Pacific Crest Trail Week Eight Means it’s Time to Party

The Pacific Crest Trail is a thru hiking adventure, that stretches 2,600 miles between Mexico and Canada. While my partner has been hiking since March 18 when I dropped him off on the border of Mexico, my adventure started the first week of May, with my good girl Chloe Rue at my side. We had to skip north of the Sierra Nevada Mountains this year, and plan to end with them. Instead, we started where our pets can officially join us: Old Station, California. Follow along for stories, dog tails and things I am learning on the way- about my dog, my partner and life in general.

The Three Sisters Wilderness of Oregon

We were warned by our friends going south bound through Oregon, that the Three Sisters Mountain Range had snow. However, we felt wildly prepared for anything at this point in our adventure and walked our party of four legs and eight paws straight ahead into the wilderness.

The snow was patchy, and more a nucience to us than a battle. Therefore the views were FINALLY something we could thoroughly enjoy- and did the Sisters EVER have fun showing off for us.

We camped at the base of South Sister Mountain, savoring a stunning sunrise and sunset, where she highlighted pink and gold clouds in her massive shadow.

I remembered what it was like to summit to her peak in 2020. Chloe and I went through 8 pairs of dog booties, my asthma nearly killed me, it was SO hot I felt I would turn into a puddle! However once we hit the peak, I knew it was completely worth it. An experience captured on my “Fancy Camera” yet most of my photos were lost when my phone decided to leap off of a cliff’s edge during a fun glisade/sled down the mountain. I remember Chloe running next to me while I sled down the snow, laughing and smiling at the smartest way to cool off during that summit trip; only to watch my phone disappear off of the cliff edge in horror.

It feels different to explore the world on your own two feet. Driving in a car somewhere, then exploring up the mountain is an amazing way to get outside, and trust me, I FULLY intend to use my Super Beauty truck for exploring once we are off trail. However having the opportunity to go everywhere by your own two feet really makes it special. Running into a place you’ve explored before; a place you felt happy even in a tough time like a pandemic- it’s like the work, and pain you go through to arrive in the place makes it more meaningful. You can see the summit and realize you’ve been there, but also realize now you’ve REALLY been there. The trees, the lava fields, the flora and fauna look like they did in 2020, yet three years later I worked much, much harder to get there.

These were some of my reflections as I watched the sunset colors play on one of my favorite mountains. It is truly one of my favorite places on the planet. I feel like sisters have a special bond. I have a special bond with my own blood sister in how we always respect each other, always are there for each other and we always make the time to be present, despite miles and miles of distance that separate us currently. I see a similar bond within the three sister mountains. Their volcanic roots tangle deep within each other; and despite being side by side for generations; those mountains compete in height and complexity, like any sibling likes to compete with its other. I also love the three sister range for their relentless, wild, beauty.

As we walked the next day, we trekked into an absolutely magical place that was a “limited entry” area, special to thru hikers and few others who are able to sneak a permit in time. It was called the Obsidian Limited Entry area. I did not realize that the earth would be CARPETED with obsidian rock. It was so beautiful, and absolutely aptly named. Unfortunately this was close to our next resupply area by McKenzie Pass, and all my gear had begun its “wind down” (slowly dying) cycle. My phone was at a mere 3%, and turned off to save for use in emergencies. Therefore once again, I found the Three Sisters demanding I pay them attention with my eyes, instead of my camera lens.

I was walking, staring at my feet on the difficult to navigate mixture between rocky and snowy terrain. I had fallen a few times already that day, and really didn’t want to lose my footing again. I heard Seth and Freyja stop ahead of Chloe and I, and that is when I looked up to a view I hope to remember forever.

The sunlight was fading slightly, casting a bright gold color on the lava butte. The Obsidian glittered across the ground before us, all the way up to Glacier Creek. The creek – which honestly should be called a river this year- raged below us in a canyon, perfectly clear against the glittering earth. To my right North Sister shone over the top of the scene, and a second golden butte had a thin, but fast flowing waterfall, shimmering silver in front of the golden landscape. We were standing on a campsite, and Seth had stopped to take a break, drink some water, and eat some food. I, on the other hand, stopped to gawk at a view that resembled Yosemite National Park almost in a staggering way- except there were no people, and the ground does not glitter black in Yosemite. Once again, I found myself looking with my eyes and not my lens. It’s devastating I didn’t ask Seth to snap a photo of this moment. However, it is in my mind to this day, fresh as a damp flower petal from a dog’s nose smelling it.

While we were not allowed to camp at this spot, due to the nature of Limited Entry areas, I hope I can return someday with Chloe. Hopefully we can set up a tent and sit inside, watching the scene until it turns dark and then starry. I can just IMAGINE the stars shining above us, and the Obsidian glittering in moonlight below us. It sounds so other worldly, and I am SO honored to have seen this lesser known piece of Oregon that completely stole my heart.

There are so many reasons I am out here, backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail this summer. Healthcare burnout, grieving losses, learning about myself, thinking about the future, challenging any thoughts of doubt about myself, and proving that a rescue dog can certainly do everything a pure bred dog can do. All off these reasons contribute to my 2,000 mile walk (1300 of it with my dog). This piece right here, this moment covered in glitter, waterfalls, rock cliffs and mounains- just BEING in some of the most remote and stunning places of nature in the world- this is what hits my heart just right.

It’s Party Time!

Seth- my partner- and his dog Freyja have added a lot to my life. While I made friends in Oregon on my own before our relationship began, Seth has a friend group that is truly something special. They come together in a way that feels like a giant family. Everyone helps each other, offers to borrow tools, learn new things, try new things (like a peppercorn tasting party. Seriously, peppercorn- I thought I was going to a popcorn tasting party- but it was a bunch of different pepper flavors! Like salt and pepper! Who even knew there was more than one flavor for pepper. Not me nor Chloe!). They also ALL absolutely love to visit central Oregon. So when they found out that Seth and I would be hiking through, everyone decided it would be fun to throw us a party in celebration of making it to the halfway point.

An important piece of throwing a party for thru hikers is definitely the FOOD. Let me tell you, having a home cooked meal on the trail is absolutely the most meaningful thing someone could ever do for us! I had an ENTIRE watermelon (I cannot stop thinking about watermelon and Bend was the first of three entire watermelons I’ve eaten on the trail- possibly more to come). We also enjoyed SO many ribs, more fresh fruit, crab salad, salsa and chips and snacks and just a HUGE abundance of food that I think about regularly.

We also enjoyed exploring some of Bend, where we took advantage of the REI, gear repair shop, free drinks at two different breweries (they even offer me free zero-proof beverages- whoo!), and more food! REI was an important stop, because now my shorts had a HUGE rip in the butt after scrambling over many, many trees. I shopped for what felt like forever, until I found a great pair of Prauna shorts on sale. Seth wears Prauna pants and knowing they are also environmentally concious helped nudge me in their direction! While I wanted more bike shorts, because it is a pretty popular thing for women to wear on the trail, I am very glad I did the backpacking short option.

Informal Vet Check

One of the many perks about our friend group, is the large quantity of folks who work in veterinarian medicine. After we had seen multiple rattlesnakes, and experienced the real-time (on social media) horror of an Australian Shepard losing its life to a rattlesnake in Washington this year, we decided to get the girls vaccinated. It is a two part vaccine, but we had it planned where the first part was in Bend, and the second part in Timberline. It worked MAGICALLY, while even though we slowed down through Oregon, we did get to savor this magical tunnel of trees, lakes, mountains and wildflowers. We had the girls’ health checked, just on an informal basis. Chloe is at the low end of ideal weight, and Freyja was slightly underweight; so we did decide to add a lunch into their food regime of 300 extra calories per day. Their paws and fur were looking excellent, which was awesome news! All other health items were golden and it felt great to have them assessed. I do highly recommend seeing if a scheduled appointment could work for other thru hiking dogs when you are walking across the country. Having medical eyes look for any signs of lameness, weight issues, or other health issues was SUPER nice. With compliments on our care for the girls, and the go-ahead to keep trekking with them, we were SO excited that at the half-way point the dogs were still healthy, happy, and doing awesome to continue on our journey north.

Goodbye Bend!

It was with a heavy heart that our friends returned us to McKenzie Pass after a triple zero with good company. The dogs were excited to be back out here though, and I was starting to feel antsy too. The trail beacons us constantly on this journey, where it is almost hard to rest. It’s almost taunting us when were resting, saying, “I am still here, just waiting for you!”. We did return to the trail, and we did start back out on the black, evil lava rock where we left. Our stomachs were full, our hearts were even more full, and our souls were back in the place they love to be the most: The Pacific Crest Trail.

Stay tuned for our adventure across lava fields, under fire fighting airplanes, through the Lionshead Fire Burn area and to one of our favorite trail magic moments at Ollalie Lake Resort!

Barking Embarkers