September 4, 2018

It’s been over two full months since my last footsteps on the Pacific Crest Trail. In my early days of trail dreaming, I read several articles and blogs that talked about “trail depression” and what comes of the mind after a hiker returns to “normal” life. I write to you today, to tell you I’m NOT depressed. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t be happier. I have officially returned back to life as a flight attendant, life as a homeowner, and life as a wanderer. The biggest challenge for me… finding the work/life/fun balance. As well as choosing the next adventure.

After the trip to The DiamondD Ranch for the 4th of July, I was ever so thankful to spend my birthday in a random mix of friends and adventures in Las Vegas. Never committing to one plan or another –since I wasn’t supposed to be in town at all–proved beneficial in allowing the possibilities to be endless. From dinner one night, to breakfast the following day, a day of floating at Lake Mead, and a night out at the M Casino. It was more of a birthday week than just a birthday and amazing to catch up with friends whom I’d missed greatly while I was on the PCT.

Feeling 40 and not ready to slow down, a few days have been spent at the TinyHut in Bullhead City, nothing like a quick kayak float on the Colorado River in 100 degree heat to cool down. My roommate Betsi inspired me to get back on my road bike as well. It was a welcomed challenge as I hadn’t done any riding in over a year. I was nervous at first as I wondered how my knees would take to the use of a bicycle after the over usage on the PCT. To my surprise they didn’t hesitate and I immediately remembered how great it felt to be on a bike again.

In early August Kelly, Brent and I planned a quick and spontaneous trip back to Challis, Idaho. The weekend turned out better than expected as a few of Brent’s friends joined us to complete the fun filled weekend of music and camping at the Braun Brothers Reunion. The guys humored me one morning when I said “I want to get to the top of THAT hill.” And so we did. Hiking felt good again. Not slugging a pack on my back felt even better.

And the trip I was waiting for happened a few weeks ago—Pacific Crest Trail Days at Cascade Locks, OR. My highschool best friend, Christy, picked me up from the Portland airport and we had the afternoon and evening to catch up. I had last seen her when I was in Truckee and her husband was getting ready to run the Western States 100 Endurance Race. Yes, he survived and was under the 24 hour mark! Impressive!!!

The following day Christy drove me back to Portland to pick up my rental car. I had lunch with Greg in Vancouver and then I took the scenic route to White Salmon, WA which is where I rented a small AirBnB. The drive was beautiful. The Columbia River Gorge has always been a place I’ve wanted to spend more time. White Salmon was adorable too. Just the perfect little small town with friendly people and a great view of Mt. Hood to the South and Mt. St. Helens to the North. The town reminded me of Cascade, ID where my pops owns a small house.

Kelly flew into Portland that Friday morning to join in the adventure. I know it wasn’t her kind of trip, but she never minds visiting a new place. Kel suffered through a long day of driving through the state of Oregon. The drive took us to Timberline Lodge, a place I’d heard so many good things about but had never seen in person until that trip. The views of Mt. Hood were breathtaking. Yet another peak I looked at and said, “I want to go there… to the top.” Someday, I will make that happen. We grabbed the goods we had been asked to pick up (Justins box of supplies), had dinner, took some photos and proceeded back to the highway. We circumnavigated the mountain in just a few hours. Next stop: mile 2146 of the Pacific Crest Trail, at dark.

The plan as I knew–which with me always seems to be free flowing–was to pick up the “boys” on Saturday. After a few phone calls and hustle on their part, they arrived at mile 2146 just before 10pm on Friday night. Parked on a dirt road in front of a PCT trailhead, Kelly and I waited for the boys to arrive. With just the light of their headlamps approaching, I jumped out of the car to welcome Justin and Tyler. Stinky and smelly, as I expected, we quickly drove into the town of Cascade Locks where the nice ladies who were working that night at Locks of Dogs & Treats stayed open late enough for each of the boys to inhale 2 chili dogs and a milk shake. In a small town like that, everything was pretty much closed except this joint and they made sure to let us know that they didn’t mind one bit of time to feed the hungry hikers.

After polishing off their late night dinner, we drove the 30 minutes back to White Salmon. Justin and Tyler were eager for a shower as it had been an eight day stretch. Kelly was fast asleep. Little did she know the three of us stayed up past 1am catching up and sharing stories. The laughs were unstoppable. To this day, I’m not sure how Kelly slept through it.

Saturday (Aug. 18) was to be our Trail Days experience. Justin was lucky enough to have his brother, sister-in-law and their kids drive down from Yakima, WA. I think I got a little teary-eyed when we met them and he surprised his niece as she came down the park slide. She’s missed her uncle dearly.

I’ve always heard the hiker population congregates at Trail Days and this year did not disappoint. All the big backpacking vendors are there selling their gear and showing off all the new products. I’m surprised I walked out of there with money in my bank account. Ultimately Trail days is really about the people though. The hikers who have met and now can reconvene. I ran into a few my of favorites: Nutz, Joey and Longstride. I also met Google for the first time and made sure to get a photo with him as I knew AmmyB would appreciate it.

As the day ended in beers and goodbyes, we headed over to Hood River for food and one more walkabout. I hadn’t been to Hood River in many years, so I was excited to see how much it had grown. We eventually made it back over to White Salmon where we caught a few winks for the night. Sunday would be an early get up.

Sunday’s (Aug 19) Plan was dog motivated. Some of you may recall that Justin was eager to pick up Jesse (The Beagle) just before he entered Oregon. Those two were previously together until the Bend area where unfortunately the volcanic terrain made for some tender-paw days for Jesse. Justin reached out to me and asked for a pair of dog shoes but they were a hair too big and eventually Justin hitched off trail and took Jesse back to Portland. When I told the boys I’d be coming up for Trail Days, Justin asked if there was any way I could help him grab Jesse one more time. My response: Absolutely!

Sooooo Sunday entailed a lot of driving. We packed up early, checked out of the airBnb, dropped Kelly off at the airport and retrieved Jesse from the dog sitter in Hillsboro. Back to Cascade Locks we went. By the time we were back, Trail Days almost seemed as though it never even happened. There was hardly a vendor in sight and most of the hikers had dispersed back to the trail. The few stragglers, like Nutz and Joey, would depart later that evening or the next morning. I chatted with the boys for a few minutes, not really wanting to leave but knowing I had to return my rental car by noon. I gave them all big hugs goodbye and headed back to the PDX airport.

The drive back was bittersweet. When I started the PCT in March I imagined myself finishing the trail, walking across the Bridge of the Gods and spending Trail Days as a hiker, not as a Trail Angel. Seeing “my people” again meant the world to me. I wish I could have seen Laura but she was well into her Washington portion. As I write this, she finished the PCT just days ago.  When I think I about the possibility of still being on the PCT right now, I get a little teary. It’s still a dream to finish even if it isn’t all in one year. I will still continue to look down upon the trail when I know I’m flying over. I will always cherish the friendships I made and the experiences that I had.

For now, it’s back to the daily “grind.” Again, life is good.  I have nothing to complain about.  If I can say one thing about how the trail affected me, it made me even more aware of how I need to take care of myself and my body. I will continue to work on my knee issues which involves strengthening and stretching. I am mindful that my metabolism has slowed back to its snail pace after being home for some time. I will admit for the first few weeks I continued to eat every 2-3 hours like a hungry hiker–well knowing it would catch up with me. I’m not quite back to my pretrail weight but I have found a few of the pounds that I had lost. I am hoping to keep a few of them off and am working to do so. So no more of the “Frito/Almond Joy” Diet for this kid.

And once again, I must give a little shout out to my followers. The love of the trail really brings out the best in all. A few weeks ago I received a package in the mail from my cousin Sarah. (When I was sick in Modesto, her father–my Uncle Walt–was the one who picked up me and Justin at Sonora Pass). The box I received contained the cutest card made by Abby and Luke. Thanks guys! I love it!!! During the short visit in Modesto, I met Sarah’s neighbor, Carlene. She said she had been reading the blog. Never did I imagine that I’d soon receive the nicest letter from her husband, Mike, and herself. It brought tears to my eyes to read the words of another person who was also so passionate about backpacking. His stories about earlier days on the PCT are the reason the Pacific Crest Trail Association is what it is. They gifted me some PCT swag and a PCT hat that I will wear with pride. What an awesome surprise! And in their words: The Journey is the destination.

As Summer is nearing a close and Fall is just around the corner, I’m unsure that I will take any more steps on the PCT this year. Resuming normal life has been rewarding and fun-filled. I still love to talk about my days on the trail and will forever say it was “the best experience ever” in my life. As I have been looking for the next adventure, my mind continues to wander.  I will make no promises to return to the PCT but whatever I choose, you will find out here first.

Side note:  I briefly talked with Justin today.  The Three Stooges (Justin, Tyler and Joey) are currently at Snoqualamie Pass, WA, mile 2393.  I also just saw a photo of “Heidi” at the Canadian Monument today.  (Her husband gave us a ride back to the trail head in Mammoth). Nutz had already finished the trek when I saw him in Cascade Locks. I missed seeing Dani at Trail Days as she was on another vacation.  I’m hoping to catch up with Shrink when I’m on a Fort Lauderdale overnight sometime.  Dude has been doing some section hiking and I see his awesome life on Facebook often.  And none the least, since Laura is now done with the PCT, she and Andrew have plans to move to the Truckee/So. Lake Tahoe area…. so, I will definitely make plans to see them soon.  And I EXPECT to have more adventures with them in the future.

Again… thank you for the support…. Love you all, Karen