C. Dow LaFevers

C. Dow LaFevers

First Year Mathematics PhD Student at Rice University

Day 84

Published:

After nearly 1,700 miles, I have finally crossed my first state border, spending my first night outside California on a slanted gravel road at Mile 1697.6.

The day started out nicely, finishing up yesterday’s climb and traversing several ridges during the cool morning. At our first water source we had a strange encounter with an equestrian which delayed us at least thirty minutes. I heavily caffeinated myself for the twelve mile climb to lunch, so the subsequent hot and blowdown-laden stretch of trail was pretty easy for me. For the others it was pretty tough, so I had a long lunch waiting for them—baguette from the bakery in Etna with peanut butter and Nutella.

1

1

1

1

1

1

The vistas were clearly quite smoky, but fortunately the air near us wasn’t noticeably irritating. After lunch I set off full of piss and vinegar, aiming to walk at least forty miles to give me an easy morning nero into Ashland tomorrow. Unfortunately, my knee started bothering me, and fortunately, i ran into some very unexpected trail magic from Ducky’s Dad (sodas, hot dogs, chips, Oreos, grapes, bananas) just before the Oregon border, so my plans for a big evening quickly went out the window. I waited for the others at the trail magic, and we all celebrated the new state at the marker together.

1

1

1

1

The four miles into Oregon and to camp were smooth sailing, so I was slamming a ton of dinner and dessert soon after hitting a the border. Good day.

1

You May Also Enjoy

Day 117

Published:

I don’t think I could have asked for a better birthday than today. I hiked through some of the most choice scenery on the Pacific Crest Trail (for the second time!), we were able to not only ride into nearby Mazama with the first car that passed but actually secure a ride all the way into Seattle for the following day, and I was able to enjoy a great dinner at the Mazama pub with Roadrunner and Free Bird! He slept in today, so he stuck around for the afternoon in Mazama at the Lion’s Den hostel. After an excellent shower at the hostel, I ran into Carmen, a woman traveling with her dog from Mount Hood to Banff on foot via the Pacific Crest and Pacific Northwest Trails, then hopping in their canoe and paddling the whole Columbia River! A truly incredible last day on the PCT.

Day 116

Published:

It’s difficult to write about today because it was a very emotional one. I’ll try to just describe what happened. We navigated the several passes between us and the border with ease and excitement, leaving an eight mile downhill to the border. Since this would also be an eight mile uphill, we decided to drop most of our stuff at Hopkins Lake and travel with just water and some snacks to make the hike back a bit easier. While we were off trail setting our shelters up, we missed Free Bird, a realization I would have a bit later which made me sad, as I thought I wouldn’t get to say goodbye. The hike down was so fast, so when I turned the corner and saw the border monument, I almost didn’t believe it was over. After taking some photos, we climbed back up to the lake with no problems and went to bed.

Day 115

Published:

The heat, though not as oppressive as yesterday, made today much harder than it otherwise would have been. We hiked with Free Bird for awhile, ran into a guy very casually running a fifty mile out and back from Rainy Pass, encountered my first mountain goats as I walked a ridge towards Hart’s Pass, and passed a crew filming a dramatic scene of a priest walking through a talus field. Getting to Hart’s Pass, where all northbound hikers must return after touching the border, felt pretty weird, as it was a physical signal that we were sixty miles from the end. Brushing this off, we walked three more miles and made camp. Tomorrow, I finish the PCT.

Day 114

Published:

After the hottest night I have had on trail—I slept naked on top of a picnic table for maximum airflow—we boarded the bus to leave wonderful Stehekin. On the way, Steve regaled us with more stories, anecdotes, and apocrypha; some highlights: “the national park service didn’t plant those irises, Mary did,” “that’s the only gumball machine within seventy miles!”, “I always like to tell people about this creek.* It’s called Boulder Creek. So now when you’re down valley and someone starts a story with ‘so I was up at Boulder Creek…’ you can say ‘’go on I know where that is.’ A good thing to keep in your back pocket,” “now I already told you about Ed Courtney, that’s the older Courtney…,” “I always say ‘people who want to grow a garden want to grow one like Carl’s,’” “I challenge you to find a single tree in that stand without a dapple of sunlight on its trunk.” I love Steve, he really tickled me. He’s a man who truly loves his town’s history and people as well as its natural beauty. Anyways, we stopped on the way at the legendary Stehekin Bakery, where I bought three massive cinnamon rolls (my breakfast for the next three days), a slice of lemon cheesecake (also breakfast), a peanut butter cookie (also breakfast), and a carrot cake muffin (supposed to be breakfast, but somehow made it to lunch).