Some Veggie Friendly Stops Part 2: Oregon & Washington

Ashland: For those shopping for food along the way, Ashland is a great oasis. Although not necessarily cheap, the Ashland Food Co-op is a worthy stop. For those looking for a cheaper food selection, try the Shop 'N Kart. In addition to the classic bulk section, etc., their juice-bar and food area is well rated. Ashland also a number of vegan friendly restaurants including Greenleaf. I believe that Pangea and the Natural Cafe are closed these days.

Hyatt Lake: Gas Station Dining (GSD)

Crater Lake: Crater lake is pretty much GSD. The lodge has a formal dining room, but I don't believe that they have vegetarian options.

Shelter Cove Resort: GSD at best. Very limited amount of snack food and non-perishable items.

Willamette Pass Ski Resort: In past years the Willamette Pass Ski lodge has been open Thurs-Sun selling pizza. Unfortunately, although they have a vegetarian pizza, I don't believe that even the dough is vegan.

Big Lake Youth Camp: Just before you reach HWY 20/Sisters in Oregon there is a short turn off from the PCT to the Big Lake Youth Camp. I have not been, but my understanding is that it is a 7th Day Adventist run camp that serves only vegetarian food. I believe that when their camp is not fully booked up, they have allowed PCT hikers in the past to sleep there, shower there, and/or eat there.

Central Oregon ::: If you are thru-hiking the PCT feel free to contact me - if the timing works out, I would love to meet you trailside for some hot, home-cooked food. I now live in Eugene, so Willamette Pass/HWY58/Shelter Cove, McKenzie Pass or HWY20/Santiam Pass would be the closest for me.

Sisters: Sisters is a bit of a hitch-hike from the PCT, and, to me, not all that worth it unless you enjoy steak. In recent years, Sisters has acquired some fairly large super-markets, otherwise the restaurants are mostly burger and steak joints. There is one new, fairly veggie friendly spot, that if I recall correctly is called "Noodles and Rice." Its a small family run kind of operation selling asian inspired wok dishes.

Ollallie Lake: There is a small store at the lake that has somewhat typical GSD.

Timberline Lodge/Mt. Hood: Timberline Lodge is definitely a cool building and does have a full service restaurant. I am pretty sure that they have a vegetarian entre every night, but I am not sure how often it is vegan. Many hikers look forward to the Timberline brunch, however, unfortunately for a vegan it is a $12 melon bar. The ski lodge store is usually open during the day but carries a very limited selection of snack foods and drinks.

Cascade Locks: Good sized town with several supermarkets. We didn't find a suitable vegan friendly restaurant, but did have a great bbq in the park.

Stevenson, WA: The PCT doesn't actually go through Stevenson, but if you want to make the detour or do the optional road-walk as you enter WA, we liked Stevenson better than Cascade Locks. The downtown had more character, the public library was great, it also had basic supermarkets and we even noticed some vegan items on a couple of the cafe's menus.

White Pass, WA: GSD

Snoqualmie, WA: GSD

Skykomish, WA: Trail Angel

Stehekin, WA: Stehekin has the bakery, a small GSD style store and a diner/cafe. I ended up not eating at the diner because most of their recipes are pre-made and they couldn't tell me the ingredients in anything. The infamous Stehekin bakery is a stop on the bus ride between the trail and town proper. They did not have any vegan bread or sweets when I stopped there, but I was able to put in an order for a fresh loaf sans "egg wash." On the bus ride back up to the trail, I was able to pick it up. Certainly not the pastry other hikers rant about, but it was delicious bread.



Wildharvesting: I don't know a ton about edibles in the NW, but we certainly were able to spruce up our diet a little bit. In Oregon we gorged on berries. Throughout the 3-weeks we were finding fresh Thimbleberries, Blackberries, Blueberries and Huckleberries. In Washington we only found a few Huckleberries, but we hit the jackpot with mushrooms. We found several types of boletes, a couple chantrelle's and tons and tons of basketball sized Hericium/Lion's Mane.