PCT: Last Day on Trail

My last day on trail would also be my biggest. Matt and I headed out to cover a 35 mile stretch from Cascade Locks to Panther Creek.  I had already done the stretches north and south of this and didn’t want to leave a small hole I’d have to come back to get later.  With the days getting shorter we knew we’d have to push it a bit to avoid hiking in the dark.

We started with a big climb out of the Columbia River Gorge. There was a decent amount of rocky trail in the first 5 miles or so, but it eventually gave way to a smooth dirt path. We had some views of Mt. Adams but other than that we were in dense forests for most of the day with few big views. This was the least scenic section of the WA sections I’ve hiked. We had a walking lunch again today to save time, and only had two shorts breaks to filter water. We made it to Panther Creek with about an hour of usable light to spare after covering 35 miles and over 7000ft of climb.

This was my last day on the PCT this year, but I’ll be back to pick up the roughly 1100 miles I have remaining.