D119-D121: Last state, last season 旅途最後一州、最後的季節

Days 119 to 121:

The town of Cascade Locks has a park right beside the river where PCT hikers are allowed to hike for a very low rate. There are free hot showers here for camping and a huge flat, grassy area for us to set up tents. As we are almost down at sea level here, the temperature was much warmer and it felt like summer again. I left the tent doors wide open and let the breeze blow through and it was one of the more comfortable sleeps on the whole trail. I’m very thankful the town is so welcoming to hikers and lets us use this lovely space.

Cascade Locks這個小鎮有個河邊的公園供PCT登山客露營，有優惠價，可以免費洗熱水，搭帳的地方是一大片平整的草皮。雖然在山上已經有秋天的感覺，但哥倫比亞河這裡是PCT最低點，比海平面高幾十公尺而已，在海拔這麼低的地方天氣還很暖和，有回到夏天的感覺，帳篷的外們整晚都開著，暖風吹過帳篷內，我晚上睡得特別好。如果在這個地方沒有住一晚就太可惜了。

Cascade Locks is one of only three towns that the PCT actually goes right through on its entire course. The reason for this is that the massive Columbia River separates Oregon and Washington and the easiest way to allow the trail to cross over is to use an existing bridge. That bridge is here in Cascade Locks and has the awesome name of Bridge of the Gods. When you’ve walked over 2000 miles all the way from Mexico and get to cross over this huge river on foot, you feel almost invincible and Bridge of the Gods seems like a very fitting name. As an added bonus, I got to cross this bridge on my birthday!

Cascade Locks是PCT穿過的三小鎮之一，步道會在此經過比較熱鬧的地區是因為要進華盛頓州的話要過龐大的哥倫比亞河，而利用現存的公路橋是最便利的方法，於是PCT的路線就規劃在Cascade Locks這裡的「眾神之橋」過河。靠著雙腳從墨西哥一直走到距離2000英里遠且名字聽起來這麼偉大的橋，又可以在此橋上輕鬆的走到哥倫比亞河的對案，給人一種神勇無比的感覺。走過眾神之橋的那一天剛好也是我的生日，給自己的生日禮物是PCT的最後一州，據說很多人認為是PCT風景最美的一段。

Fall is definitely here now. The leaves are turning yellow and red all around. Walking on the trail now feels like walking through a postcard, or one of those big jigsaw puzzles of a mountain scene that you might see framed in your grandparents’ basement or on the wall in a summer cottage, a timeless autumn scene.

上山後的確有秋天的感覺，周圍都是黃紅色的葉子，感覺自己走進明信片或風景大拼圖的畫面，是很經典的秋天景色，台灣難以看到。

My next town stop is only three days away in Trout Lake. I will be stopping here because my cousin from Canada is coming to join me on the trail for a few days. I think I’ve only seen him once in the last 12 years or so but we spent a lot of time together as kids so I’m really looking forward to catching up with him. Because I only need to carry food for three days, I decided to carry some heavier items this time. The Franz breakfast pies are less than two dollars, are loaded with calories, and taste great! This was one of my favourite breakfast items on trail, if I could find them.

我只要走三天就到下一個補給點，我會選這麼近的地方是因為我加拿大的一個表弟要下來跟我走幾天，剛好三天後的這個小鎮是很方便跟他集合的地方。我們小時候很常一起玩，尤其是夏天暑假的時候我們的家人都在同一個地方渡假，不過最近12年好像跟他碰過一次面而已，很期待未來這幾天可以跟他好好聊這幾年的事。因為這一段只有三天所以我決定背比較重的食物，不管多重也不會超過我以前五六天份的補給品。Franz牌早餐甜派超級便宜，熱量又高，又好吃，在超市看到的話都會買。

I even decided to carry a cucumber (lots of water weight) and a full loaf of garlic sourdough bread this time to make a real sandwich for lunch. Pulling this out on my lunch break felt simply decadent on trail. What’s more, I found one of the best lunch spots on trail on the second day, with a sitting log and a view of the next volcano on trail, Mt. Adams. Simple pleasures, what the trail is all about.

這一段我甚至背了一個水份多的黃瓜還有一條蒜味酸麵包，這樣可以在步道上享受豪華的午餐，也就是在家裡會做的三明治。這段的第二天我還找到很棒的的地方用餐，剛好有樹幹可以當椅子，前面是即將要走到的亞當斯山。好天氣，好風景，好食物，這樣我就很滿足了，簡單的生活模式就是PCT最大的優點。

The going has been really good in Washington so far. The only thing I have to complain about is that the days are getting shorter now and I always run out of daylight before I run out of energy. When the sun’s up, though, it feels great to be out walking. The fires are starting to die down now so the air is clear again. I passed 2200 miles in this section, too. Only four more of these markers left now!

華盛頓走起來還不會很難，唯一麻煩的事情是現在日照時間真的太短了，每天還沒走到累就走到天黑，不過白天走真的很舒服，附近的森林火災火勢變小，天上沒什麼煙，深呼吸只有大自然的味道。這一段我經過2200英里的里程碑，這種一百英里的里程碑現在只剩下4個，步道終點越來越近。

On the third evening, I stopped at a lake where there were several designated campsites. I was planning to get to bed very early and then get up at 3 a.m. so I can get into town by early afternoon. I am meeting my cousin tomorrow night and we have to hit the trail the next morning, so I won’t be able to rest a full day. At the very least, I’ll be able to have half a day of rest if I can start and finish the day early tomorrow. I really wanted that rest as I had just done the entire state of Oregon in 15 days and essentially had no full rest days in the last 700 miles. There was the rest day at Big Lake Youth Camp but that was after walking 24 hours straight so it hardly counts. The sun was setting already and I decided it was time to stop and make camp here.

第三天的傍晚我走到一個有規劃的營位的湖邊，打算很早睡，隔天凌晨三點就起床，這樣可以早一點到小鎮，早一點休息。表弟明天晚上會到，後天早上我們就出發，所以我也沒有辦法休息一整天，不過只要下午早一點到小鎮我至少可以休息半天。我現在很需要休息，我剛把奧勒岡州全程在15天內走完，上次好好休息一整天是在1000多公里前的地方，好啦在奧勒岡的大湖夏令營其實有休息到24小時不過那是因為前一天走了滿滿24小時，當時休息的時間還不夠。明天確定要早起所以決定馬上找位子紮營。

Of course, as often happens on the trail, something came up that changed my plans at the last minute. At one of the campsites here, there was a couple who had been hiking with a donkey for a pack animal. They were able to bring all kinds of equipment and food with them as weight didn’t really matter. They had chairs, lanterns, marshmallows, and even marshmallow roasting sticks. They even had a campfire going when I arrived!! They invited me and another hiker who showed up at the same time to sit around the fire with them and I couldn’t resist. Socializing around a fire and roasting marshmallows was worth far more than sleep at that point. As always, the fire kept us up far later than hiker midnight (9 p.m.) but it was totally worth it.

走PCT時很常因為不可預料的事情臨時改計劃，今天再次發生這樣的情況，我帳篷還沒搭就看到遠方一個營位有營火，走過去看發現是一對夫妻在那邊紮營，他們還帶了驢當馱畜。因此他們帶了好多裝備出來，都是登山客平常不會背的，有椅子、提燈、還有棉花糖和烤棉花糖的鐵叉。有另一位PCT登山客跟我同時走到這個湖邊，夫妻邀請我們兩個過來坐火邊聊天，早睡的計劃立刻改了，好久沒有在步道上營火跟人家聊天，等等晚餐吃完還可以烤棉花糖，這個機會不能錯過。平常早睡的登山客只要有營火就不會早睡，今天也不例外，我們10點多才捨得離開火邊到帳篷裡睡覺。

The next morning I still managed to get up at 3 a.m. and walked in the dark for a couple hours. I was able to see Mt. St. Helens and Mount Adams to my left and right in the dawn glow.

隔天早上我還是3點準時起床，摸了兩個小時的黑前進，在晨光下在稜線的兩側看到兩座火山亞當斯山和聖海倫山的輪廓。

On the advice of other hikers, I took a side trail that would give a good view of the sunrise beside Mt. Adams. This ended up being great advice:

前一天遇到的登山客建議我走一條小支線不要走PCT主線，這樣亞當斯山會看得更清楚，感謝他們推薦這條路，在此看日出好美：

Later in the morning I got another great surprise. Coming toward me from the opposite direction on the trail was Bird! I had met Bird during the second week of the trail and hiked near her for about six weeks. She is a very interesting person and one of my favourite people from the trail this year, but I hadn’t seen her since Mono Hot Springs at the end of June, which I wrote about previously on the blog. Since I hadn’t passed her in Oregon, I figured she might have decided to go home. Actually, she had taken time off and was now going south through Washington. You just never know who you’re going to run into again on the trail! It’s too bad we aren’t going the same direction now, but Bird hasn’t finished the Canadian border section so there’s a chance we will run into each other again.

晚一點很意外地遇到從北邊走過來的Bird！她是我PCT的第二個星期就認識的登山客，之後有大概6個禮拜進度一直跟她差不多，常常在營地和小鎮跟她聊天。她人很有趣又很友善，不過已經兩個多月沒看到她，上次碰面是我跟Kirk走的時候六月底在Mono溫泉我們都一起吃過晚餐，部落格提到過。我在奧勒岡州已經超過很多在南加認識的夥伴但都沒有看到她也沒有聽到她的消息，原以為她決定提早結束，到了北加就回家了，畢竟她家住北加。結果我沒看到她是因為她受傷，回家休息了好一陣子，後來直接跳到北華盛頓，現在要往南走把跳過的路全部走完。真的很意外在這裡遇到她，不過今年在PCT真的常發生這種事，很多人不會直接一路從南加走到加拿大，我自己的行程也是有點亂，所以在不同的地方遇到認識的人的機會很高。很可惜現在Bird走的方向跟我相反，不過她到北華盛頓的時候剛好是通道加拿大邊境的步道因為火災沒開放，現在又開放了，以後她或許還會再跳回來把華盛頓最北邊的那一段走完，說不定還有機會碰面。

I had to literally run the last two miles, but I made it down to the road in time for the shuttle going into the town of Trout Lake. Mt. Adams is nearby and can be seen very clearly from the main street. This is a small community with only one restaurant and one general store, but they are very welcoming toward hikers. The shuttle is run by volunteers several times a day, and the general store allows hikers to hang out on the lawn beside the store.

差一點沒趕上往Trout Lake的接駁車，最後三公里一路用跑的，重裝跑步以前沒有試過不過現在體力很好，關節都受得了。這個小鎮在亞當斯山旁邊，從鎮中心的馬路就看得到。這裡人口很少，只有一間超市和一間餐廳，不過鎮民都對登山客很歡迎，甚至有人自願開車做小鎮與登山口之間的接駁，超市主人也讓我們在店旁的庭院休息。

The general store also has three rooms available for rent for the incredible price of 25 dollars each. I knew these would be in high demand so I actually booked one two weeks in advance. What I didn’t know was that there was actually a bathtub here instead of a shower. After three weeks of wanting a nice hot soak for my feet and legs, it was finally going to happen! They even had Epsom salts there for us. I soaked, stretched and massaged my legs and feet for a good hour in there. That alone was worth the 25 dollars!

超市也提供三間日租的房間給登山客，一間不分人數才25元美金，真的太便宜了！我兩個禮拜前就已經跟他們訂好了，不然走到小鎮的時候才去問一定早就被其他登山客住走了。看到浴室的時候好高興，雖然沒有蓮蓬頭給我們洗澡但是有浴缸！已經三個禮拜我一直想要讓腳泡熱水但都沒有機會，今天終於有機會了，而且他們還有浴鹽給我們免費泡澡時使用！我下午泡水泡了一個多小時，順便拉筋和幫腳按摩，光這個泡澡的時間我就覺得那25元美金很值得。

The store also holds packages for hikers, but I didn’t send anything here as there is enough food in the general store to last me the next few days. I did, however, need to send a package out. Before the post office closed, I made my way over there to mail my old socks. The brand that the majority of people wear on the trail is Darn Tough, and these socks really are tough. These socks actually last longer than a pair of shoes! I have been alternating between the same two pairs of socks since Day 1. It is now Day 121, each pair has been worn for about 1100 miles, and just a few days ago they finally started to get small holes in the heels. The company has a lifetime warranty on their socks, however. All you have to do is mail them back and they will replace them once for free! I highly recommend these socks to anyone; not only are they durable but they’re extremely comfortable, too.

超市還會幫我們代收包裹，不過我沒有寄補給箱到這裡，畢竟這裡時超市，應該可以從裡面買到後面幾天所需要的補給品。沒有要領包裹但是有東西要寄出去，趁下午郵局還沒休息之前去寄我的舊襪子。為什麼要寄舊襪子呢？在PCT最常穿的襪子是Darn Tough牌子，襪子真的很耐磨，壽命甚至比鞋子還長，我從第一天到現在只穿了兩雙Darn Tough的襪子，過幾天換另一雙這樣一直到華盛頓，現在是第121天，每雙襪子各穿過將近1800公里，幾天前才終於在腳跟部磨出小洞。不過Darn Tough是有終身保固的，只要把磨損的襪子寄回去就可以獲得一雙新襪。這個牌子我非常推薦，不只耐用還特別舒服，就算沒有登山也可以考慮穿這個牌子的襪子。

I caught up to several other hikers in town that I knew from the desert section: Canadian Treasure, Flamingo Sunrise, Amy, Matt, and more. Matt actually started on the same day as me, May 2nd, but I never thought I’d see him again. He is a fast hiker and he was already ahead of me in the Sierras. However, he’d taken a few more days off than me in Oregon and I was really pushing high miles at this time so somehow I caught up to him. There are two things I like about hiking near Matt. One, he’s just a really nice and laid-back guy and I enjoyed talking with him. Two, he makes me feel better about how late I sleep in. Lots of hikers get up really early and are walking by 6:00 or 6:30, whereas I’m often not on the trail until 7:00 or 8:00. Normally I feel a bit guilty about these late mornings, but Matt often sleeps in till 9 o’clock, so when I walk past his tent and he is still sleeping it is a bit of a morale boost for me!

我在Trout Lake又趕上了在南加認識的幾位登山客，Canadian Treasure, Flamingo Sunrise, Amy, Matt，還有更多。Matt也是跟我一樣5月2日開始走的，不過我本來以為不會再看到他，他速度算很快，而且在內華達山脈我還沒去加拿大之前他就已經走在我前面，不過他在奧勒岡州的小鎮休息很久，我剛好在那一州也都走特別快，竟然在華盛頓還趕上他了。我喜歡Matt有兩個原因，第一個是他脾氣隨和，很好聊；第二個是我只要跟他比我就不會覺得我很晚才起床是很嚴重的問題。其他登山客很多都在日出前已經起床了，6點多就開始走，不過我自己通常會在日出後才起床，7點多或8點後才正式出發。Matt比我更誇張，有時候9點才起床，我早上經過他的帳篷的時候看到他還沒起來我就知道有人比我還會賴床，不會再罵自己懶惰。今天又有機會跟Matt聊最近兩個月的情況我很開心。

My cousin Scott arrived in Portland today and is getting a ride out to Trout Lake. He has set a fairly ambitious schedule for himself, as we need to do between 25 and 30 miles every day. Starting out with that many miles the first couple days on trail is almost unheard of, but Scott has done a lot of hiking on his own lately so he might be able to handle it. However far we make it, it’s going to be a great time. It was a bit of a challenge to make it through Oregon and get here by today, but I made it, and now for the rest of the trip I can just relax and not worry about any more deadlines. 

我的表弟Scott今天到了Portland，有一個朋友晚上會載他來到這裡。Scott預計走的路程對一個剛開始走PCT的人算蠻遠的，每天都要走40公里以上，新手走這麼遠是我從未聽過的事，不過他最近也都在健行訓練，意志力也很強，或許他做得到。不管我們走多遠有這個夥伴走一定會很開心。因為要最晚今天走到Trout Lake所以我在奧勒岡走得有點累，但PCT剩下的路程中我終於可以放鬆一點，好好享受步道上的生活，已經沒有時間上的壓力了。