4:30am at the Pilot Rock trailhead and I was off with the cheers of Jon, mom, Kara, and Adrian. As I hit Old 99, the sun was starting to rise and I began my ascent along the PCT; pink swirls of perfection like Trix Yogurt from school lunches in the 90s.
My goals for the day, be cool, calm, and collected while going when the getting is good. The first 35 miles of the effort were fantastic. Mom and Jon cheered for me from different junctions early, I spotted a family of deer with two bucks, a doe, and two fawns, and the wildflowers were absolutely popping. At Grouse Gap, I was met by Jon, Mom, Kara, and Adrian. This is where Adrian joined me from Grouse Gap (mile 15.7) to Jackson Gap (mile 26.6). We were rolling yet in control.
After Jackson Gap (mile 26.6), where I tended to my feet which were already giving me grief, I was on my own for the longest stretch between crew of the day. Things were great for a little bit. I experienced some trail magic where I got an orange, signed the log book at the California/Oregon boarder, and listened to the bells of mountain cows. Then, at mile 35-ish, the rest of the day would change and the downed trees which started in a more sparce fashion quickly began to become more and more frequent until I reached the aptly named Blow Down Town. It was hot, exposed, and down right gnarly. My crew knew I was in it when the location pings from my inReach started getting closer and closer together. Blow Down Town wasn't just about the downed trees either, this is when the brush became so thick that it was hard to locate the trail. Thankfully, Larry had gone up prior and done a little course marking for me, but there were still two PCT hikers who were way off course that I had to help navigate back up to the trail. One gave me water which was a lifesaver as although I filled up my flasks at a spring, that was some time ago and I had been rationing for quite a bit. There was no amount of water that was going to be enough for this stretch and the rationing situation was getting a little sketchy.
I finally made it to Cook and Green Pass (mile 51.6) where Mom, Sierra, and Larry met me. Coke and the burp that came soon after were both exactly what the doctor ordered and an immediate morale booster. I changed my foot bandaids and my shoes. Larry would join me here for 20 miles, his longest ever run and during this segment, I would also hit my longest ever run. We started off with a pretty significant climb and were welcomed by views that I can't even describe. After the climb and announcing that it felt like my Backcountry Rise experience at Mt Saint Helens, the going quickly got rough and the brush became so thick, the trails so technical. Gels would start to become more challenging to down at some point, but I puked and rallied. I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of the amazing highlights of our time together. We got to watch a huge and quite brown black bear charge up the mountain across from us as it realized our presence, we had 365 views of the Red Buttes bowl, I got to wash my face in Azalea Lake, and there were iridescent spiders. My spirits remained mostly high and I was mostly a silly little goose.
Once we got into the last crew access point at Steve's Fork (mile 71.7), Kara joined me. My body was toasted from the nearly 40 miles of absolute trail abomination, but again, my spirits were what I believe were impressively high. We saw a tiny baby snake, I pooped in a hole, and got in some good girl talk. Larry and Sierra surprised us, and Sierra got to run Mt. Elijah to the finish with Kara and I. This Sierra meet up was the missing link of the day. Shortly after this, my mind gave up with my body, and I was done. Tears were had for many reasons, one of which was knowing I was going to finish many, many hours later than I had anticipated. I was struggling to be proud of myself and then became even more sad knowing I felt that way, the spiral began. Thankfully, I had my girls and a hallucination of the cutest little tan fox sitting on top of a log smiling at me, it was so happy and then another little smiling fox ran across the trail in front of me.
As we made our final descent, we could see flashlights, and although in the homestretch, I continued to be tearful and numb, not excited. My amazing crew and support squad was waiting for me at the trailhead as I took the final steps down the stairs and to the entrance of the visitor center of the Oregon Caves. I stopped my watch, sat down on the ground, and let the emotion wash over me. Jon wrapped me in a blanket, cleaned my feet, and held me until I was ready to be embraced by the rest of my people.
Despite it all this week, which included deciding not to do Hood Hundred which I had been training for relentlessly for months, high emotions, and finding a last-minute Fastest Known Time/Only Known Time, I finished. It may not have been pretty and it may not have been fast, but it was gorgeous and I never stopped moving forward. The day was full of surprises, awe, and a heck of a lot of love. Am I proud? I am working on it, there is a lot to process and unpack. Until then, I will be butt down, feet up with a cat in my lap.
I wouldn't have been able to make this happen without the support of my crew and those who always believe in me. Thank you!