The Beaver Buster

Pockets and I reached Highway 66 yesterday after a swift 22 miler. Oregon is proving good walking. There is minimal elevation loss and gain, the path is well trodden and soft underfoot. We have just come through a cold spell which saw night time temperatures dip down to freezing level, ice crystals decorating our tents in the morning.

We were given a ride to Mazama village to pick up our food parcels and John, who had given us the ride then took us to Benton. A short wait by the Highway intersection and we managed to score another ride to Grants Pass where we arrived at 20.00. A couple of welcome hamburgers and then we had a 6 hour wait for the 03.00am Greyhound bus to Corvalis where Pockets has a mate, Brett, who had kindly agreed to put us up for a couple of days rest and recuperation.

This morning saw Pockets attempt the 'Beaver Buster' at a local bar called Tommy's 4th Street bar & Grill. The Buster is a huge breakfast, and I mean huge. Those who manage to eat the whole lot in under an hour do not have to pay. Failure lands you with a $25.00 bill.

Pockets was pretty confident in his abilities, and I too, after seeing what he has managed to put away in the past few weeks. However, when the meal arrived, we both registered serious doubts. A 20" plate was crammed with 3 omelette's, 2 biscuits (scones if you're English), bacon, sausage, hash browns, home fries, 5 pancakes and 8 slices of bread, all smothered in gravy. The waitress took the 'before' photo, set the timer and gave the go ahead. Pockets (sitting on his own as per the strange rule) dove in. We had discussed the attack plan and most of it hinged on the '6 minute rule'. The 6 minute rule states that it takes 6 minutes for your brain to register that the stomach is full, so we figured get off to a blinding start before the grey matter knew what had hit it.

He started well, going straight in for the omelet. The odd gulp of water eased the passage and he was looking strong. Even Brett commented that after the initial shock of seeing such a massive portion of food, Pockets may be in with a chance. Then he slowed, like a cyclist speeding down a hill, hitting the bottom and then trying to climb the incline on the other side. Blown out cheeks and raised eyebrows were sure fire indicators that he was struggling. Fair game to him though, he went the whole hour but barely managed to clear half the food and picked up that $25.00 bill.

We have decided to 'bounce' north. The weather is getting colder and we have agreed to skip up to Washington State, get that out of the way before the possibly of snow hits, and then return to Oregon to complete the section we skipped. It's not something I particularly wanted to do, my desire to complete a 'pure' hike (walking from the beginning to the end with no skipping) is not to be. The temperature in Oregon is falling and Washington expects snow as early as October, sometimes September but certainly by November so we have little choice and it makes perfect sense.

It would have been nice to finish in Canada but after we cross the border we will return to Oregon, pick up where we left off and finish at Crater Lake, an inspiring and majestic finale to a great hike.

We are both feeling strong and confident and have no doubts in our abilities to finish.