Seems like everybody always goes on and on about how the Goat Rocks Wilderness is spectacular, gorgeous, and, well, spectacularly gorgeous (ad nauseam); many say it’s the most scenic spot on the whole PCT. I went through that stretch today with perfect weather. Though it certainly was beautiful, I guess the buildup had raised my expectations to such high levels that they were hard to exceed; it was a pretty cool section of trail, but no match for the Sierra…

Honestly, I was just as happy to see the Kracker Barrel, a convenience store at White Pass, after 24.2 miles of steep and rocky terrain. What has this trip done to me? (Don’t answer!) In any case, I’m more than a quarter of the way through Washington after walking 150 miles in five days. Onward and northward.

Taking advantage of good weather while it lasts, I hiked 30.6 miles to camp on a ridgetop flanking Mount Adams today. It’s a pretty sweet spot: from my tent’s door flap, I can look out over endless mountaintops, backlit by the setting sun.

And some exciting news: I’ve been hired to work at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, in the remote Amazon lowlands of eastern Ecuador, from early January to mid-April! I’ll be helping a PhD student with a field project involving Wedge-billed Woodcreepers and mixed flocks, logging a lot of time in the jungle. After spending last winter in Costa Rica, I’m looking forward to dodging another one in the tropics! Got a few more miles to hike first, though…

While hiking alone early this afternoon, I rounded a bend to find a Mountain Lion sitting calmly on the trail about 40 feet away. The big cat took a minute to notice, then, unfazed, just gazed at me curiously while I stared right back in amazement. What to do?

I took some photos, then, thinking vaguely like a matador, unpacked my silver umbrella in case the kitty was feeling feisty (no big deal). And… well, we kept staring at each other, neither of us budging, for almost ten full minutes. I checked out every whisker through my new Leica binoculars – awesome! Finally he looked away, stretched, rose to his feet, and padded silently down the trail, quickly disappearing around the next corner. You couldn’t ask for a much closer encounter – definitely more satisfying than my first one, back in northern California. Today, I beat that Mountain Lion in a staring contest, face to face.

Otherwise, I hiked 30.0 miles, climbed 5,000 feet and descended nearly as much, and camped by a sweet river with Sniper and Todd. I have now walked farther than the length of the entire Appalachian Trail – but still have 500 miles to go. It feels good to be in Washington.

I looked down on fog-filled valleys all day, smug in my alpine sunshine, until the fog lifted to my elevation in late afternoon, the temperature dropped, the wind sprang up, and I was left scrambling to set up my tent with shivering fingers as darkness set in early. It had been a while since I actually felt cold – and Washington promises lots of mist and moisture ahead. Just hope the weather holds for three more weeks; the climate has been been pretty much perfect for this entire hike – so far.

I walked 29.3 bland, forested miles today between Mount Hood and an abandoned campground at Indian Springs, setting myself up for a short day into Cascade Locks tomorrow. Looking forward to some rest and civilization.

I walked 35.3 miles through beautifully lush, green, and snow-free forest today, on nearly perfect, soft, pine-needly trail the whole way. It felt good to set the cruise control for a while, not worrying about my knee.

In the morning I walked with a semi-retired radiologist from Maine, on his first day of a section hike (hi Robin!), and in the afternoon I met two southbound section hikers who recognized me from this blog (hi Don and Richard!), but I didn’t see any other through-hikers today. At least I *think* not; twice in the last two nights I’ve been passed by a mysterious pair of hikers around 9:30 pm, two hours after dark – who is walking that late, and why?

Early this morning, Day 99, I found a small rock cairn and some sticks arranged on the trail, spelling out “2,000” in the dirt – the two thousand mile mark! (Even better, a Three-toed Woodpecker posed quietly nearby: trip bird #168).

My dad met me at Santiam Pass around midday and we spent more than four hours celebrating in a parking lot there with cheesecake, blueberries, pizza, a picnic table, and a pit toilet – who needs anything else? When he headed home, I hiked north with a heavy pack into the evening, logging 26.9 miles to camp on a high saddle north of Three Fingered Jack. Should be at Timberline Lodge, on Mount Hood, in about four days.

Nope, didn’t climb it, just walked past it. But after a couple days of mosquitoey forest, I wasn’t quite prepared for the beauty of South Sister when I popped out next to it in low-angled sunlight late this afternoon, near the end of a 30.5-mile day (my knee has improved – thanks for all the encouragement!).

Perhaps my greatest highlight today, though, was a rare bird – a male Williamson’s Sapsucker at Horseshoe Lake, just inside Lane County (my home!) where the species has been recorded fewer than ten times. The buzz of discovery kept me going for hours…

At 1,914 miles from the Mexican border, I reached Highway 58 at Willamette Pass today. This is especially notable for me because it’s the closest point on the PCT to my house, just a 40-minute drive west of here; so, in a way, I feel like I’m home. My mom met me at the pass with food, chairs, and a set-up camp.

I climbed past Diamond Peak this morning, through an area of snowdrifts, before walking a while with Billy Goat. At 72 years old, having hiked about 45,000 miles since retirement (including 20,000 on the PCT), that guy contains a wealth of wisdom on living simply; he carries a 10-pound pack, not including any electronics, and urges younger hikers to walk with the trail – not against it. Advice well taken, I hope.

For the sake of health, restoration, and knee preservation, I’ve decided to divide my next two days into three – thus building in an entire extra day before reaching Willamette Pass. This means three sub-20-mile days in a row, and a lot of free time on the trail.

Sounds good in theory, but it’s a big challenge to slow down that much, even for just a couple of days, after averaging 26 miles/day over the last month. It was as much as I could stand to stop after only 17.7 miles today, having spent the entire day in self-enforced slow motion – especially since the trail was flat and easy, with my inner racecar driver aching to push twice as far.

I did see my second bear of the trip this afternoon, a big black one which ambled across the trail right in front of me. And, though I hit a couple miles of big snowdrifts over the trail near Mount Thielsen, that section wasn’t nearly as bad as recent reports had indicated – I didn’t even need my GPS, much less traction spikes. Pshaw.

Today was just my second “zero” – day off – since leaving the Mexican border three months ago. My main entertainment involved visiting an orthopedic surgeon in Eugene, the same guy who operated on my left leg when I broke it skiing a couple years ago; this time he checked out my right knee.

“Sounds like you’re living from one cool adventure to the next,” he said, when I explained my summer hike. Well, yeah. And the knee? “You’re overusing the s-h-i-t out of it,” he spelled out, “but the x-ray looks good; a couple days of rest should get you back on your feet.” So, clutching a prescription for some serious anti-inflammatory drugs, I headed out the door, got a haircut, saw a movie with my mom, and planned to start hiking again on Thursday. We’ll see how it goes…

Encouraged to an early start by clouds of mosquitoes around camp this morning, Honeybuzz and I walked 30.2 miles across the Sky Lakes Wilderness today. We both independently discovered that it’s not a good idea to spit violently while wearing your head net, even if you’ve just inhaled a mosquito that somehow made it inside (at least, until Honeybuzz lost his head net and had to rely on 100% DEET instead); otherwise, our greatest entertainment today was given by feeding bits of chocolate to a hungry beetle until it could barely walk – man, can I relate!

We unexpectedly met a PCT legend on the trail this afternoon, a guy named Billy Goat. This is his 10th consecutive summer on the trail, giving him more lifetime PCT miles than anyone besides Scott Williamson (who has walked this trail about 14 times). Billy Goat decided to section hike this year, so, after doing some hiking in Israel, New York, and Vermont earlier this spring, he has skipped around a bit between different parts of the PCT along with another hiker named Amoeba. Pretty interesting guy.

My mom headed home this morning after visiting for the last week, and Honeybuzz and I hit the trail under 30-pound packs and bowed heads. We hiked 25 miles between Highway 66 and Dead Indian Road today, past Hyatt Lake and Howard Prairie Reservoir, only to find ourselves being picked up by more trail angels!

Some friends of Honeybuzz’s aunt, a nice couple who once hiked 800 miles between all 21 historic missions in California, took us in to their house near Eagle Point west of Klamath Falls. The house is actually an old restored restaurant and cafe with a full bar, booths, industrial kitchen, stools in the living and dining rooms, and space for 45 people – awesome! So, I’m sleeping in a real bed tonight, ready for the Sky Lakes Wilderness tomorrow.