TRIPLE ZERO!
We all met up at a coffee shop that Sunshine and her friend loved for breakfast. Pastries and coffee!
And a lazy day wandering around.
Sunshine invited me to crash with her at a hotel that night, which was good because the hostel didn’t have any beds available that night. Crashing in hotels with other hikers is a time honored hikertrash tradition. But that’s later.
We went to a brewery for lunch. Oregon might have boring trails so far, but they have great beer. And the food isn’t bad at all!
After the brewery we got me moved out of the hostel and into Sunshine’s room. It was a nice hotel, which made sense since she was celebrating both her birthday and the end of her hike.
Sunshine’s trail family was also celebrating an event. One of the guys was splitting off from the rest for some solo hiking. It’s a hard decision, but one of those things everyone understands. We need space, a lot, and the main idea is to hike your own hike. When you say “this is the hike I need to hike” we all just get it. So this guy, from somewhere in Europe, found a French restaurant, and we all met up with him there.
I ordered a few dishes, a mushroom risotto and a steak. The mushroom risotto desperately needed salt and was a little dry. The steak was wonderful.
After dinner, lots of wine, and lots of talking, Sunshine and I headed back to the hotel. I had an early morning to meet Ketchup with a trail angel for a ride back to trail. Sunshine was heading home to her husband.
It’s really striking how fulfilling the trail is and how fulfilling hanging with other hikers is. It’s like everywhere I turn I’m filled with warmth. This is one of the richest experiences of my life so far.