Day 100

Mile 1742.3 to mile 1777.3

PCT Miles: 35.0 (56.0km)

Total Miles: 1777.3 (2843.7km)

I started hiking a little bit later than I wanted today: the morning was chilly and my thermometer was showing 5 degrees celsius. I wasn’t expecting any of my nights here in Oregon to be that cold. Gladly my sleeping quilt (and not bag) did a good job 👍.

I’m trying to take advantage of the fact that Oregon is relatively flat to crush miles. Water is still more scarce than I imagined, but this actually helps since I stop less often to filter water (but I have longer and heavier water carries).

By 2pm I had already hiked 20 miles in a very uneventful morning. I was carrying 3 liters of water for the next 18 miles when I crossed paths with two southbounders smiling at me: “you have trail magic ahead!”. These are the words that every thru hiker loves to hear.

Ten minutes later there was it: trail angels had set a big tent with food and chairs. There were hammocks and games to play. They were making burgers 🍔! I had two. And chips. And cookies. And cinnamon roll. And blueberry muffin 🫐🧁 . And cantaloupes🍈 . And watermelon 🍉. And cherries 🍒. And strawberries 🍓.

All of that in 40 minutes: I kept an eye on my watch. I didn’t want to be vortexed and miss my goal of 35 miles for today. I thanked the trail angels but it was time to go (with a very full belly).

An uneventful afternoon followed. The weather today was much better than the past days, so it was pleasant to hike, without sweating too much and having to drink (and carry) lots of water.

I arrived at camp at ten past eight. I made my cold soaked dinner, pitched my tent and observed the deers around the campsite. As I’m writing this (it’s 9:30pm) I can hear the deers walking around and getting closer to my tent. I know they like to lick the salt on hikers teaming poles handles. Well, I hope I can ignore them and sleep well 🙃!