So here we are starting out on the 2020 hike. We had to drive about 7 hours from Oroville to Bridge of the Gods to get this thing started. It was not with a little trepidation that I begin the journey. Have no idea what type of hiker I will be.

Sign at the start of let me know just how far away Canada is. 500 miles. How hard can it be.

This part of the trail goes through the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area which is the largest national scenic area in the United States. As we were driving to Bridge of the Gods along Hwy 84 which parallels the Columbia River we were amazed at the beauty. More information here: http://www.columbiarivergorge.info .

The picture below is pretty much how I remember Washington. Nice soft forest floor trail. As you can probably imagine not all of the PCT in Washington is this way. In fact, Washington will get downright rugged later.

The trail did get a lot rockier as I went along but the scenery was beautiful. I took this picture because of the very tip of a snowy peak in the distance. Not sure what peak it is but pretty sure it is over yonder in Oregon.

The picture below is of Lake Gillette and is about 3 miles into the hike. It is very popular place for the locals to hike as I passed many hikers coming back for there and many hikers passed me going to there. All the hikers were young and they all put on masks to pass me on the trail.

I met a south bound PCT hiker whose plan was to a complete hike. He said he was very tired of Washington and could not wait to get to Bridge of the Gods and get a hot shower and a good burger. He indicated he was use to hiking the Appalachian Trail and it was always a big deal to get into a new state. On the PCT he will only get that experience 2 times. I asked him about snow on the PCT up north and he said there was very little. Now if only his very little is the same as my very little!!

So I set up camp after about 6 miles of hiking. I text Lenora and Martha on the InReach and immediately wish we would have tested it before we started to just to make sure everything was right. But after a little while I received a reply and was relieved that everything worked.

• miles: 6.1
• steps: 15831
• PCT mile: 2153.5
• Elevation: 800
• location: https://w3w.co/pistons.motherhood.wound

Some of the wildflowers seen along the way

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