Riding The Crest 2009

OREGON Section G   The Bridge of the Gods to Barlow Pass

September 24 - September 26

I had waited a couple of days hoping Jan would be able to ride with me.  Now Gunnar and Jan plan on meeting us at Wahtum Lake so Jan can ride with me to Lolo Pass. I am soooo looking forward to that! Isn’t God amazing? For He arranged for two strangers to meet and stirred Jan’s heart to invite us to her home where we had time to become fast friends in three days in 2007! How amazing that we were blessed to meet. Today Ralph and I drove from Amboy, WA down to Cascade Locks, OR so I was not on the trail until 10:15am. 15.2 miles to go. Starting Oregon, the third state for me to ride the PCT in. It was a cool day due to the breeze with brilliant blue skies. I carried the packs incase Ralph could not meet me as he has not been able to drive there and check it out. The trail climbed and after 2.3 miles there was a creek crossing and Cain got a good drink. I could still hear the roar of Interstate 84 and possibly the roar of the dams on the Gorge as well. At 12 noon the Gorge was still visible to the north. At 1:30 I ate my bagel, cream cheese and salami sandwich. I thought I was at the top because we crossed a saddle with the trail being four feet wide and then there was nothing. For a hundred feet it was like the Goat Rocks except with trees. It continued to climb. After another ½ hour I stopped again to eat some more and feed Cain. Cain got quite a workout and I tried to give him breaks by walking. We found another puddle of water for Cain to drink from. Saw a spider web strung straight as an arrow across the trail like a clothesline for dew drops. Finally at 2:10 we reached the top. By 4:54 we were at Chinidere Mountain and Trail 406 to Wahtum Lake. It was down hill to the Lake. We reached the Lake and climbed the access trail to the campground. I found a fee campground with vault toilet, metal fire pits, and picnic table. I picked one and started unpacking Cain and after I put him on the high line I started setting up camp and building a fire. I had my tent set up and a fire roaring when Ralph got there almost 45 minutes later. He had to stop on the road to let a large bear cross! He unpacked food from the truck and started cooking and we fed Cain. Ralph made steak, mashed potatoes and broccoli again and we enjoyed dinner by a warm fire. At 8:30 I climbed in my tent and Ralph headed down the mountain with Ech to go back to the trailer for the night. I was alone at the campground. About a half hour later a car came up and turned around. No other activity.

I was up at 6, dressed and fed Cain and started the fire back up. I brushed Cain and repacked the packs though I would not be carrying them. At almost 7 trucks came up and it was the men who have been working on the road. One of them came and talked to me and knew I was from Georgia and riding the PCT. Ralph talked to him yesterday. He observed that Cain was “skinny.” Cain is now having a hard time keeping weight as the grass for grazing has been scarce. After the men went up the road I took down my tent. Gunnar, Jan and Ralph arrived (in separate vehicles) at 7:50 and Jan started saddling her colt. Ralph gave Cain more hay and water. He had eaten well. I finished packing things into the truck so Ralph could carry them for me. I would be “slack packing” for the day. Jan and I had over 15 miles to cover but without packs it would be much easier. We were ready around 8:30 and after some pictures and filling out a wilderness pass, we went down to Wahtum Lake and the PCT and headed south. The day was beautiful and cool. It was rocky from the get-go. I had hoped it would be less rocky than the day before but no such luck. This section even had more rock slides to pass than yesterday’s. The trail was narrow and on the contour of the mountainside so it was stressful. I knew it was a lot for Jan with her colt, he was constantly snatching at grass and anything to eat. He tripped several times and jolted Jan. At 11:30 I started looking for a lunch site. It wasn’t easy as the terrain never broadened. We finally settled for a wide spot in the trail. I gave both horses feed and Jan and I ate our sandwiches before remounting. The trail climbed another rock traverse with Mount Hood looming in front of us and I stopped for pictures. It was about three o’clock when we finally found water at a crossing the horses could get water from. It was not far beyond this that it crossed Road 18 and there were Ralph's and Gunnar’s trucks with trailers. It was 3:30. Ralph and Ech were there  with chairs and hay. Gunnar had gone on a hike up the PCT and returned about 20 minutes later. We unsaddled the horses and had some snacks ourselves. At four we all headed down the mountain to Hwy 281 and Hood River. Our trailer was at Hood River Saddle Club and we returned there and put the horses in pens with feed and water. Then we went for pizza dinner and a couple more hours together. At 8 Jan and Gunnar said goodbye and were on their way home and Ralph and I were getting showers and looking forward to a night’s sleep.

My packs were ready for a two day trip as I planned on camping near Paradise Park Trail junction half way to Barlow Pass. Ralph made a breakfast and I finished getting everything ready. We drove out of Hood River Saddle Club after a hug and a goodbye to Helen H. who asked if there was anything I needed. She said I was doing what she dreamed of and Ralph told her to “just do it.” We drove to the top of Lolo Pass on Road 18. I was ready at 10:40 and said goodbye to Ralph and Ech. The trail immediately started a climb to Sentinel Peak by Bull Run Lake. This morning the climb was through several switchbacks in a forest of firs, pines  and cedars. It was a  beautiful blue sky day. At 12:55 we crossed Rushing Water Creek and the Ramona Falls hiker Trail No. 797 and we both enjoyed a lunch there. A few day hikers passed us. The PCT follows Sandy River (very rocky) on the west side and then crosses the river before getting to Ramona Falls. The river was divided into two major torrents that were about 12 feet across. In the Spring this entire river can be swollen to depths that would have made it impossible for us to cross. We began a climb out of the rocky river bed. At 2:45 we had quite a pull climbing up to Mt. Hood and Cane was tiring but was a trooper. One of the boots on Cane’s rear hoof had come off and I put it back on with extra duck tape hoping it would last the day. Cane was barefoot in the rear with no hoof wall to nail a shoe to so the boots were imperative. But they were not custom fit to  him and so I was trying to make them work. At 3:38 we reached the Paradise Park Loop Trail junction and I started looking for a campsite. I found water and both of us got a drink, with me refilling the water bottles. We crossed a rock scree and found some grass for Cane and then came to a meadow that had lovely campsites. After a rest and a graze there, suddenly I did not want to spend another night without Ralph and just wanted to be with him. I decided to push on. Cane was tired but got a second wind and did a great job of climbing to the Timberline Lodge by 6 o’clock after carefully negotiating a bad trail bridge on a cliff.  It was “downhill from here” as they say. After the Timberline Lodge I got off and jogged down hill with Cane following. We passed a few day hikers while still up on the mountain and then one camper down near the wash and no one after that. I lost the oil skin duster two times as the jogging jarred it loose. We followed the wash outs down. These look like huge land slides that have eroded out a big wash. One was on either side of us and we were on a thin strip of mountain that had not washed away in the Spring floods of 2007. There was the old vegetation and then a  sand and rock gully the width of the Mississippi River at it’s widest. It ran from the top of Mt Hood to the bottom of the pass. It was stark gray while on either side it was green. Eventually the trail leveled out and I was back in the saddle and we were pushing on. Cane got another gust of energy and did great. I think he knew he was headed to hay and grain. As the daylight faded he showed no signs of noticing. I was aware this was big cat territory and did not want to be out of the saddle. I wanted us to appear as large as possible. My tin cups continued to clang as they had in bear country. At 7:30 I took out my flashlight and used that to beam a light in front of Cane. He didn’t seem to need it. A horse’s eyesight is very good in the dark, seeing what a human does in sunlight. The trail seemed much longer than five miles but maybe that was because I was ready to be in camp. Fortunately the trail was level and wide for the most part. It did traverse one hill side and after that I heard the highway and saw lights for  the first time. I found Ralph at the back of the Barlow Pass Trailhead. The entire three days had been a climb. From Cascade Locks at 140 feet elevation we climbed today to Mt. Hood’s Timberline Lodge at 5980 feet elevation. Ralph and I talked about the coming rain/snow and how many days I would be off trail and decided to return to Hood River Saddle Club where we would have electricity and water and Cane would be in a secure pen. After the weather cleared again we could return south and continue on for as long as the weather allowed. It was 40 miles and over an hour’s drive back to Hood River. We parked the trailer as level as we could get it and put Cane in a pen and got showers before seeking sleep. 

So many trails - So little time!

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