Days 134 - 140 (Sept 4 - 10): Miles 2002 - 2148

The hike past Mt. Jefferson and through Jefferson wilderness was amazing. I passed through gorgeous meadows and there were some cool lakes - it made me feel like I was back in the Sierras. There were still many mountain flowers up there. I passed a group of people hiking with lamas. The lamas pretty much carry all their gear for them! I also met Ben on the way up. He had shin splint problems and was taking it easy. Someone left some great trail magic at Santiam pass - sodas and brownies!

There was still quite a bit of snow around Jefferson. I think I might have crossed more snow in Oregon then in California.

When I arrived at Olalie lake there was a paramedic helicopter. A guy across the lake had what sounds like a stroke and had to be air lifted out. They brought him across the lake with a canoe and I helped a bunch of people to pick him out of the canoe and into a 4x4 that then took him up to the helicopter. The guys at Olalie were very friendly and offerred me some left over dinner in their kitchen.

I had a long day on Thursday and ended up hiking into the dark to find a campsite. On Friday I camped just below Timberline lodge and on Saturday I made a quick visit to the lodge before hiking on. The lodge is pretty impressive. It was my birthday and I wanted to eat at the Blue Ox bar there, but it was closed so I moved on.

The trail along Mt. Hood had some great views. I took the detour down through Eagle Creek on Sunday. Gorgeous trail with beautiful waterfalls and deep blue pools in the creek, but since it was Sunday it soon too crowded for me.

On the way into Cascade Locks I picked up the phone of an english hiker called the Mad Hatter. I had seen his name in registers and heard of him but finally met him at Shrek's place and handed him back his phone. He bought me dinner and a few beers in return and we ended up spending the whole night at the local bar there. Shrek is a cool guy and allows hikers to camp behind his place, have showers etc.

I had a zero on Monday and a friend from Portland, William, got off from work early to come hang out. He brought me a new pair of cascadias from REI - life saver! Now I'm set all the way to Canada. We drove over to a brewery in Hood River where we had some great pizza and a few samplers of beer. It was great to see an old familiar face and be able to catch up!

Next up - Washington!

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