(sorry if the day numbers seem weird. I started the numbering over for the hiking, but it seemed better now to just keep it all together. So 48 is the total number of days out)
October 14
Miles 4993-5170.3
So after exactly one month and over 550 miles of hiking, it was finally time to get the rubber on the road again!
After spending a great afternoon in Seattle where I got my sleeping pad fixed at the MSR factory, eating fish sandwiches and raw oysters at the market, and getting a coffee at the very first Starbucks, we were on our way south to Portland. There, 8 of us (we lost Swiss Miss this morning on a plane back to Georgia), were invited to stay at the home of the Splarmboys (Splints and Farmboy), whose parents were so fantastic to not only do so much for me but then to also take in so many of us still not quite fit for normal society hikers.
I was the second casualty of the group as I said goodbye to everyone as they drove off in the morning. It wad nice to be back in my cotton riding clothes and to see my bike again, but really sad to say bye to my hiking friends.
My first stop was the Harley dealership to get my steering column and spoke checked. After that it was the highway.
The Columbia River Gorge was a gorgeous ride and the weather was perfect. Unfortunately I got a late start though and so couldn’t take full advantage, falling short on miles.
It’s weird to look back on all that time on the trail. It was such a big chunk of time and it was so much fun, but it feels like the only real proof that it all happened is how quick my joints and feet stiffen up and how fast my metabolism still is.
