Our arrival on the trail was preceded by months of planning, hours of reading reviews about gear, countless conversations with loved ones assuring them that we weren’t crazy and yes we would be safe.  The first two days on the trail we took turns remarking how awesome it was that we were finally here, how surreal to be living a dream.  The beginning just felt so exciting and so very grand.

The end did not feel that way… The end felt more like waking up, sad to leave the dream world behind.  The end was preceded by chronic foot pain that would not relent (for Brenda), frustration with the weather and trail conditions (this was not the year for the PCT), a confusing mix of emotions, and taking turns remarking that we didn’t want this to end but we felt like it was time to go.

We have made the call, we are off the trail.   

As you may remember from our previous post we moved to the Oregon Coast Trail (OCT), due to unfavorable trail conditions on the PCT.  Shortly after our start on the OCT we encountered a new set of obstacles, the OCT is a prescribed route rather than a trail, meaning it is not setup for a true thru hike.  The OCT is a series of trails that you can string together with a substantial amount of beach walking and road walking.  While the beach walking was enjoyable the road walking proved dangerous and tiring.  Additionally, since it is not currently setup for thru hiking campsites are few and far between.  The views were magnificent but the daily planning and the frustrations of this trail wore on us.

With the weather, PCT trail conditions, hurting bodies and worsening feet we found some of the joy of the trail was missing.  We came out for an adventure and a pilgrimage and when it started to become a chore we realized we needed to make a decision.  It was a hard call, one we wish we hadn’t had to make but we are confident it was the right call, the wise call.

We have been supported and encouraged along the way and we thank each of you for that.  Thanks for making sure we knew that this was crazy, thanks for telling us you were proud of us, thanks for sending us resupply boxes and messages of encouragement. Thank you for sharing this with us.  Although the walking is done (for now) we hope to share some more tails from the trail over the next couple weeks, so stay tuned for some more about our epic adventure, but until then…

Happy Trails,

M&B

resupply time!Tillamook Head Hiker Camp
The lighthouse at Yaquina Bay 

Birthday celebrations on the trail 

crescent Beach, OrCape Perpetua, Or

S’more Fun Trail Friends old and new!