Conquering Oregon: The Pacific Crest Trail Female FKT: The First Week

Recap: After months of planning and a long day of complications getting to the start, we’re on our way to try to beat the FKT for the Oregon section of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Day 1: Wildflowers and Blisters

Around 5 a.m. on August 22, Jameson and Matthew picked me up, we drove the hour back to the trailhead and ran the .5 mile back towards the border where we started Jameson’s watch and SPOT tracker. Our journey (ha) had finally began!  

Day 1 on the Pacific Crest Trail followed the crest of Siskiyou Mountains but was never far from the road. As we climbed towards Mt. Ashland, we were surprised by a small presence of beautiful wildflowers. We noted the beauty and then remarked on how tired we both were already at the beginning of Day 1. The trail was covered with dew and rain from the evening before, soaking our shoes.

Around mile 24, we were able to intersect with our crew, refuel and prepare for the next section. I decided to switch my socks and was surprised to already see blisters forming from my wet socks and shoes. As someone who has not struggled much with blisters, I was a bit concerned about the early development, so we did our best to tape them before continuing on. 

We reached our resting place 69.34 miles into the trail. We had climbed a total gain of 10,187 ft and taken 16 hours and 59 minutes. Both Jameson and I were completely exhausted and disenchanted with needing to run 60 miles starting early the next morning.

Day 2: Into the Wild

Jameson had created small maps for each section in order to help us focus on our daily section and try not to become paralyzed with how many total miles we needed to go. Even though we had spent many hours planning, we were both shocked when we realized how limited our crew support would be on Day 2. We had access to the crew at Mile 12 and then were expected to run the next 47 miles without support. 

Although the sky and stars were beautiful, desperation had snuck in by the time we finally reached our crew at 4:00 a.m.—putting us far into a hole of exhaustion and struggle.

Our campsite in Crater Lake had been canceled (due to tree removal) a few days earlier, so we had to drive to our sleeping place and were not able to get to bed until 5 a.m. We decided to sleep a few hours and leave by 11:00 AM. 

Day 3: Views and Vulnerability

We could not remember what the previous FKT holders had done, and we first started down the closed PCT. Then we turned around, deciding safety was most important (and excited by the option to see Crater Lake). Although the Rim Trail was shorter, it held more elevation change and beautiful views. We were able to run and view the magnificent Crater Lake, plus get funny looks from tourists. We later learned it was the same route the male FKT holders took.

After running 24 miles with 2,897ft of elevation gain, we reached our crew and decided to sleep before completing the final 30 miles of Day 3. 

We began the second section at 10:39 PM with our pacer in tow. It started off on a positive note with us moving fairly well. Although it was dark and we could not enjoy the view, we were enjoying the company and gaining time. Perhaps we were moving too well, as we missed a crucial turn that led us 3 miles downhill and took our spirits down the drain as well. 

Once we discovered our mistake, we had to hike the 3 miles uphill, turning our 30 mile adventure into what felt an impossible 36 miles. Our pacer witnessed some of our lowest points of tears, pain and discouragement. We continued, however, and were rewarded with a highlight of reaching the highest point we would encounter on the 460 miles and being able to turn of our headlamps in order to witness the glorious sky near the crest of Mt. Thielsen. 

After 9 hours and 52 minutes, we finally reached our crew in the early daylight of August 25. Although we had gone another sleepless night, we decided to sleep only 2 hours to reset and then head out on Day 4.

Day 4: Beauty, Bugs and Dismay

Day 4 was intended to be a huge chunk of miles (72). After our nap, we started at 11:34 AM for the first 12-ish mile section which led to some beautiful views of Diamond Lake. The crisp beautiful water was enticing, but taking off the bandages on our blistered feet did not seem like a good option. 

After our pit stop, we decided that we would hike the next 18-mile section, as both of our bodies felt destroyed and exhausted (in hindsight, this clearly could have been related to the lack of sleep). I remember there being beautiful views of mountains, but mostly, I remember the exhaustion, the sense of doom and the desire to quit. Jameson kept me motivated until eventually, I decided we need to run or we would never finish this section. 

I cannot even begin to explain the misery of this section; we were running by ‘lakes’ (aka bogs) full of mosquitoes that were eating us alive. My feet were in so much pain and I kept thinking: “This is not fun, and how the F*CK did those guys do this.” 

Day 5: Hard Choices

After a good night sleep, I woke up with a small sense of renewal and went to check on Jameson. Jameson could barely walk, and the next few hours included some of the hardest decisions of the trip. 

Our goal was still in grasp, but my dear adventure partner, who kept me motivated the entire day 4 despite numerous times I wanted to quit, was dealing with a very swollen cankle/shin. We discussed the options and it was decided— knowing this would take us out of the running for the overall FKT— that we would use day 5 to allow her ankle/shin to heal, then move forward the next day.

In making my own choice about if we should remain together or I should go, I thought back to the bigger message to be sent to the community and what is important to me. I could tolerate asking others to support me for this adventure, but I could not accept leaving my friend behind if there were still options for her to continue. I used this day to shower, rest and reset.

Next: How we deal with Jameson’s injury, and do we make it to Washington?