Oregon (Vacation? Part II)…

Well, I’m finally getting back into the swing of things here on the East Coast. Although I must admit that I haven’t felt so useless in a long time, but that is another story for another time.

On Monday, September 17th I headed off to Oregon to work, I took along my backpack and all of my backpacking gear, I was to work Tues-Fri and then head east to Mt. Hood to hike a 21 mile section of the Pacific Crest Trail. I did it! (see pictures) Although I learned a few things along the way, as follows:

1) Hiking alone is MUCH different than hiking with others. I usually hike with J-dawg or Mike and this trip I was alone. My pace was way faster then it needed to be and I over extended myself. I’m not sure why I would do that to myself and I’m not sure how to stop it in the future, but at least I’m aware of it, right?

2) Hiking on the west coast can be different then the east. Mostly, when they say mountain, they mean it! Comparatively we have foot hills, so be careful when someone says a short jaunt up a hill or “not much elevation that day” it may be 4,000’ and we east-coasters aren’t used to that.

3) Shelters are a good thing. Out east we hike to shelters and even if you’re not spending the night on the trail, one usually goes past a shelter and it’s a nice spot to spend lunch or just take a break. Not so much on the west coast, they don’t do shelters as frequently, one can go days without seeing a shelter, so bring a tent and be comfortable with that.

All in all a good trip, I learned some things about myself and I conquered a fear. So that’s cool.

Thanks to all who asked to hear stories and all, it’s been fun!

Peace, Love, Beer,
BS