The first order of business today was to use the camp's free laundry service, a great perk. While my clothes washed, I went on to eat a huge breakfast in the dining hall. There I met other camp counselors and volunteers--a friendly group of folks.
Hiking away from the camp that day I noticed my stomach wasn't feeling right. The volume of food that I consumed turned out to be too much. I tried to hold it down but ultimately it wanted to be free. Of course this is a terrible feeling, but in the backcountry it also means a day devoted to playing catch-up with respect to dehydration.
Almost the minute after my vomiting spell was complete, Jordan, the hiker I had walked with before Bend, came up the trail. Neither of us could believe that we had met up again -- with my taking 4 unexpected days in Bend, and his taking 4 days in Portland. Having been discouraged by my stomach issues, I was immediately glad to have someone to talk with on the trail.
About an hour after we started walking we came across a trailside miracle: a large cache of ice cold water, soda, beer, apples, snickers, and cookies. Turns out a trail angel by the name of "Irish" replenishes this cache every day at McKenzie Pass, just so hikers have a little unexpected treat to help their morale. Given my stomach woes, this was a godsend. I drank some soda and ate some apples in my attempt to make up lost calories.
The lionshare of hiking today was up and over the mountain known as Three Fingered Jack. This is an incredibly cool-looking peak. If I had climbing equipment with me I would have loved to bag the peak. But alas, it looked a little too exposed for unprotected climbing.
A short while after desceding the mountain we met a SOBO named "No Map" who had just walked through Washington without, you guessed it, a map. He claimed to be the true frontrunner of the SOBOs, since the hiker I had met two days prior had apparently skipped larger sections of Washington on the way. I couldn't believe this guy had successfully navigated large snowfield without a map!!!
As the afternoon progressed it was obvious to me that my stomach issues from earlier in the days were going to force me to cut the day shorter than I had originally planned. I decided to descend to Wasco Lake for the evening, and it meant a farewell to Jordan, who needed to make more miles to reach his own goals. Both of us regretted not having someone to chat with on the trail, but what can you do?
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