To PCT mile 2147.1 (stats here).
42 got up early and I woke up also a bit before five. It was not until 5:30am when I actually got up. We chatted a bit and I was left to do my excercises when 42 departed. I got moving 6:45am. Already at that point many hikers had gone past the camp. Seems that there are gonna be a lot of people at the PCT Days.
The remaining 7 miles were downhill. It was not great for my leg, which was feeling worse than the previous day. Other hikers kept going past me, to the point that it started to irritate. Walking on the narrow ledge meant that I could not go offtrail to take a leak, and because of the people, I did not have nerve to do that right off the trail.
I was in the town around 10:30am. I followed other hikers to the edge of the Bridge of Gods to snap few pictures. My plan was to first get my packages from the Ale House, then go to the camping ground. The Ale House did not open until noon so I ended up waiting at their backyard. I bought some ice cream and did some writing.
Suddenly I decided to check the camping ground first. I thought that it might get full so makes sense to reserve a spot. The camping happened on Thunder Island, a small island in the Columbia River. When I had my tarp up, I regretted this as with an event like this, you do not know how the area is gonna be at a later time. If you want to sleep, you do not want to next to a party central.
They only found 3 out of my 4 packages at the Ale House. No food resupply package. Checking the UPS tracking information revealed that it was delivered. They told me to check the post office and call UPS. Finally, after 3 hours, it was found in the Ale House. For some reason they had labeled it under the name of "Watkins". I had tried to tell them to check the actual shipping label in case of misleading hand written labels to begin with, but was happy to get the package anyway. The other items I got were the compression sock for my leg, a new case for the phone, and a new hiking shirt and the Zensah socks that Mikko sent me.
I ordered a vegetarian burger at the Ale House. It was not good and I made a mistake to ask if it comes with "chips" instead of "fries", and that was what I then got. Before going to the PCT Days area, I stayed at the Ale House backyard and wrote some more. There were quite a lot of hikers at this point, including the famous Youtuber, Darwin. He seems like a nice fellow.
The PCT Days is mostly an event for vendors and companies to advertise and sell their products. I went through the area but it felt stupid as I was not about to buy anything. I was curious to see the new Altra Lone Peak 4 shoes, but they did not have my sizes and my current shoes are not yet that broken. Also, I was intrigued to buy a new rehydration back as my current has that awful sidetaste. The lady at the stand gave me cleaning tablets that I could try out before making a purchase, so that is what I am gonna do. I was also interested in the Zpacks tents, as I am not happy with my current setup. The logistics of sending the tarp away now that the post office was already closed, and the steep price of their new model, prevented me from acting. I did see the woman who just completed her 3rd triple crown by finishing PCT in 66 days and chatted with her a bit. Guthooks was also represented here, and I chatted with Guthook himself. He showed me few features on the app that I did not know and I reported about few issues. He said that a major update for Android is coming up soon.
I did not partake that much in the social side of the event, although you really should. That's why people are there. I was not keen into drinking beer, especially as the condition of my leg is nagging on the back of my head. I did hang around with Jelly a bit and he offered some whisky which was nice. I bought one can of long drink but ended pouring it on the ground as did not feel drinking. Late in the evening, I was forced to change my camp site as there were too much noise around and a disgusting smell of weed. I really do not enjoy camping at such an event.
42 got up early and I woke up also a bit before five. It was not until 5:30am when I actually got up. We chatted a bit and I was left to do my excercises when 42 departed. I got moving 6:45am. Already at that point many hikers had gone past the camp. Seems that there are gonna be a lot of people at the PCT Days.
 |
| Columbia River from high up. |
The remaining 7 miles were downhill. It was not great for my leg, which was feeling worse than the previous day. Other hikers kept going past me, to the point that it started to irritate. Walking on the narrow ledge meant that I could not go offtrail to take a leak, and because of the people, I did not have nerve to do that right off the trail.
 |
| And the famous bridge. |
I was in the town around 10:30am. I followed other hikers to the edge of the Bridge of Gods to snap few pictures. My plan was to first get my packages from the Ale House, then go to the camping ground. The Ale House did not open until noon so I ended up waiting at their backyard. I bought some ice cream and did some writing.
Suddenly I decided to check the camping ground first. I thought that it might get full so makes sense to reserve a spot. The camping happened on Thunder Island, a small island in the Columbia River. When I had my tarp up, I regretted this as with an event like this, you do not know how the area is gonna be at a later time. If you want to sleep, you do not want to next to a party central.
They only found 3 out of my 4 packages at the Ale House. No food resupply package. Checking the UPS tracking information revealed that it was delivered. They told me to check the post office and call UPS. Finally, after 3 hours, it was found in the Ale House. For some reason they had labeled it under the name of "Watkins". I had tried to tell them to check the actual shipping label in case of misleading hand written labels to begin with, but was happy to get the package anyway. The other items I got were the compression sock for my leg, a new case for the phone, and a new hiking shirt and the Zensah socks that Mikko sent me.
I ordered a vegetarian burger at the Ale House. It was not good and I made a mistake to ask if it comes with "chips" instead of "fries", and that was what I then got. Before going to the PCT Days area, I stayed at the Ale House backyard and wrote some more. There were quite a lot of hikers at this point, including the famous Youtuber, Darwin. He seems like a nice fellow.
The PCT Days is mostly an event for vendors and companies to advertise and sell their products. I went through the area but it felt stupid as I was not about to buy anything. I was curious to see the new Altra Lone Peak 4 shoes, but they did not have my sizes and my current shoes are not yet that broken. Also, I was intrigued to buy a new rehydration back as my current has that awful sidetaste. The lady at the stand gave me cleaning tablets that I could try out before making a purchase, so that is what I am gonna do. I was also interested in the Zpacks tents, as I am not happy with my current setup. The logistics of sending the tarp away now that the post office was already closed, and the steep price of their new model, prevented me from acting. I did see the woman who just completed her 3rd triple crown by finishing PCT in 66 days and chatted with her a bit. Guthooks was also represented here, and I chatted with Guthook himself. He showed me few features on the app that I did not know and I reported about few issues. He said that a major update for Android is coming up soon.
 |
| Can not say no to Jim. |
I did not partake that much in the social side of the event, although you really should. That's why people are there. I was not keen into drinking beer, especially as the condition of my leg is nagging on the back of my head. I did hang around with Jelly a bit and he offered some whisky which was nice. I bought one can of long drink but ended pouring it on the ground as did not feel drinking. Late in the evening, I was forced to change my camp site as there were too much noise around and a disgusting smell of weed. I really do not enjoy camping at such an event.
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