August 11:Eagle Creek Trail

We tend to stay pretty purist when it comes to walking the PCT. We connect our steps, don't skip sections, and don't take alternate routes much. But even before we left for the trip, we had decided we were going to take the eagle Creek Trail into Cascade Locks. Most hikers do; it's supposed to be incredibly beautiful, with a handful of waterfalls along the way.

We first took the Indian Springs Trail down to the Eagle Creek Trail. It was VERY steep. Even the guidebook mentions that it could be tricky if wet, which luckily it wasn't for us. Not only was it steep, but unmaintained as well, which means it was super overgrown, with tons of downed trees to crawl over.

Awhile back Mark had lost his trekking poles by leaving them at a bus stop in Shasta City. Today he was gifted with a pair that someone had lost on the trail. They were just stuck in the dirt on the side of the trail. It was the perfect day to find some since we had a steep descent to do.

The Eagle Creek trail is a MUST if you ever hike the PCT! It was super scenic and the waterfalls were awesome. Tunnel Falls wins the gold medal, though. It was a tall, relatively skinny waterfall, but the coolest part was that the trail goes through a tunnel behind the falls! That falls alone was worth taking this trail.

The trail basically takes you into Cascade Locks, which is practically at sea level. just two days before we were on Mt. Hood at 5900 ft, and today we end up at 200 ft. It just doesn't seem right!

We weren't in town long before a guy found us to claim his wife's trekking poles that Mark had found. I'm sure he was thankful he didn't have to hike back up a few thousand ft to get them!

JZ also ahd some friends in town that he had hiked with previously. It was cool to hang out with them and hear stories about previous hikes on the PCT and CDT (Continental Divide Trail). We even got to meet a couple people we'd heard of, but had never met: Ron, the founder of a gear company called Six Moon Designs, and Jonathan Ley, who is making a set of maps for the CDT.

It was a very relaxing night, hanging in the city park (it has a campground where PCT hikers can stay for free), right down on the Columbia River, which serves as the border between OR and WA. We will take a day off tomorrow and then we will head into the last state of our hike...only 500 miles to go!

Total Miles:2155.0
Miles Today:26.2
Camp 106:Cascade Locks Park

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