Day 11, 2022 - Cascade Locks Marine Park, OR

David VanHandel
Jul 28, 2022
2 min read

July 27th

Cascade Locks, OR

It was a beautiful morning here along the Columbia River and it was a pleasant t-shirt wearing temperature. No A/C required but not cool either. Beau and I went for a walk on Thunder Island (I like that name) and then stood and watched the osprey and her young high in the tree about our campsite. I believe it was a flying lesson day.

I took what was left of the potatoes and made an egg-potato-olive salad for later in the day and then made an egg bagel sandwich for breakfast and a cup of coffee. While I was sipping the coffee Runningbird called and they had already covered several miles this morning and would be hoofing it into town shortly. I put things away and then Beau and I did the short drive to the bridge to rendezvous with them. I wasn’t sure where they would pop out as the trail they were on dropped into town differently than the PCT. When driving under the bridge I accidentally ended up on the freeway and had to go up to the next exit to turn around. Headed back on the freeway I saw Runningbird and Chaz hiking along a side path but there was no possible way to reach them. I did honk as I drove by at 60 MPH and they did hear me. I pulled back into town and parked in the shade under the bridge and watched in the rear view mirror for their arrival.

The morning hike was fairly short for them and there was a cool breeze blowing so they looked fresh on arrival. From there we took Chaz to check into his hotel and dump his gear. Back at the campsite we relaxed for a bit at the picnic table in the shade and then Peggy went to take a shower. Beau was so happy (me too) to have Peggy back although I can’t say I was wagging my tail quite as much as Beau.

In the evening Chaz took another hiker, Kristin, and Peggy and I to dinner at the Thunder Island Brewery, Everyone had a beer and some good food. Salads, chili, salmon bowls, all were great. We exchanged contact information and made plans to meet up with them when they come by Snoqualmie Pass. Kristin is from Juneau and originally from Ohio. Below you can see the gallery of awesome photos Runningbird airdropped for me to post.