What's your notion of perfect weather? For me, it would be a lot like yesterday afternoon: temps in the high 60s and low 70s, sun shining, just a few clouds, and a constant breeze.
Yesterday, Rachael, my CS host in Underwood (by the way, Rhesus, "CS" means "Couchsurfing"), drove me back downhill from Underwood, then across the bridge to Hood River, where I am now. Because I had some miles to make up, and also because my room at the Riverview Lodge (15th and Oak) wasn't ready when I got there, I left my backpack in the motel office and took a long walk. It was around lunchtime, and I found a place on Oak that served something I hadn't had in a while: gyros. I stopped there, downed a beef gyro (as in Korea, the place served beef or chicken, no lamb) and some 7-Up, wandered toward the river, then walked back uphill to my motel. I stopped at an ice cream shop and had a scoop of "chocolate lover's chocolate" (essentially a slightly richer version of regular chocolate) in a waffle cone, then collected my pack from the Riverview's office and went to my room, Number 24.
Once inside, I unpacked my poor tent, which had spent more than 24 hours inside its sack, soaked and dirty. The whole rig needed a thorough washing and drying, so I stepped into the shower with everything and proceeded to cover the bottom of the tub with Viento State Park's dirt, sap, and leaf fragments. I hung most of the gear up on the shower rod, but realized that the only way to dry everything rapidly would be with some help. To that end, I strolled westward to the local Wal-Mart, picked up a roll of super-absorbent disposable wipes (and some cheap food), and went back to Riverview.
Today, the tent, footprint, various sacs, and even the tent stakes are nearing the end of the drying process. Tomorrow, I'm off to Memaloose State Park, and the day after that, I hit The Dalles, which my manager tells me is the largest city in the Columbia River Gorge. The character of my walk is about to change, from what I hear: the climate's going to become hotter and dryer, and towns will be fewer and farther between. While I'm in the Dalles, I'll likely buy some extra water containers. The added weight won't be welcome, but in the coming weeks, it will be necessary.
At least I had one absolutely perfect day.
_
Marathon
12 years ago
2 comments:
Suggestion- if you can find 'em, buy the Nalgene water BLADDERS. They're lighter and much more packable, because when they're not full of water they're flat.
http://www.rei.com/product/626195 is an example.
And yeah, it's going to get steadily hotter and dryer as you move further east. Those mountains are sucking all the rain out of the air; soon it'll all be ponderosa pines instead of Douglas firs, and the countryside will be tumbleweeds.
Blech. Hitch a ride to SLC instead and spend a month there learning all about Mormons. Then hitch another to Denver and pick the walk up there! ;)
I bet at least part of the perfection was in walking without the pack :-)
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