See You at PCT Days: August 14 & 15 in Cascade Locks

There's a stretch of the Columbia River where the trail spits you out into a small town, and once a year that town fills up with hundreds of people who all smell roughly the same and have very strong opinions about pack weight. We wouldn't miss it.

Feathered Friends is heading to the 19th annual Pacific Crest Trail Days, August 14–15 at Marine Park in Cascade Locks, Oregon. Come find us. We'll be the ones with an alarming number of down sleeping bags.

What we're bringing

Sleeping bags and quilts you can actually get inside of and try out. This is the whole point, honestly. You can read spec sheets all winter, but there is no substitute for climbing into a bag, wiggling around, and deciding whether the footbox situation works for you. So climb in. Wiggle. Zip yourself all the way up and take a nap if the day's gone long, we're not going to stop you.

We'll also have our popular Eos on hand. Try things on. Squish them into a stuff sack and be smug about the size.

And yes, there will be giveaways. We're keeping details vague because half the fun is showing up, but it's worth swinging by more than once over the weekend.

Who we especially want to see

• Anyone currently smelling like a thru-hiker. You've earned the right to sit down in a $600 sleeping bag with trail dust on you. Truly. Please do.
• Anyone who's about to be one. SOBO folks staging out, 2027 planners, people who have opened FarOut 400 times this month. We love talking through the ridiculous specifics. Shoulder season temps. Whether you actually need that extra 10 degrees. Down versus your current situation.
• Anyone who owns something of ours already. Bring it by, tell us how many nights it's got on it, let us see how the loft is holding up. Genuinely one of our favorite parts of doing this.

Logistics, briefly

The festival is free to attend, with a suggested donation of a non-perishable food item or a few bucks for the Columbia Gorge Food Bank. Camping's available on Thunder Island for a fee. There's food, coffee, beer, and cider on site.

One big thing to keep in mind: there is construction on I-84. Check the travel times beforehand as it could be a little slow.

Full details at pctdays.com.

See you at Marine Park! Bring your hunger, your gear questions, and ideally a hiker box full of stories.