Oh my god, how do we get back on track? Landslide thought it would be a good idea to go on a FUN backpacking trip. Now I’m going to update you a little because I haven’t published since AZT.
We decided we needed a shorter backpacking trip after being cooked in an Arizona heat wave in March during a longer hike. LSL thought we should visit the Timberline Trail in our home state of Oregon. It is a loop trail around Mount Hood. Additionally, we adopted a Shiba Inu dog at the end of May. 🐕 We wanted to introduce you to the trail with a shorter hike. His name is Sora. We haven’t quite figured out the name of the trail. We were thinking Alpine Pint, because it’s small like a «little half pint.» Or how about Sora the Explorer? If you have any suggestions, tell us!
Day one:
After finishing a shorter backpacking trip with our cousins, Beep and his daughter Froggy, we hit the Timberline Trail. We started at 1:59 p.m., so we covered 5.5 miles today. I’m testing my new Hyperlite Junction pack. It’s amazing! So far I recommend them.
I bought a black one because it looks cool, don’t you think? Once we reached the Zigzag River, Sora didn’t want to cross, so we used a baby carrier to cross her. Then we made a small climb in which we all started dragging our feet (and paws). But Landslide told me a story that helped pass the time. We headed to Lost Creek where we filled our bladder with C-noc.
Half a mile later we were setting up our tent on a very flat campsite. I haven’t had that in a while. I enjoyed a Butternut Dal Baht (peak meal) with a side of instant rice and a carrot and ginger bowl (Good 2 Go). It was a very good dinner. Sora ate some of his freeze-dried food. She is a bit picky so it took her until after 8pm to eat some. Then Landslide Lizard saw a bear’s ass 😉 so he decided to hang our food tonight. See you in the morning!
I feel so alive in the store compared to this last March at the AZT. Can’t you tell?
Day 2:
This morning I got up around 6:20 am I put my things away and had a bagel 🥯 for breakfast. Since we are on a backpacking trip, we left leisurely at 8am. We saw some amazing views as we headed down to Sandy River. Sora was placed in the sling to cross the fast water. There we had a snack and then we continued.
I was reflecting on the differences between backpacking and hiking. This is what I came up with; Backpacking is a trip you take over the weekend or something like that. Hiking becomes a life because of the amount of time it takes to hike the trail. There is a simplicity to hiking that comes with the walk-sleep-walk-sleep-walk-sleep pattern that continues for days, weeks, months, etc. I don’t feel that when I backpack. Do you agree? 😊
We arrived at the Tops Spur intersection for lunch. Luckily, Sora ate his chicken package. Lots of people walk there and I’m glad we weren’t camping there. It started to rain and I said, «It’s not raining, not right now!» And it never turned into anything!! 🎊 We refilled our water bottles in a stream shortly before the site. When we arrived, I set up mom’s sleeping pad and mine. We snuggled into our sleeping bags. The break is AMAZING! 😻
All day I was thinking about international travel. 🧳 I want to go to Japan more than any other country. Then a lot of European countries like: Italy, Greece, Germany and France. Also, South Korea.
Back to hiking. 🥾Tonight is ramen night. Hurrah. 😁 Today we did 13 miles. Sora did great.
I love you!
Day 3:
This morning I woke up and thought, “Here comes the taste of hell,” since it had rained all night and was still pouring down. I packed my bags and we left at 8, like yesterday. I soon realized that the rain was fucking terrible. This is the initial image. I outgrew my raincoat a couple of months ago, so here I am with a $1 poncho from Walmart.
We crossed the Ladd River and at the time it seemed difficult, but little did we know what Coe Branch Creek would be like. 🙃 Landslide Lizard had to cross twice, once with Sora and once with just his backpack.
My hands were cold, so I stuck them to my belly or neck to keep them warm. 🥶
We passed through Elk Cove in a cold cloud. The Elk Cove current was very nice for us. There were a handful of takedowns, but they weren’t too silly.
Then came Coe…Mom was going to cross first with her backpack to try it out. In my Aries nature I thought it wouldn’t be so bad to do the first little rock jump into the river with Sora and my Hyperlite backpack… It was only about 2 inches deep. I CAN DO IT! And I did it.
But LSL told me not to go any further into the foot-and-a-half-deep water. I didn’t mention that this is a glacial stream that was running so fast after 12 and a half hours of rain plus spring thaw. I was already planning that. This gave me the opportunity to chart my journey to the other side. There was no way I wasn’t going to get my feet wet. Lizard Lady caught Sora and I got my feet wet. I cried a lot about this. We were all soaked.
Then things got a little easier and a little drier. We took a short break to have a small snack. Then he moved on. We met some hikers and they told us that we were about to get hit by the sun. 🌞 It was true. Mom took out her phone to take a photo and then she didn’t close the zipper and it fell. 5-10 minutes later he realized and grabbed it again. I gave Sora some treats while we waited.
Then came Blowdown Boulevard. Another hiker mentioned that he counted literally 250 falls in this 5 mile stretch. Slow going through all the purges. I say jump or hump! You must jump over them or climb on them while sliding. The other option is what Sora does most often: go under them!
As we headed down Landslide I thought I’d check FarOut (the online map), only to discover his phone was missing… Again!
«When did I last take it out?» she asked
«When you took that takedown shot about 15 minutes ago.» I said. She wasn’t very happy with herself. We walk back. To my delight I saw the blue case lying on the road. “This can’t happen again,” I said. So, I took the phone and took it to Elliot Branch River and then let her cruise. After soaking my feet again, we headed up the climb to Cloud Cap Campground to fill our water bottles with clean water. We walked about a half mile over slightly uphill terrain to a flat campsite.
We’re impressed with our beloved little Sora the Explorer, so we know he can make it the last 13.5 miles by tomorrow and then… a dry SUV! That sounds amazing. 🤩 But for now, I’m dry, warm, and full of beans and rice. 🫘 🍚
Talk tomorrow…
Day 4:
At five or so this morning Mom was giving Sora some food. I opened my eyes and said, «I hope I can sleep for another hour!» And mom let it fly. I had a Smash Food PB&J bagel. It was pretty good. Better than my other Peak Meal cereal option. It was dry when we reached the trail. I am very grateful. It was windy as we walked. At 10:30 am we had a morning snack. I was a little nervous about crossing Heather Creek.
I thought a lot about getting to our car, but in the morning it wasn’t so bad. Eventually, it started splashing on us just as we were thinking about taking our lunch break. Shit. We took a short break for lunch. I had some fries and tuna. Bored. I put on the poncho and we continued. At some point the rain got much worse. But it didn’t bother me, he was singing a song he had just made up. I fell a little behind mom. But when I caught up with her, she was talking to the zipper of her raincoat. She said, «Motherf&@ker, I’m going to break you in half.» Apparently I was stuck and she wasn’t in a very good mood, so I slowed down again. 😆 Not everyone can see all the different sides of my mother.
Before I know it… No, it’s not what you’re thinking, we didn’t get there…. It was hailing. F&@ king saluting. So for the last 2 1/2 miles we walked through freezing rain, snow and hail. My fingers and toes were frozen. But when I looked up, I saw Timberline Lodge. I thought to myself, «Beautiful view!» But somehow it still took us another 30 minutes to get back to the car. I got in the back, took off all my wet clothes and put on the dress I had. Then we noticed that Sora was shaking. So I had to wrap her in a towel and hold her on my lap in front of the heater. We then drove to the Grocery Outlet for lots of post-trail snacks! And that’s the end of that. All in all, I’d say this is a good trail, but I hope you don’t hike it in terrible weather like we did.
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