Mile 2119 to 2144
A deliciously wet and rainy night was had by all! I honestly don't think it rained at all, but we were camped in a cloud and the trees above dripped large droplets from above the entire night. After drying all our stuff out in Sue’s basement the night before everything was wet again.
Jetpack braved the cold and wet to come over and start a quiet but spirited “happy birthday to you,” and even the three or four tents of people we didn’t know picked up the tune. It was a really fun and special way to start the morning.
We jumped on the Eagle Creek Alternate, which is one of the most popular alternates on the PCT. It is known for Tunnel Falls, where the trail takes you behind a large waterfall, but has many spectacular falls and cliffs over the 15 miles. Along the way, I noticed someone wearing an “O-H” t-shirt. As I got a bit closer, I realized this person to be the one and only Lauren Burns--a friend from college. What are the chances? We stopped for a quick minute to catch up, still in a bit of shock that we crossed paths! How crazy!
When we neared the parking lot, Jet’s friends had started walking the trail and brought us baked good for the final couple miles. What friends!
We eventually made it to the Bridge of the Gods, Oregon complete! The bridge was a bit bigger than expected, but also quite spectacular. We posed for a Slow Magic photo shoot before hopping over to the Ale House where trail angel Sue had a happy birthday table cloth and homemade carrot cake waiting. I donned a “thirty and literally dirty” birthday hat that barely escaped out of my tangle of hair. We spent the evening meeting Jet’s friends, joking over coffee and a brew, and Lauren, from earlier in the day even stopped by to have a proper catch up! It was a bit weird not having any family around for my birthday, but Slow Magic is most definitely family at this point, and this birthday was most definitely a memorable one. I can’t thank Jetpack and Sue enough for their thoughtfulness and efforts to make it a special day!
