Washington, 500 miles to go!!

The last month has been quite the challenge for me. I have been struggling with foot pain everyday and the miles have seemed to take forever.I have had to push myself every mile to keep going because the pain is so bad, even with 1,600 mgs of advil, my feet hurt,days have been long and become more difficult as they go by. Each day is hard, there is never an easy day out here. I have spent the last couple weeks alone, hiking alone, and camping alone through volcanic areas, forests, ridges, passes, lakes and mountains of Oregon. I have had so much time inside of my own head and I have come to feel calm and peaceful alone. There are times when the world goes to sleep and I am lying there all alone and I feel scared, but truly there is nothing to fear, the wild is a wonderful place to be and it is filled with magic. I have become a stronger person for the time I have spent all alone on the PCT and I will continue to welcome more time alone.
 I am now right near the Bridge of the Gods at the end of Oregon, and have only Washington to hike, 500 miles to the end of the PCT. I have come so far and seen so much beauty and I have experienced more during the last five months than I have in probably my whole life. The lessons I have learned will become a part of me when I go home, and I know I will summon them often to help me with life when I am off the Trail. The forests in Oregon are like jungles, covered in green moss, trees so high that they seem to never end, and plants of all kinds. I have spent hours listening to the sounds of birds and walking through lush green forests, walking through rain and trying to just keep myself heading north. Yesterday, I hiked 31 miles to finish out Oregon, it was raining for all of the 12 hours. I hate rain. However, yesterday it did not seem so bad to me. I started hiking at noon and finished at 10 pm.

I felt so alive hiking yesterday, even in pain, I felt strong. The forests yesterday were amazing, waterfalls all around me, creeks, birds, and at one point I came around a corner and there in the pouring rain stood an elk just hanging out eatting, for a moment watching him eat, and standing there alone in the rain, I felt so content, so at peace, and I rememered there that those are the moments that make it all worth while. I felt like the Trail showed me some grace yesterday and I was sure in need of it. My last 7 miles yesterday were at night, it was so hard to navigate through the dark and the rain, my headlamp helped but the rain distorts all light and it was surely a challenge to hike down wet rocks and through pouring rain, but walking into Cascade Locks last night and seeing the Bridge of the Gods, knowing I was only 500 miles to Canada, made me feel so wonderful, there are no words to describe how I felt standing in the dark looking at that bridge last night. It was a powerful feeling and I know I can make it to Canada. One mile at a time, in the rain, and the cold, it is just 20 more days and after all I have been through I can't quit now. So at the end of the month I will be in Canada and my journey will come to an end!!!