Day 11

8 miles
Paul was gone around 6, Jay headed out around 7, and we rolled out around 7:45. The miles down to the trailhead were fine, a bit rocky, but good weather and cool waterfalls throughout the canyon. Lots of dayhikers and a couple overnighters along the way. We had to do about 2.5 miles on a bikepath to get into town. On the turn to the path is the Cascade Fish Hatchery. We took a peek into the tanks and there were so many tiny fish wriggling around. It was cool to see. Breakfast was at the cafe under the bridge, where we changed into the least smelliest clothes we had and went in to eat. Afterwards, we met up with Jay who now had his car. He had gotten the bus to Portland and picked it up from the hotel where he left it a month ago when he started his hike of Oregon. Jay drove us to Hood where there was a WalMart that had more selection than the market in Cascade Locks. There was also a laundromat we could use. We saw Big Box and another hiker named Marie getting their resupply too. Grocery shopping done, we got dropped off to start laundry. Jay drove back to Cascade Locks, and then back to Hood to pick us up. His third trip of the day, but he didn’t seem to mind. Our chauffeur dropped us off at the hotel so we checked in and took showers. Our first in 9 days, since back in Sisters, 156 miles ago. Gnarly. Feeling fresh again, we joined Jay at the Gorges Brewing Company next door. Malcom (trailname is 90), Sprinter, and Ghost eventually joined us too. The other brewery in town, Thunder Island, gives a free beer to any PCT hikers, so we all went over there for more. On the way, Marie and I got soft serve ice cream. Delicious. Ghost told us about his plan to try for the FKT (fastest known time) of the Washington section of the PCT. He needs to average 40+ miles per day for 13 days over 506 tough miles and he’s doing it with all of his food from the start (unsupported style). He seems ready for it and should be starting at 4am Monday. We struck out on getting pizza since the shop closes early, so we got sandwiches to-go from Thunder Island. About ten minutes after getting back to the room, the power went out. The desk guy ran to flip a breaker and then we were good for the night. There’s a heat advisory for tomorrow, so we might be in for a rough day, we’ll see.