Lolo Pass to Timberline Lodge on the PCT (17 miles)

I parked at Lolo Pass at 4pm on Friday.  Hiked until 8pm and called it a day next to the Sandy River.  It looked pretty high and scary, so I decided to camp and check it out early in the morning.

On Saturday morning, as I stood next to the river, I enjoyed the antics of a couple of Harlequin Ducks. I think they were both hens.  It was sunrise and all I could see were the white marks on their heads.  They would stand on a rock, bob up and down, stare at me, then fly upstream and surf down the river before hopping out on the rock again.  As I watched them cruise down the river, I decided to serenade them with a couple of verses of "Surfing USA".  They flew away.  I've never cared much for music critics, so I finished the song without them.

Crossing the river was challenging.  It is swift and silty, so you can't see the bottom to tell how deep it is.  I slowly worked my way out, feeling ahead of me with my trekking poles.  The water was about 2.5 feet deep.  That does not sound like much, but as a solo hiker, it was pretty freaky.

The uphill hike was uneventful.  I took my time and hiked slowly since I did not plan on meeting my wife at the lodge until 4pm.  After I got out of the river canyon, I had cell service, so I called my wife and told her that 1pm would be better.  I had 286 unread emails on my work phone.  Yikes!  Glad I'm not on-call this week.

I passed many day hikers; especially after I crossed the Zigzag River.  I was wearing long black pants, longsleeve black shirt (with my hood up) and black gloves.  As you might guess, I am not a sun worshiper.  I stay pretty cool since it is all Nike Dri-Fit.  But a guy passed me and said "Wow, I'm hot just looking at you".  I said "Thank you!" and continued on my way without turning around to see the look on his face.

I made it to the Lodge around Noon.  What a Zoo!  The parking lot was completely full.  After my wife got there, we ate at the Lodge and then looked around.  I talked to a PCT thru-hiker for a bit and gave him the information about the Sandy River crossing. He must be pulling some huge miles if he is this far ahead of the pack!

With the exception of two miles around Wahtum Lake, I have now done the PCT from Cascade Locks all the way south to Timberline Lodge.

West Side of Mt. Hood

Ski Bowl Adventure Park (east and west)

Mt. Jefferson

Southwest side of Mt. Hood

Sandy River.  I crossed just upstream of the logs.  

There are rock cairns on both sides of the river marking the crossing point.