I had such big plans today. I was going to fuel up at the Timberline’s all-you-can-eat breakfast, then get going and cover 30 miles.
There was a famous alternate up ahead — the Eagle Creek Alternate — that I’d wanted to do since before I started the trail. It added 5 miles, such that a 30 today would leave me 25 tomorrow, when I’d arrive in the town of Cascade Locks. I needed time in town, so 25 miles was all the time I could spare tomorrow.
But, the Timberline was warm, and the trail was cold and windy. And there were many things I needed to check on their Wi-Fi. And then there was the museum.
Nevertheless, I eventually got going. But not until 10:30.
Even though it was a weekday, the lodge was full, and there were many short-distance hikers on the trail. About 7 miles from the lodge, I ran into an exhausted, sweaty one-day backpacker.
“Is there any more uphill?” He panted.
I checked the Halfmile app. It showed 2200 more feet of climbing for him.
“Well, it goes up and down for a while,” I said.
The trail was going up and down the ridges of Mt. Hood. This made for good scenery.
I took a small alternate to Ramona Falls, since it’s popular and doesn’t add any distance.
As I proceeded north, views of the other side of Mt. Hood appeared.
As it got dark, it got more and more obvious that I wouldn’t make 30 miles. The terrain here didn’t lend itself to dispersed camping (there were solid bushes everywhere), so I set up camp in 25 miles rather than 30. I’d have to do 30 miles tomorrow and get into Cascade Locks late.
There was another hiker, Tank, already making camp there. We chatted about the upcoming trail. He didn’t seem concerned about getting to Cascade Locks early. It was only 20 miles, he said.
I looked back at the Eagle Creek Alternate’s distance. It subtracted 5 miles, not added. I’d have no trouble getting to Cascade Locks on time.
