7/13/2023
Section: Milepost 2149.6 to 2124.0
Total Trail Miles: 815.3
Distance: 23.3 Miles
Moving Time: 10:32 hrs
Elevation Gain: 5,241 ft
Click here for current location
And so the great journey south, back to the Sierra, begins. Today’s stage winds east along I-84 for some time. We are “blue blazing” it today, which is in reference to some of the alternate “blue” pathways on the FarOut app that represent trails which are not the PCT but sometimes more interesting than the PCT. Today was one of those alternates - the Eagle Creek Trail, which winds south from I-84 along Eagle Creek. This alternate climbs up out of the gorge in beautiful style, crossing high above the creek on wonderful wooden bridges, eventually switch backing up to the Indian Springs Trail which takes a brutal strait line approach up to Indian Springs campground before turning on to the PCT. From here the PCT follows ridge lines for the rest of the stage, eventually meandering into camp.
The alarm went off at 5, and I snoozed for a while before we finally got our butts out of bed. There were about 20 campers around, but many of them were still fast asleep, with no signs of getting up soon. Things must really slow down once you get through Oregon. We made up our things and then snuck down to the secret railroad crossing. Looking both ways, we jetted across and climbed up the small hill delivering us to the man street of Cascade Locks. We snapped a picture in front of the Oregon PCT monument (little premature) and crossed the road. As we walked down the Main Street, we came across a little coffee shop and got two chorizo breakfast burritos and I got a decaf Caramel Latte…because I am basic. While we ate, a girl came up and talked to us a bit. She was from Squamish, BC and super nice. She told us about the Eagle Creek alternative, and we thanked her before she headed off, and we finished our breakfast.
After the burritos, which were some of the best we have had on the trail, we started off. We crossed the main road and then walked an asphalt path east, eventually ducking under I-84 and continuing east. The path eventually wound past a fish hatchery and then followed Eagle Creek south into the Cascades above the gorge. We stopped for a bathroom break, then walked along the road before reaching the Eagle Creek trailhead proper and started up. The path continued to follow the creek, sometimes precipitously so as steep falls developed on the side, always accompanied by cables stapled into the wall. It was here I saw my first Dipper - a bird which lives around small creeks and tributaries and has a peculiar habit of doing little squats over the water. As is customary when seeing these birds, I did my own “Dipper Dance” to celebrate before we continued on. I love being back in Oregon - it’s where I have so many memories as a teenager. It smells and feels familiar, and I love it for that. We went on for several miles and eventually caught up with the girl from the coffee shop. We found it her name was Jessica (Road Runner) and that she was from Ontario originally, but ad lived in Squamish for 9 years now which is only about an hour north of Bellingham.
The trail wound up behind a waterfall and we took some pictures. After, we came to a river bank and Amanda and I stopped for lunch. Jessica continued on, saying she would see us at camp. We chilled by the river and talked to an older woman down from Washington about the trail for a while - she had done most of it before we moved on. The trail crossed some more high bridges and eventually turned up from the river, switch backing into the mountains. The climb was steep and there were many SOBO and NOBO hikers on the trail. We turned off on Indian Springs Trail and it got VERY steep. We climbed up and over constant blowdown for about 2 miles before it intersected the PCT at Indian Springs campground. Here, we took a quick break before continuing on.
The trail stayed on the ridge line for the rest o the day, eventually delivering us to a water supply just a little before the camp. Amanda and I traded tent for water bladder and I filled while she went ahead to set up. When I arrived, she had set almost everything up and was talking with Jessica and Jessica’s friend, “Clutch.” We ate dinner and talked about Tim Hortons and Trader Joe’s for a long while before eventually turning in for the night.
