Pacific Crest Trail: Oregon
Pacific Crest Trail: Oregon
The Pacific Crest Trail is a 2650 mile backpacking thru-hike from Canada to Mexico known as America’s Wilderness Trail. The route takes hikers through Washington, Oregon and California (Northern California, Sierra Nevadas and Southern California). We hiked the PCT southbound in 2023 after quitting our jobs back in the UK.
The second state you reach heading south is Oregon which has the motto is “She Flies With Her Own Wings”. Read on to see if we adopted the state motto and flew on through.
Oregon, the state of promise. Promise of easy hiking days and long miles, promise of lush green forests, promise of foraging for blueberries under looming snow capped volcanoes.
The reality didn’t quite match the promise for our particular experience. With hindsight, Washington had taken a toll on us physically and mentally. We had lost a lot of weight very quickly and had put ourselves under considerable pressure to complete the miles required to reach the high Sierras before it started to snow - although it would take us c.1500 miles to reach them from where we started. We were in a strange place of not fully enjoying or disliking the trail but rather experiencing both of those emotions and everything in-between on a daily, sometimes hourly basis.
As the trail went on we found our own approach, but in the early days we were still working through trial and error for many things. As such, when we crossed into Oregon we were weaker than we realised. Here we fell into a typical trap of listening to others who talk of Oregon being much flatter and easier to hike - a section of the trail where one walks an extra 5 miles a day as standard. What we found was similar daily ascent to Washington, albeit not always as steep and temperatures that were even hotter than Washington. Being so weak we struggled to complete the “expected” extra miles and became frustrated with ourselves and the trail itself. Many people continued to refer to how comparatively easy Oregon was. How true this was and how much people become caught up in the PCT rat race we’ll never know.
The PCT rat race, as we came to call it, deserves some mention. You will often hear that you should “hike your own hike” yet our experience was that many people are being constantly influenced by the expectations of others and in turn are influencing others with their own inherited expectations. It leads to those who wish to hike fewer miles a day as being treated a little differently, which sounds crazy. Even typing this now we can recall so many specific moments that contributed to a general atmosphere that 20 miles in a day was not enough. When we said that 20 miles is what we aim for and any extra is a bonus we were met with looks and words of confusion “are you section hikers then? You cannot be hiking the whole PCT? You’ll find your trail legs soon enough”. Funnily these comments were also made a number of times because we were so clean; not washing yourself or your clothes seemed to be another mark of respect on trail. We were extremely uncool - fewer miles and trying to retain some sense of hygiene.
There seems to be a complete disregard at times of people being on a wilderness trail, rather it becomes an endurance event: 30-40 mile days; night hiking; who has the smallest bag etc. With so much of this around you it is hard to remain true to your own approach and not be influenced in a negative way. Questioning yourself and your approach in a positive way to see how you might do things differently can be hugely rewarding and helped us to enjoy the trail more as time went by. However, it is easy to question yourself in a negative way - should we hike more miles, be more lightweight etc. To be able to see and learn from other’s strengths and weaknesses, to understand what might be adopted and what should be abandoned is a reflective approach that can be hard to maintain, especially when physically and mentally drained as we were in Oregon. And so in Oregon we experienced, an almost inevitable (although we didn’t realise it at the time) crash physically and mentally. We had one moment on one day where we reached the metaphorical edge, looked over and realised we needed to not be influenced by the rat race and to go back to the basics of why we were here which was to enjoy the wilderness and hiking in incredible areas.
Rat race aside, there was the very real deadline (albeit a vague one) of needing to get not just to, but through the high Sierras before the snow really hit. We started to discuss whether, if we needed to, we would skip a small section (perhaps 200-300 miles) to move ourselves forward. We didn’t agree on whether to definitely do this or when/ where it would be but it was an option that was now real. Better to have options that allow you to enjoy life without stressing everyday.
We don’t want to put a downer (anymore of a downer than the above might already sound like) on Oregon, but we can’t really talk about the trail in this state without referencing the sad impact that fire has had and continues to have upon the landscape each summer. Before we reached Oregon someone hiking north talked about the green tunnel (of trees) but then corrected themselves to the brown tunnel, that is to say the endless miles of dead and burnt trees. In one extreme example we walked through an area hit by the Cedar Creek fire; it had experienced two fires within the space of twenty-five years and the landscape was apocalyptic - you’ll see some pictures below. Unfortunately we hit this area in the middle of the afternoon; there is no shade or natural cover and what was actually quite interesting, if terrifying, to observe soon became a very difficult and dangerous section trying to manage water and the risk of heat exhaustion. We heard that in previous years, during fire closures people had instead walked the Oregon coast trail and then rejoined the PCT in California. With hindsight we might have actually done that even with the trail open. No doubt the PCT purists would be outraged with such an approach and there is certainly educational benefit in seeing such areas and the impact a warming climate is having, but our personal preference would be to see the best that Oregon has to offer and the coastal trail sounds amazing.
You might be gathering we had a rough time in Oregon, it’s true. But there is also undeniably some incredible scenery and hiking along sections of the PCT unscathed by fire. The volcanic nature of the area means that the horizon typically contains at least one, if not multiple, dramatic and snowy peaks - you pass through Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson, Mt Washington, Mt Thielson, Diamond Peak wilderness areas amongst others, which through the names alone gives you a sense of what to expect. There are short sections where you are walking across lava fields, awful to hike on but also incredible to witness. There is crater lake (yep another volcano) the deepest lake in the US Which is truly stunning. The day we were there fires in the region meant there was a cloud of smoke across the lake which perhaps made it more atmospheric. When you do find forest it is as deep and green as promised, which makes all of the burnt areas so much more depressing, it must once have been an incredible section of endless forest. Then of course there were blueberries and huckleberries. My grandfather told us that Oregon is the blueberry state which we hadn’t realised but over time we could see why. We were able to forage for wild berries that we would keep and use in our porridge in the morning (or just immediately eat). Waking up with fresh berries and watching the sun come up over one of the many incredible mountains is a beautiful way to live.
Perhaps fittingly we could not finish Oregon due to fires raging in Northern California. It answered our question of whether to skip a section - in the end we had to and from a purely hiking/ well being perspective it helped us to jump forward around 200 miles. We were lucky enough to find a trail angel who picked us up from the trail and dropped us in a small town called Ashland (where Gav had the best French toast he experienced on trail!) before then driving us two hours south a couple of days later in his smooth, silent electric car and refusing to accept any money. It was a strange moment to enter California silently driving across the border rather than hiking but we enjoyed the experience with a wonderful trail angel and another timely reminder that amidst the fires and rat race, there are always people who are shining lights ready to help you. Thank you Albie!
Here are our sections broken down:
Cascade Locks - Bend: 154 miles
Mile 506-660
Wilderness Areas: Mark O Hatfield/ Mt Hood/ Mt Jefferson
Coming out of cascade locks we took an alternative route which actually represents the original trail before it was modified to - we think - accommodate horses (the PCT is meant to be an equestrian and hiker trail). The first part of the route is common with day hikers as it weaves along eagle creek and passes behind the high and beautiful tunnel falls. Whilst a great section to hike, part of us did wonder why there was a need to carve such a perilous path into the cliff and behind the waterfall - would some things not be better left alone? Regardless, the path is there and we enjoyed it! The days after this were steep and generally hot. We passed through beautiful forest but this gave way to extensive burn zone including the unexpected but much appreciated Ollalie lake resort which was surrounded entirely by burn zone but somehow survived. We enjoyed a quick resupply of treats and a cold drink sat on the balcony. Moving on the backdrop of Mt Hood and Mt Jefferson create an incredible atmosphere with these snow capped volcanoes ever present. We passed Timberline Lodge, famous for it’s all you can eat breakfast and the fact the film The Shining was filmed there. We stopped here to resupply (we had posted a package) but left soon after, there was a distinct feeling that dirty hikers weren’t welcome at this ski lodge. We finished this section at Santiam Pass where we were taken into Bend by a kind trail angel. Here we stayed with some generous friends who put up with our need for sleep, food and lots of washing! Bend is a great town, apparently booming and with loads going on. We could easily have stayed for a week but after a couple of days headed back to the trail.
Santiam Pass - Shelter Cove: 90 miles
Mile 660 - 750
Wilderness Areas: Mt Washington/ Three Sisters
Refreshed from a couple of days in Bend we set out knowing that we would imminently cross a notorious lava field. We planned accordingly so that we hit this section early in the morning, making the experience interesting and enjoyable (ish). Soon after we were hiking through the forest towards the end of a long day when we started to smell and then see smoke creeping in through the trees. At this point we were not aware of any nearby fires which concerned us - was this a new fire? We reached our proposed camp site for the evening only to find the lake next to which we were to camp shrouded in smoke. Tired and uncertain of what to do we eventually decided to hike on into the evening to see if we could escape the smoke. After around half a mile we passed a hiker coming the other way, the smoke stretched on and on he said and there was no prospect of out walking it tonight. We returned to the lake and campsite, knowing that we would have to sleep in a smokey tent, less than ideal. The morning after was an incredible sight, the smoke had completely disappeared and the sun was rising over the flat, crystal clear water. Significantly relieved we were able to enjoy our coffee and breakfast watching the dragon flies buzz over the still water.
Shelter Cove - Crater Lake - Ashland: 186 miles
Mile 750 - 936
Wilderness Areas: Diamond Peak/ Mt Thielsen/ Sky lakes
As already mentioned, we finished Oregon in Ashland due to forest fires. Before we reached here though we had our also aforementioned crash, after which we vowed to return to our basics of trying to enjoy the hiking and wilderness aspects of the trail, as opposed to everything else going on around us. Crater Lake was one of the first notable places we reached after this reset, we hiked a short day so that we could reach the lake for sunrise. Here we sat with porridge and coffee, watching the sun rise over one of the most incredible scenes on trail. We also had some rainy days during this section, dark, wet and misty. Given the heat we’d hiked through since the start of Washington we loved this and felt as though we were at home hiking through the Welsh or Scottish mountains. From here to Ashland we focussed on shorter days and made a commitment to spend more time properly relaxing in towns - we started to book airbnbs so we could have our own space and cook some proper meals, this made a huge difference to us :)