Unicycling Unicorn Welcomes Hikers to Pacific Crest Trail Days in Cascade Locks

Photo by Emily “Zombie” Peterson

Cascade Locks, Ore., Aug. 18, 2023 - The Unicycling Unicorn greeted hikers tonight on opening day at Pacific Crest Trail Days at Cascade Locks Marine Park.

Our equine of the single horn was a little opener at the Friday Night Hiker Funk Party complete with bumping tunes from the DJ to keep those feet dancing all night long.

Better rest up as Saturday looks to go longer than a 22-mile day with bonus miles.

Saturday’s Schedule according to the official website.

8:30 am:  PCT DAYS Day 2 Opens!  Please wait until 8:30 am to start visiting sponsor booths so they have time to have breakfast, and get ready for an awesome day.  Hundreds of products will be on display and sponsors will be offering great deals at the Gear Demo and Marketplace!  Don’t miss the great lineup of booth activities, presentations the raffle and live music!

9 am – 5 pm:  Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by the Cascade Locks Tourism Committee: Spin to Win.  Visit the Cascade Locks Tourism Committee booth and Spin-to-Win on our Schwinn Bike wheel-of-fortune. Everyone is a winner! Come chat with committee members and learn more about all the great things to see and do in Cascade Locks, the heart of the gorge.

9 – 10 am:  Presentation in the Pavilion by Friends of the Owyhee – The West’s Forgotten Corner:  How Outdoor Recreation in the Owyhee Canyon lands Parlays into Conservation Advocacy.  Conservation is often deemed inaccessible to conservative demographics due to political differences. Friends of the Owyhee, a small non-profit based in eastern Oregon, is determined to subvert that notion through inclusive grassroots efforts. The Owyhee—a high-desert bioregion in southeastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho, and northern central Nevada—is revered for its fascinating geological history, rich cultural tapestry, and untrammeled wilderness. It’s also surrounded by rural, conservative communities that have been historically resistant to participating in conservation efforts. Friends of the Owyhee contends that responsible recreation opportunities can act as a gateway to interacting with ecological and cultural conservation and becoming a conservation advocate, regardless of political affiliation. 

10 – 11 am:  Presentation in the Pavilion by Renee “She-ra” Patrick: How do we Improve the Long-Distance Trail Experience?  Have you ever had an idea of how to create a better trail experience for yourself or others? Are trails meeting the needs of everyone in our community? Join Long-Distance Trail Consultant Renee “She-ra” Patrick to discuss improving the trail experience, applying UX Design principles to our long trails, and creating an environment where hikers can learn about the environmental, cultural, and natural elements that make each long-distance trail unique.

11:30 am – 12 pm:  Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by Hyperlite: Win a Hyperlite Mountain Gear Full Kit!  Who’s excited for PCT Days?!  We sure are, and we’re looking forward to seeing you!  This year, we’ll be raffling off a kit that will get any high-mileage backpacker giddy!  One lucky winner will receive an Unbound 2P tent, an Unbound pack (40L or 55L), and several accessories! You’ll also have a chance to win several other items such as apparel, stuff sacks, and other pack accessories! Swing by our booth to enter via a digital form, and be present to win!

11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Presentation in the Pavilion by Leave No Trace: Hike Your Best Hike.  Join in on an engaging session that explores Leave No Trace practices and principles that protect the outdoors while minimizing our impacts to the land, soil, vegetation, water, wildlife, and other hikers. Hear the latest news about Leave No Trace from Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Team members Haley & Gary, who spend most of the year living and working outside.

12 – 12:30 pm:  Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by Salomon: Shoe Pong!   A twist on everyone’s favorite party game, Salomon presents Shoe Pong!  Bring a partner and meet us in front of the Salomon booth to try your luck at sinking a ping pong ball into one of our incredible trail running or hiking shoes. You’ll be competing for a chance to win a pair of our brand new thru hiking shoes, and everyone who steps up to the table will be awarded a swag item of choice. Come one, come all, it’s time to get rowdy!

1 – 1:30 pm:  Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by Six Moon Designs:  Pie Eating Contest.  Let’s put that legendary hiker hunger to the test and see who comes out on top at the SMD booth.  2 contests will be held, one for 2023 thru-hikers and one for those not hiking the trail.  Just like getting a permit to hike the PCT, 12 participants per challenge will be drawn via a lottery and then will face off for a winner-take-all pie-eating contest.  1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes per challenge. 

1 – 2 pm: Presentation in the Pavilion by Headline Sponsor ALDHA-WEST: The Triple Crown of Thru-Hiking.  Since 1994 ALDHA-West has recognized thru-hiker’s completion of the three longest trails in the United States with the annual Triple Crown Awards. Join us to learn more about what it takes to complete the Triple Crown and what ALDHA-West does to support the thru-hiking community. 

2 – 2:30 pm:  Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by Gregory Mountain Products: Pack Scavenger Hunt.  Stop by the Gregory Mountain Products booth to win swag, learn about our packs, and play our pack scavenger hunt game. The lucky winners of our scavenger hunt will win a pack of their choice. Please bring your pack to our booth if you plan on playing our scavenger hunt game. We can’t wait to see you there!

2:30 – 3:30 pm:  Presentation in the Pavilion by Headline Sponsor The Pacific Crest Trail Association.  A New Strategic Plan.  Come learn more about the PCTA—including our updated strategic plan, our work, partnerships, how we’re adapting to a changing future, and how you can help. Presented by PCTA’s Columbia Cascades Regional Representative Jeanine Russell.

3 – 3:30 pm:  Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by Granite Gear: What’s-Your-Trail-Name Raffle and Gear Giveaway.  Swing by the GG Booth on anytime Friday or Saturday before 2:30 pm to get entered into Granite Gear’s largest raffle yet! 30 minutes of pure gear giving away! Simply stop by and pick up your “Trail Name” sticker and drop your name in the hat. It’s that easy! Participants must be wearing the corresponding Trail Name sticker at time of event and present to win.

4 – 4:30 pm:  Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by Sawyer (in the Pavilion).  Nic “Darwin” Rakestraw’s second documentary film, “Na Wai”, follows AT record-setter Jennifer Pharr Davis and her family as they travel with Sawyer and Give Clean Water to the country of Fiji to find out how a small water filter that most of us take for granted can genuinely save lives. Na Wai explores Fiji’s people, landscape, culture, and how the entire country has changed for the better over the past 15 years, thanks to a simple technology most of us use on the trail.

4:30 – 5:30 pm:  Title Sponsor Activity by Outside / Backpacker: Get Outside Tour Presentation at the Stage.  Join Outside and the Get Outside Tour Ambassadors for a fun filled conversation about the world of backpacking.  Let’s talk gear, let’s talk skills, let’s talk current events, let’s talk about the life changing impact of the PCT experience.  And, Let’s CELEBRATE!  It’s Backpacker Magazine’s 50th Anniversary, what better way to celebrate than with presents…for you!  Lots of Door Prizes.  Not to be missed!

6 – 7 pm:  PCT DAYS Raffle #2 at the Stage.  There will be a LOT of great products to win and lot’s of laughs as Scott “Squatch” Herriott and the PCT DAYS staff will MC the activity. Raffle tickets are $2.00 each and will be available for sale on Friday & Saturday at the PCTA, ALDHA-WEST, & TKO booth area.  You must be present to win or have someone present with your tickets.  Raffle proceeds are donated to the American Long Distance Hiking Association-West, the Pacific Crest Trail Association and Trail Keepers of Oregon.  If you didn’t win on Friday, your ticket is still good for the raffle on Saturday!

7 – 10 pm:  Backpacker’s 50th Birthday Party at the Stage.  The celebration continues with Happy Hour beer & cider for $5 and live music by two great bands:  Legato Gusto at (7-7:30) and Scott Pemberton O’Theory at (8-9:30.)  Close out your PCT DAYS experience with new and old friends and have a great time! 

10:30 pm:  The main area closes to attendees, so please vacate the fenced in area at that time.