washington, my home

what, you've never heard our state song?

the past couple days i've been mulling over the theme of "feast or famine" on a thru-hike. hmm, maybe "highs and lows" is more appropriate. but i digress...


recently, the weather has been hot. really hot. if you live on the west coast, perhaps you've noticed? and as i've continued to put in high-mileage days, my thoughts turn towards huge, cold drinks more and more frequently. just before getting to sisters, oregon i was really feeling drained. my body was still recovering from the 62+ miles i'd hiked the day before, and the temperature was climbing well into the 90's as i toiled upward through an old, shadeless burn - i was thirsty. i mean, thirsty. as in, actually looking forward to the "lillypad pond" water my guidebook told me was coming up. then, a half-hour after drinking the pond water (delicious) we made it to the road and found a cooler full of trail magic. ice-cold pepsi and coors beer and probably 50 snickers bars and oreo packs. after i downed two beers in about a minute we hitched into sisters. then, as tomato and i were plowing through our 32 oz milkshakes and he was telling me he'd also just drunk two 32 oz mountain dews while i was in the post office, we contemplated the emotional highs and lows of the feast or famine lifestyle.

friday afternoon as i was climbing up the shoulder of mount hood, fixated on the oasis of timberline lodge, i was once again in the throes of extreme thirst. it is such an unpleasant, and consuming feeling. then i hit the wyeast cafeteria and proceeded to gulp down 96 ounces of lemonade and blue powerade from their soda fountain. it was shocking how quickly i went from desire to almost being nauseous i was so full. i still managed to get down a pesto sandwich and fries, and went back to order a bowl of chili. that's when the cook came up to the counter and asked if i wanted some garlic and cheese breadsticks. apparently they were left over from a lunch and going to be thrown out. i said absolutely and took the entire pan - about 14 i think! talk about a freebie.


finally, on saturday i limped down (way, way, way down over 4000 feet) into cascade locks in the late afternoon sun, just happy to be taking a couple days off and my friend john was patiently waiting for me in the charburger parking lot. on the drive back to vancouver i drank a half gallon of chocolate milk and an entire box of ice cream sandwiches - over 2700 calories - then headed to a wedding with a great dinner and microbrew beers. between all the family and friends and the fantastic comestibles, i was on sensory overload.

peaks and valleys. highs and lows. feast or famine. call it what you will, it's living life and it sure ain't boring.

beauty and the beast. my toe hasn't been the same since my 62 miler.