[pct-l] 78%, er, 50% hike Cascade Locks to White Pass - skip Trout Lake

[Edward Anderson]

Hey Diane,
 
MendoRider here. I cooked a delicious hot meal every night while on the trail. Since I had a canister stove I was 
able to control the heat and simmer - a big advantage when you are cooking and living on the trail.
 
When I was in Cascade Locks I had my fully self-contained compact Motorhome, which has solar battery charging and solar water heating for the shower. I spent three days camped at a ranch there, parked in the shade (my solar system includes a remote-able auxiliary panel that can be placed in a sunny spot up to 50' away.) There was a wonderful pasture for Primo and I took the time to research, pack resupplies, and plan how I would do Washington. I disconnected the trailer and visited the town - the museum, the library, did laundry, ate in a restaurant, etc.  Then I had a good look at the Bridge of the Gods. I decided that it could be risky to try to cross it with a horse (I had been forewarned). For those reading this who don't know, there is no paved surface - just steel grating. You can see the river 100' down, and it is fairly narrow with quite a bit of traffic - even early in the morning as people are driving to work. 
 
So, during those three days, I drove across the bridge and visited Stevenson. I understand that most of the hikers take the shortcut to Panther Creek. I didn't want to do that road walk. So I decided to check out the PCT route. It goes west after you cross the bridge. I had the time, so I hiked west and discovered a residence just 150 ' off the PCT and only about a mile west. I could see that there would be a good place to high line Primo in the yard. I knocked on the door. No one was home. The owners name was on the gate. I later looked up their phone number and called them that night. They gave me permission to leave Primo and my tent with supplies in their yard. 
 
That solved the problem. The next morning I trailered Primo across the bridge, high lined him in the yard, and drove the rig north, caching at the Panther Creek Horse Camp and at another place about 50 miles farther north. I parked the rig at a ranch in Packwood (pre-arranged) and was very lucky to get a ride back to Primo. Then I rode north on the PCT, resupplying as I went. The PCT north of Cascade Locks had not been cleared (since most hikers don't use it, taking the shortcut) I had to cut about nine down trees to get through. None were very large - total time sawing was less than four hours.
 
MendoRider
 
 
 
 
 
 

________________________________
 From: Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes <diane at santabarbarahikes.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
Sent: Friday, December 2, 2011 5:02 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] 78%, er, 50% hike Cascade Locks to White Pass - skip  Trout Lake
 

On Dec 2, 2011, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> It simply means 50% of all hikers 'intend' to go straight to White  
> Pass
> from Cascade Locks without any stops.

I think 100% of all hikers intend to do a lot of things and end up  
changing their plans. With the exception of Mendorider, I have yet to  
meet a long distance hiker who can resist the allure of a hot meal,  
especially if it can be had without too much of a detour off the  
trail, and sometimes even a big detour isn't a deterrent.

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