Oregon PCT FKT Attempt Days 13-15

I did it! I beat the existing Women’s Unsupported Fastest Known Time by just over 1.5 days! Yay! My total time was 14 days, 14 hours, and 26 minutes. The old record was 16 days, 4 hours, and 44 minutes. This was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, both physically and mentally (if not the hardest). I learned a lot and am very proud of myself. What an amazing adventure!

Day 13 – OR PCT Mile 390.3

Last night as I was falling asleep I saw lightning. I woke up later to the sound of rain on the tent. I quickly shut the rain fly. I was sad to think about carrying the extra weight of a wet tent. I woke up earlier than usual and was hiking by 5am. I knew I had to hike at least 36 miles today in order to finish in 3 days. (My original goal was 14 days, but it is looking like it’ll be closer to 15 days as long as I can do the 36 miles per day.) My memory from our 2018 PCT thruhike and the map told me that today would be an easier day than most, so I also had a 40 mile goal in the back of my head. I was right–today was overall downhill with relatively gentle ups and downs, plus I only stepped on one small patch of snow and only climbed over 10 or fewer down tress (I saw lots of fresh sawdust all day). I set milestones and was able to meet them all day to keep the 40-miler realistic. Mike, the thruhiker I’ve been running into occasionally, caught up to me with about 8 miles to go. It was nice to chat with him and get my mind off of my sore feet for a bit. Just before 10 pm, I called it a night at 40.0 trail miles! Only 66.7 miles until Bridge of the Gods and the Oregon-Washington border!

Day 14 – OR PCT Mile 423.0

I was a bit sore today after yesterday’s 40 mile day. Today started with a ~16 mile ascent up the side of Mount Hood. The soil is super sandy, so it made the trail hard to walk on and slow in spots. I stopped at Timberline Lodge, which is less than 1/4 mile off trail, for an hour to charge my phone. I sat outside drinking my water and jealousy watched the public drinking their beers. This evening I had to cross a glacial river, which was fairly deep and fast moving. I could not see the bottom due to the glacial silt. I tried crossing near where the actual trail crosses the river, but it was just too deep and the bottom had big, uneven rocks which made it hard to get good footing. I had to go pretty far upstream until I was finally able to find a safe place to cross. The water was up to my thighs (my shorts got wet). I ended up hiking later than normal to set myself up to finish tomorrow. Only 34 miles until Bridge of the Gods and the Oregon-Washington border!

Day 15 – OR PCT Mile 457.0

I woke up early with a goal to finish before 9:52pm in order to beat the previous record of 16 days and 4 hours by 1.5 days. I was tired but motivated to finish. I had to take a couple of 5-minute power naps. The end of the day was a long descent to the Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia River. I was hoping the descent would be fast and easy, but my feet were not that happy with me. I made it to the Bridge of the Gods at the Oregon-Washington border at 8:18pm! My total time was 14 days, 14 hours, and 26 minutes!

Tim’s sister, Abby, was there to meet me at the finish. I had no plans for the finish (where I would sleep, how I would get home, etc.)–I was only concentrated on getting to the finish. It was so nice to see her! She brought me snacks and rented a cabin for us to stay in. We chatted and snacked near the finish for a while. Mike, the PCT thruhiker I’ve been leaping-frogging with, showed up with a case of beer and gave me one to celebrate. Thank you, Mike! He told me when I met him on day 5 that he would buy me a beer if I beat the record. What a coincidence that we both ended up in Cascade Locks at the same time. I hadn’t seen him all day–he took an alternate, but I had to stay on the official PCT. Then Abby and I went out to eat and I enjoyed my first hot meal in 15 days. (I ordered a Tofu Taco Salad but got a Ginger Tofu Bowl. I didn’t even notice until we went back to the same restaurant the next day and were looking at the menu again—the hot meal just tasted so so good!) I enjoyed a long shower but will definitely need at least another one to get all this dirt off and to get the knots out of my hair. Abby had some extra clothing for me to borrow, so I didn’t have to put my dirty hiking clothes back on!

The next morning Tim woke me up at 5am! I was shocked to see him. He was trying to surprise me at the finish but his flight got canceled. After a few more hours of sleep, I enjoyed my first hot coffee in 15 days! We relaxed all day in Cascade Locks before heading home.

Thank you!

Thank you to all of you for following along! Thank you to my colleagues at work who had to fill in for me while I was MIA and for being so supportive of my crazy adventures. Thank you to our sponsor, HOKA–I definitely could not have done this without my amazing Mafate Speeds (my go-to trail running shoes for thruhiking). Thank you to my friends and family. Thank you to Abby for meeting me at the finish. And most of all, thank you to Tim!

Stats:

Day 13 Distance Hiked: 40.0 miles

Day 14 Distance Hiked: 32.7 miles

Day 15 Distance Hiked: 34.0 miles

Total Trail Distance: 457 miles

My Total Time: 14d 14h 26m

My Overall Average: 31.2 miles per day

Existing Record I Beat: 28.4 miles per day

My record lives here:

https://fastestknowntime.com/route/pacific-crest-trail-through-or-or

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