An Adventureful Life

Day 0: Even though my husband isn’t into backpacking… I wanted him to be a part of my grand adventure, so I asked him to be an angel and drive me to my starting point at Elk Lake Resort, near Bend, Oregon. We had a nice drive past Mount Hood after he got off work, enjoyed dinner at our favorite spot in Bend (El Sancho Taco Shop, East) where I had my usual Sancho Bowl and a seasonal margarita… it was a perfect way to get my adventure underway! We made it to Elk Lake Resort just in time to check into our glamping tent and watch the sunset over the lake.

Day 1: Early the next morning, I enjoyed a cup of my “fancy” coffee before T.D. dropped me off at the Horse Lake Trailhead (before one last stop at the pit toilet, just in case!). The mosquitoes were pretty ravenous, so after a very quick goodbye I was on my way! I had just touched the PCT when I met my first thru-hiker, GU who was stretching on the trail. As we talked, another thru-hiker passed by named Beans. She quickly hiked on, but I ended up hiking for a bit with GU. After the first main viewpoint, I moved on ahead of GU never saw either of him again. I was quite happy to see my first thru-hikers in the wild, and I felt accepted despite being a fresh section hiker on the trail. I kept moving without taking many breaks because of the voracious mosquitos… I quickly learned that my Permithren pretreated sun shirt worked better in addition to adding a layer of Picaridin directly on my skin. I felt like I was in my own adventure movie, walking along the path of those many memoirs I’d read, following the authors’ literal footsteps! I kept seeing sites from the Oregon PCT section hiker book (Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Oregon, by Eli Boschetto – I highly recommend this book!), it was so amazing to see in person what I had read over so many times. I refilled my water at Mirror Lake and quickly continued on… still too excited to be on the trail to take any significant rest stops.

I had a quick lunch along a small creek in Mesa Meadow. For my trip, I had a variety of cold soak lunches that I had either made myself following recipes from Backcountry Foodie or pre-made purchased meals from Outdoor Herbivore . For my first lunch… a 5 minute cold soak Mojo Mango Bowl while sitting creekside in a luscious green meadow that was absolutely swoon-worthy! I felt energized and ready to move on to my next destination… Reese Lake!

When I reached Reese Lake, I was ready to swim! My Pika Pants from Kula Cloth were the perfect swim garment – I’m starting to think that taking two years to finally take this trip was totally worth it, because my gear was on point!

Originally, Reese Lake was going to be my stop for the evening… but after a refreshing swim and a snack, I felt completely invigorated enough to continue on to Eileen Lake! This spot has been on my radar for years, and you can only camp there if you have a Central Cascades permit (a benefit of section hiking vice a long distance PCT permit). I was a bit nervous going off the main PCT since it was so early season, I was possibly one of the first to venture down this trail and at risk of dealing with downed trees and snow. Luckily for me, the trail conditions were just fine! I didn’t run into any people, just one buck. I started to get pretty exhausted after to many miles and hours on trail my first day… I took another break by Husband Lake with a small snack and had to break out my Thermocel to keep the mosquitoes off me. The lake was very pretty, so I attempted to take some selfies (note… this is why traveling with friends might be better than solo hiking :D)

I walked around a corner and knew immediately I had arrived! Lake Eileen was gorgeous! I dove right in to cool off after my 8 hours of hiking. After my swim, I was ready to set up my camp for the night. I had the whole place to myself and it was completely epic!! On one side was Eileen Lake, on the other… a view of Linton Valley with Middle and South Sister to stare at. I kept my door open all night to stare at the stars… I can’t even remember what I had for dinner, I just shoveled it in my face and nestled in for my first night on trail, solo.