Day 1 OR The one in which we have a reality check.

Let me back up, A month or so before we were slated to leave Anita and I went on a search to have the EXACT drop off and pick up point. The Husbands wanted to KNOW!  So that set us off on a 15 hour drive in the longest day ever!  We ran into closed roads due to snow and  trying to figure out a way around and so on. SO we drove down to  Bridge of Gods and headed North trying to get to Trout Lake that way.  NOPE not happening. On our way back towards home we stopped at the Trailhead on the WA. side of the bridge.  I said Oh man it's all up hill from here. What a ugly place to start.  Well guess where we started??? RIGHT!  All up hill from here.  NO joke!
We had an Odark30 meeting time in Seattle.  As we were meeting Anita realized she forgot her poles.  No worry we would just go get them. Since nowhere was open at 3:30AM.  So an hour plus detour put us a tad late, but no worries it's just us and our time so not a problem at all.  It really wasn't.  We got to Oregon and had breakfast for our big send off.  MAN were we full.  It was delicious! We knew it was as good as it was going to get for a week.  :)  We would not be hungry we knew but fresh wasn't on the menu.
We drove to the drop off and started sorting and putting the finishing touches on our packs.  Both of us have food issues.  One of us might have had some big ones surface in the planning of the week.  Not a problem.  We packed what we could.  Did some quick math of meals and left all that wouldn't fit in the car to come back home with Dh and Bugs.  Really not a problem.  It was just a moment of frustration and a little big of clarity from the get go that we might have packed to much.
Dh and Bugs left us at the Oregon side of the bridge.  It was 10 am. Our packs are so big and heavy neither of us can pick up put on without help.  Not cool!  LOL  So cinched up until you feel like puking and we are off!
The BOG is not a solid bridge.  It's GRATE.  OMG I thought!  trekking poles in one hand and the other on the rail.  HUGE wind gusts all the while walking on a see through bridge into on coming traffic.  OH GOOD TIMES!  Aren't we off to a grate (see what I did there) start! Once that was over I thought we are golden!  Right up until we posed under the sign at the trail head.  LOL  It's started off a nice sloping UP!  It just went more UP from there.  It was green and shady though so  a nice start to the day.  We were both a little surprised at how long you can hear traffic.  It was days before we stopped hearing trains though. I hike Up faster then Anita does.  So I put her in front.  She sets a nice pace.  I pant really hard the first hour.  It takes me a long time to get my breathing under control.  Once that happens we have a good rhythm. Anita decided I did it so she got the spider webs first.  Well that too.  LOL  We passed lots of day hikers or hikers heading back after the weekend.  We missed a sign post at a crossing but that only lasted about 100 feet when we decided that wasn't right.  We went back and TADA there was the sign.  I used the app I have a LOT for just that.  It was an amazing help. Anita has strengths in my weaknesses and visa versa.  We got to Gillett lake and I miss stepped and almost went ass over teacup down a cliff. Scared us both!  I hurt and my knees were knocking so I had to sit for a bit and gather myself.  Then we pulled my pack to an uphill spot and got it all back on and situated and off we went.  We wanted to have lunch at the lake but neither of us wanted to hike down to it. So we opted to keep walking a bit.  We found a lovely spot by a feeder creek and stopped and soaked our hot feet and got our water refilled and had lunch.  It was lovely.  The afternoon before us.... so off we went.  We didn't want to stop in the dark so we were looking at the app and map and had a goal. Table mountain.  Oh what we wish we would have known.  The last 2 hours were straight up and brutal.  We passed a few day hikers then nothing.  We got to the Table mountain trail head and it intersects with the PCT.  We set our packs down and we were done!  Right in the middle of the trail.  We were just fine with it. Walk around folks.   LOL I think that was the longest 11.88 miles in my life.   We had to organize and set up in the dusk.  We didn't like it and will try not to do that again.  We were so proud of ourselves!  Day 1 in the book!  We had dinner.  Not to shabby!  We did decide that a bar and a snack pack were not enough lunch and tomorrow we will have to do better mid day. We figured out how to bear bag our food and get it in the tree. We know it's not high enough but it's in the tree and away from the tent.  We were exhausted!  Off to bed.  Bring on the raccoons.  Those things are Chatty Cathy's!  We were so tired We didn't care for long.  We slept!  about 2 hour intervals but sleep!  It was awesome!

Bugs and Anita hugging it out. 

Us on the bridge

Out of order, before we crossed the bridge. 

Made it!

Gillett Lake, just before the fall. 

To be continued.........

You just have to start....

OR, the one in which I ramble.

In 2013 I stumbled upon a blog by a guy who was walking the PCT as a through hiker.  He posted the most amazing pictures.  I have always loved walking and hiking.  I love taking pictures.  I thought Wow!  What a cool idea.
Time passes ... Then I saw the previews for the movie Wild.  A group of ladies I know had a book club and they picked Wild to read then we were going to see the movie.  I loved it.  So it started a spark.  I thought I would love to do something like this.  Not the whole thing.  I have no desire to hike in California where it's so hot you have to walk at night.  I don't want scary snakes and lots of other creepy crawlers. I also don't have a life I can just check out of for 5/6 months.  As lovely as that sounds, just not an option for us.  But wouldn't it be lovely to hike a section.  Just take a week or so and hike and take pictures.  Hmmm.  It did to me.
Last year a cousin and I made loose plans to do a small section.  She ended up not being able to go.  I was super sad and frustrated.  But life goes on.  We had our own issues and it was probably best in the long run to wait a year.
So my DaughterSisterFriend Anita is my hiking buddy. We have hiked so many miles together.  We started talking and training and planning and shopping. We decided we were going to do this! We are going to hike a section of the PCT.  We drug the boys on hikes they didn't want to go on.  We hiked hard hikes.  Every month we were hiking! Miles on our feet and packs to our shoulders. When we started planning our section we never took into account that we would have the biggest snows in years!  Sigh...  so we changed plans, again and several times again!  We were on plan Z.  But we were READY!  We decided to start on the Oregon side of the Bridge of the Gods and walk North to Trout Lake.  We wanted a 100 miles. I use the term WE loosely. I for some reason was fixated on 100.  For some reason that number was super important to me.  Anita and I both had lesson's to learn this week.  More on that later.  
My family was as supportive as they could be. They didn't understand the want to.  But they thought I could do it, mostly. :) Everyone was worried about people.  I wasn't at all.  I was worried about bears.  Cougars came into it too but mostly bears.  We took precautions. We had what we needed.  I think I was so preoccupied with allaying everyone else's fears I didn't really work on mine. Yet.
THE day came for us to leave.

A very short night and a super early morning.  Bugs and Anita sleeping on the way to the drop off site. 

Breakfast before we go. 

Cinch it up!

As ready as we are going to be.....

To be continued.......

Well well well......

Look what the cat drug in!  Life has taken some turns.
I have missed blogging.   Life took some awkward uncomfortable turns and I couldn't seem to write without just being a Debbie downer so I think it was just easier to stop writing.  So here is the gist in a nutshell...
- Skater's girlfriend became his wife.  I now have 2 of the most wonderful daughter in laws a mama could ask for.
- Skater and wife ( I have to think of a name) gave us another grand daughter!  She is amazing!  She turned 1 this Spring and she is just the cutest thing.  She loves people and waving and saying Hi. She will repeat most things you say to her.  What a gift she is.
- T2 and his girlfriend have parted ways.  But he still gets to parent Little Miss.  She's getting so big and we love her so!  She spends most weekends with T2 so we see her as often as we can.
- We had to sell our home and relocate.  I have so struggled with this.  That was the home we brought 3 of the boys home too.  The youngest was born there in our bedroom.  It was our home.  I hated leaving it.  It was necessary.
Dh was hit by a car at work and was hurt and rehabilitated for 6 months.  It was a super rough time.  He's doing fine now.  I'm asking that you please follow the laws and put your phone down and to have insurance.
- We had to help our friend Walker over the rainbow bridge.  Dh got a new baby when he was hurt.  We have Button.
- Heir apparent moved to Vietnam with his friend.  She is from Australia but lives there for work.  He lived there for a year and a half.  But has since come home.  He couldn't work there very much and he needs full time work. He's fine.
- We went to visit him there. It was AMAZING.  I'm sure I'll blog about it more later.
- Drummer and his wife and kids are doing really well.  Princess and Buster are getting big and doing well in school.
- Bug went to a Military school for almost 6 months to change his stars.  He's doing so well.

I plan on writing again.  I have missed it.  We have had some adventures that I want to keep track of.  Peace.