Last night was not a fun time for the residents of Trout Lake, a bunch of hikers and me. My tent was setup behind the Trout Lake general store along with 30 to 40 other hikers. We were all evacuated from the PCT yesterday afternoon due to a fire north of Trout Lake. In the late afternoon, the sky was orange from the fire, but the wind kept the fire away from us – until it didn’t.
A level 1 fire alert advises residents that danger exists in their area. That alert was issued in the late afternoon for Trout Lake. Then at 10:00 PM, a level 2 fire alert, which is High probability of a need to evacuate was issued. That means residents should prepare now by packing necessary items and preparing your family, pets, and vehicle for potential departure.
A trail angel came into the tent area and woke up all the hikers and announced that the wind shifted, and now the fire was spreading towards town. All the hikers must leave town in a mass evacuation.
There was a scramble by all the hikers to break camp and pack up. A caravan of cars, trucks and vans assembled at the general store ready to drive the hikers away from town. We had to go, because if a level 3 alert came down that meant a mandatory evacuation. All the trail angels at that point would be taking care of their property and families. The hikers would be left to run from the fire on foot.
A little before 11:00 PM, the caravan was ready to go. I was in the last vehicle with four other hikers. We drove for an hour to a large town, which I believe is Bingen, WA. The trail angels dropped us at Bingen Skate Park and said goodbye.
At the time I had no idea where I was, but it was a nice park with soft grass, so I started to setup my tent right about midnight. Halfway through the process, the park’s sprinklers turned on. I got soaked and so did the tent. I quickly finished the setup, and pulled all my gear into the tent. I was seething at the situation. Evacuated in the middle of the night, and then the sprinklers turned on me and the other hikers. What cruel irony.
I finally got situated in my tent and climbed into my sleeping bag. I was almost asleep, again, when a train blasted its whistle. The train was across the street from the park. The sprinklers kept hitting my tent from two sides for an hour. The trains went by about every half hour. What a night, and no, I did not get any sleep.
At 7:00 AM, I broke camp and went to a restaurant down the street for breakfast. That poor little restaurant had no idea what happened to them. They had about twenty hikers there for what was sure to be one of their biggest breakfast business mornings ever. The hikers, all with major hiker hunger issues, ate everything they had.
One trail angel showed up at the restaurant. He could take up to seven hikers back to the trail. I decided not to go. Instead I went to a cafe next door, and planned my return to Florida. The fire in southern Washington cut hiking distance and the air quality was not good as confirmed when I watched the news later that day. Oregon wasn’t any better. It was time to call an end to the hike.
I made plane and hotel reservations and then hitch hiked to the Portland, Oregon airport. I did the hitch hike in three cars and never waited more than five minutes. The total time on the road was about two hours.
In retrospect, I hated to call my hike without doing many more miles on the trail. Unfortunately, the reality was there were too many fires, air quality was not good and I was experiencing major frustration with the last evacuation. That is not to say I’m frustrated with the trail angels. Those people performed a stunning act of selflessness in getting hikers off the trail in the afternoon and then out of town late at night. I’ll always remember them for that.
