September 5, 2017
Hood River to Lost Lake
Pacific Crest Trail Thru-Hike: Day 123
Woke up to melted cheese sandwiches and fresh fruit smoothies. Decided to leave today after feeling the pressure of making a decision. Roy will drive Vice, Boathouse, Alex and I back to Lost Lake. Sam is going into Portland to visit a friend tonight. Arianna is getting picked up by a Greyhound to get back to Portland this afternoon.
Before getting a ride back to Lost Lake, we went for a walk with Danielle, the dogs, Roy and the Gang. We walked out on the sandbar at the Columbia River Gorge. The gang played frisbee in the water in their long underwear since everyone’s clothes were in the washer. Calvin and Hobbes played, too.
Went to Farm Stand and bought lots of fancy groceries for the road walk. Looked for gelato and/or ice cream everywhere in Hood River and it just wasn’t meant to be. Everywhere that had ice cream was sold out or closed. I did get a free cold press out of the deal when I tried to order an affogato but the ice cream was gone.
Roy drove us to Lost Lake and the first thing the four of us did was buy beer and ice cream. The second thing we did was start walking. The third thing we did was find out the fire had jumped the gorge to Washington. The fire jumped by an ember blowing in the wind. An ember the size of a basketball. An ember the size of a basketball blew across a whole fucking river. We are so screwed.
Back in Hood River, Sam walked Arianna to her bus stop, but the bus never came. Turns out it was cancelled because of the fire, so Roy drove Arianna all the way to Portland. Two hours there, two hours back.
We found out about the ember from the first forest service truck that pulled over. The driver was a helicopter pilot firefighter with a truck full of lunchables for firefighters. He’s been doing this (flying to fight fires) for 20 years and has never seen a fire travel so fast.
The second forest service truck that pulled over was a woman, she told us not to camp in the area because the fire could make it here overnight. We heeded her advice and made it to the Dee Fire Station. We slept on the asphalt behind the fire station and figured if the fire switched directions and came this way, a fire station would be the first place to find out.
Road walking from Lost Lake back into Hood River