bo yah!

we reached the northern termnous on sept 13th at dusk, after a 32 mile push. on the trail for 162 days, it seemed to have ended the same way it had begun. 

Sweet Sweet Washington

The journey through Oregon has been amazing. We headed out of Ashland with full bellies and well rested feet. We were glad to leave California and enter the beautiful Cascade mountains. But we were not too excited about the mosquito's. If it wasn't for all of the magical area's in Oregon we probably would of gone crazy. The walking has been easier than previous area's. To sum it up, you walk all day through the trees which is mostly flat, then come out onto huge volcanoes. Most of us PCT hikers tend to cruise pretty fast through these sections, but Luke and I decided to soak up the views and take our time. It has been a great journey to get this far and we are excited to push on. One more state and we will have trekked almost 2600 miles through some of the most rugged and beautiful area's in the country. Our feet are tired and we are ready to wrap it up. We are taking a few rest day's at the Oregon/Washington border to rest. Sax, who walked with us for the majority of the trip has come back to conquer Washington. We are glad to have him back, even though he looks even more animalish with his Septum pierced (area between your nostrils). Don't worry will get pictures before we release him back into the wild. We want to thank all of the peep's who have kept up with our blog and who have sent us goodies. We couldn't of made it without your support. This will probably be our last update unless we can find a computer somewhere in Washington. Also to the great people that raised us. We wouldn't be crazy enough to spend 5 months outdoors in the dirt without your inspiration, we love you guys much. Shout out to Asa-T- Train, thanks for watching the wolf child Des. All of the peep's reading this need to get out and enjoy the majestic wildernesses we have right in front of us, NO excuses. Well... off into the wetness we go!
Cam

Cruising into Washington

Stomping into oregon

well, i know a great deal of time has passed since our last post, but alot of ground has been covered since then, and even more action has occurred.it is hard sometimes to make updates because many of the areas we frequent only have dirt and trees, not outlets and computers. we have finally reached the great state of Oregon after roughly 3 months and 1700 miles of foot travel.it feels damn good to have mad it this far, and both cam and i are psyched to rip through Oregon and soon after Washington. alot has changed since the beginning of the trip and it all seems to be fading, slowly. our eating habits have changed, our body's have morphed into freakish walking machines, and we have lost two of the "Chicago four". the trail is more beautiful then ever and northern California is more then i ever thought it would be, this area of the country is simply amazing! currently cam and i are chilling out at a hotel, thanks to my madre who flew from Chicago to come visit and here wonderful friend marge, a OR resident. they have been carting us around town and stuffing our bellies full of good foods and ice cream. while on the trail we are now covering roughly 25 miles a day, and are planning on moving swiftly through Oregon. however we are not only hiking but learning too:

Things Ive learned as a "thru-hiker":

1. serving sizes are irrelevant

2.showers are meaningless after so many days

3. day hikers ALWAYS have extra food

4.the u.s. postal service is a complex system, not to be messed with.

5. ask and you shall receive

6. everything you own is unnecessary

(preparing boxes for the 900 miles ahead of us)

Our next stop is the famous, crater lake. hopefully we will be able to give yall a quick update from that spot. live the life you love.-luke

sorry

terrible, terrible news. i regret to inform you all that im getting off trail. i wish i had a solid explanation of why i am choosing to leave the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, but its hard to even face that this is actually happening. poor planning on my part. insufficient funds. im going to take what i have left and try to get back to carbondale before i go completly broke. i want nothing more than to stay on trail. im sore, im tired, but im home. walking away from this is more painful than any body ache. i want to keep walking. i dont want a roof over my head. i want to get tore up by those mosquitos in oregon and get soaked in washington. the past 3 months have been the most incredible days of my life. i would like to sincerly thank, with every inch of my being, all of the people who got me this far. to all of the incredible people that i have crossed paths with, given me shelter, directions, and treats, you have changed my life. thank you. i will come back and finish. class of oh eight! best of luck!!!! CAM AND LUKE! YOU GO ALL THE WAY!!!!!! burke, ill see you in campo for attempt 2. alright! signing out. and always, LONG LIVE THE LIFE!!!

all i want to say right now is that i just ate at a buffet in a casion in nevada. so. much. pie!!!!! that is all for now. and my foot hurts. annnnnd life is incredible. ok... now i have to write more... im in lake tahoe. angels have once again found me and have given me an amazing place to heal up. burke is in elmhurst illinois, lovin life. lets all give him some huge love for the 1000+ miles he put on those long legs of his this summer. lurch, we miss you and hope your dreams of being the worlds best golf caddie come to reality soon. cam and luke are in the desolation wilderness. that sounds so bad ass. DESOLATION WILDERNESS!!! hopefully i will be trailing behind them in the next few days, as soon as my sore foot heals and my backpack finds a way to stop being broken... and i win big at the casino...speaking of big... big days have been droppin like mad!!! oh, and its time for it. lots of mid 20s and little 30s. as i sit, the crowd (400+ thru hikers) draws closer and the summer nights are only shrinking now. its time to push it. pictures soon. sorry. but the wait will be worth it! i should be sleeping. mrs burke, thank you for the treats in all those amazing packages you sent mike. you make the absolute best rice crispee treats in the world and you would laugh at how many people we tell about them. seriouly. legendary. mrs orr- we ate those cookies and all that cinnamon bread so fast we had to hike 20 extra miles off trail just to get milk. no, no, i kid i kid, but seriously, so good! thank you!!!! and to everyone! thank you!!! your support keeps the chicago 4 alive and thriving, no matter what. the trail of life never ends! so hike strong, have fun, and be safe! happy summer to all.

I really dont want to post right now but no one else will. whats new... Whoa! So anywhosies, we are in MAMMOTH! One of the few remaining vortex towns in California. Yes, once again we have found ourselves trapped by the ways of the "real" world, but dont worry, we are heading back to Reds Meadow soon to get back on trail! Just got cleaned up here at Charles house, our new friend who hiked the PCT back in 93! Only 11 thru hikers that year! I hear there are 400+ this year. We have been meeting more people and playing tag with a good group of dude and dudettes. What up Team Washington! Hola to Zoner(fish creek hotsprings were incredibe, thanks for sending us there!) And to Lumbar, Libido, Olivie, Laces, Naughty Eyes, Princess of Darkness, Disco, Slim, Inchworm, ASh, SAn Gabrial, Celebrated Mr. K, Croation Sensation, Traildude(.com), handlebar, the belgium waffles, waffles, suntan, and superdog, WHAT UUUUp!!!! hope to see everyone on(&off) trail! WHOOOA! We just finished the high sierras! 900 deep! All I can say is....Actually I cant say much at all! The high sierras were amazing. The John Muir Trail is epic. Mt Whitney! HUGE! Forester pass! MAthers was nuts! Suicide snow covered switchback!?! Who blazed that trail?! Well we ripped it. And i dont know if i speak for everyone when i say this, but it sure made me feel less like a boy and more like a real man. (they dropped. for real this time...) MMMM golden trout! everywhere! hard to catch with just your trekking pole tho. I hate climbing(hills) now. Let it be flat til Oregon! And may the mosquitos be non-existant...yeah right!!! they are getting bad! annnd its gettin hot again! DENA! THANK YOU FOR THE PACKAGE! The snacks helped us get thru VVR without spending any money! (well pedro(which is lukes trail name now) and cam both had to chop wood and dig holes for their hot meals, burke wasted no time in indulging, but i, i ate oatmeal in my tent and refused to give any money to those thieves!!! (everyone is trying very hard to save money) but the one free beer and free night stay was A-okay with me! BUT AGAIn! THANK YOU DENA!!!!! And thank you to everyone! Keep sending food! Lets see...where am I going with this....absolutly nowhere. sorry. CHECk out the hikertown website! OK! Ill update again later! WE are about to go get PIZZZZZA! THIS RULES! Pictures coming soon. as welll as a list of upcomming towns we may stop in...maybe. Peace and chicken grease yall!