on the expansive lodge patio and watched the skiers on the spectacular Mt. Hood.  It's apparently the only year-round ski resort in the country.  It's also where the outdoor scenes of The Shining were filmed.  For hours, we sat on the patio, making phone calls, talking with hikers, and doing chores.

As they say, all good things must come to an end.  Around 4:00, we headed away from the Lodge and just hiked a few miles to a nice lookout where we camped with Forest.

always take candy from strangers

Day 124~ miles 2077.5 - 2107.5

The morning's elevation profile looked so easy, so we started out hiking real fast.  Thirty minutes or less into hiking, I tripped over a rock going full speed and launched into the air and flew several feet before I hit the ground.  I landed on my hip, which fortunately still has some padding left.  "Are you OK?," Moonshine asked; I could detect the worry in his voice.  All I could do was laugh hysterically, which quickly turned into a laugh-cry.  I was in pain, but I was not injured.  Just like a small child, I was probably more scared than anything, but the image of me launching through the air was hysterical to me.  Moonshine was relieved, and he started laughing as well, as my laugh-cry continued.  Several minutes later I was finally able to get up, and I laugh-cried my way down the trail.

We ran into a super sweet mother and daughter out on a day hike around the beautiful Timothy Lake.  They were familiar with the PCT, and the daughter hopes to hike it after high school.  After chatting for a few, they asked if we wanted some chocolate; bingo!  They'd said the magic word and we hit the jackpot.  They happily unloaded their fancy Whole Foods chocolates and cookies on us.  We walked down the trail awhile, then took a break and devoured all of the delicious goodies.

We had lunch with Can Can and Bandit, and jokingly discussed hiking all the way to Timberline Lodge tonight, 15 more miles.  After lunch, our pace was better than expected, maybe we could make it to the lodge, though we couldn't commit to it.  I think we both had food and beer on the brain, as we got closer to the lodge, we realized that we may actually be able to make it by dark.  Let's do it, we agreed.  Yup, the day after I did my first 30 mile day and claimed I would never do it again, I did it again. The last mile was torturous: we could see the majestic Timberline Lodge as we hiked up a super steep incline of soft sand. We setup our tent in. stand of trees a short distance from the lodge and headed inside the huge castle-like structure. We arrived to find many hikers, including Can Can and Bandit, and we joined them for a tasty, but expensive, dinner.  We had a great time catching up and hearing about each others' hikes before we headed out into the darkness to find our tent.