From Highway 12 to Packwood: Meeting Hikers and Sharing Stories

I set an alarm to wake up early to make the Noon bus to Packwood.

I was ecstatic to meet others doing the same as me!

I was about 7 miles away from Highway 12 where I could catch the bus.

On my way, I say Data the person who told me about the bus.

Data was packing up their tent not too far from my camp.

About ten minutes later Data flew past.

This pushed me to move a bit faster.

Once I got closer to the Highway someone put 2300 on the ground.

They made it out of the Spanish Moss from the trees.

It must have been someone going NOBO.

For me going SOBO was about 350 miles I have hiked already.

So, I had 2300 to go.

It was great to have to see how much I have accomplished.

Just two more miles until I get to town.

I made it to Highway 12 with some time to spare.

Now it was a short walk to where the bus will pick me up

Data greeted me and we chatted for a bit.

The bus came and we talked about ways to help prevent chafing without using baby powder.

Data told me of a story of someone using so much baby powder and it was always all over the place.

Baby Powder became their trail name and I did not want my trail name to be the same.

Data told me they used deodorant to help prevent chafing.

Once I got into town that was the first thing I bought.

I resupplied food and went to a restaurant to get some food for the next sections.

Once I got settled I stepped outside to join Data chatting with someone else who was hiking the PCT.

Data introduced me to Dubbleback.

Well, Doubbleback was her trial name.

She got this name because she brought her dog with her on trail.

At one point her dog got sick from the altitude.

This is common for dogs that are not used to the elevation changes.

She carried her dog from one campsite to the next.

Then she had to go back to pick up her things and traveled back to the same campsite she dropped her dog off at.

She is a strong woman I thought to myself.

She just got done meeting her husband to pick up her puppy.

She still wanted to hike the trail so she started from where she finished.

She was ready to start hiking again after knowing her dog was in a safe place.

She told me she hiked 20 to 25 miles a day and trained for marathons.

I was partly worried I would not be able to keep up with her because the most I hiked was about 19 to 20 miles in a day.

I did so about 5 times.

I was exhausted every time I did so.

While chatting I saw planes flying in the valley.

I had never seen planes fly between the mountains and thought it was impressive this small town has a airport.

A bit later the 4 pm the bus got to the hotel.

I met the other couple who Data told me about Rebeceh and Jordan.

I was happy to have a group of people to hike with.

While we sat and chatted we saw reports of fires on the trail.

Some of the places we heard had fires were California and the parts of Oregon.

We hoped they would be under control by the time we got there.

Later, we grabbed a few beers and shared our stories of our experience on trail and got to know one another a bit better.

Soon went to bed and Doubleback and I planned on hiking with one another.

Data was trying to finish The Washington section in two weeks hiking up to 30 miles a day.

The couple wanted to do their own thing but hiked around the same speed as Doubleback and Myself.

The next morning came along and I wanted to grab some food at a restaurant.

One of the things I remember is wanting to get some cheesecake but didn't get it.

I thought about needing to save money so I could finish the trail.

The next section was about 150 miles to hike.

We planned to hike 10 to 15 miles on the first day because the bus would not drop us off near the trailhead until Noon.

It was that time to hop on the bus and head back to the trail.

The last section before we hit the Oregon border.

I saw a new trail marker for the PCT.

It was wooden this time.

I loved how there were different designs for the PCT trail markers.

There were even trail markers that were so old the trees started to grow around them.

My name is Romell and I will bring you along on my journey of self discovery!

I hope some of my stories help give you the confidence to explore if you have been afraid to do so.

I am also bringing this to you without ads and will be giving my honest opinion about the gear and other things I have learned along my journey.

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Thank you, I will continue the story! I hope to see you next time!!