Hood River Twins Split For 28-Day Summer Backpacking Trips

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Eventually, Frances Dickinson and Josephine Dickinson know that they will pack their own suitcases and boxes and go their separate ways to start college next year.

The twins, and front-runners for the Oregon 5A cross country defending champions from Hood River Valley, did something extraordinary to prepare for themselves for that future over the summer.

With the help of the Camp Manitou-Wish YMCA’s Outpost program, the girls went on separate month-long backpacking trips in July.

Frances and four other teen girls (16-17) were dropped off at the Moose Creek Trailhead in Idaho and spent nearly a month traversing the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, one of the most rugged and remote regions in the Lower 48 states.  

Josephine spent the same time period with a different group of girls trekking through the Wind River mountain range in Wyoming after a drop-off at Bruce’s Picnic Ground, southwest of the town of Lander, Wyo.

JOSEPHINE AND FRANCES DICKINSON AT NIKE PORTLAND XC

“My trip to Wyoming surreal,” Josephine said.

She spent much of those four weeks above timberline, hefting an 80-pound backpack over peaks as high as 13,000 feet and sometimes slogging through snow or climbing over broken rock.

“The hardest day was probably a week in, at Bear Lakes,” Josephine said. “We all planned to get up at 4 a.m. for the sunrise and we were right below Lizard Head Peak. How are we going to avoid this pass? Let’s climb this mountainside at 4:30 a.m. on our hands and knees.”

It was four hours to the top, followed by a hike through snow to get over the pass.

Meanwhile, in Idaho, Frances was having a much different experience. Her trek was not as high in elevation, but it was brutally hot.

“We were all just kind of out there together, learning all these survival techniques and skills,” Frances said. “We saw no other human beings the entire time. There was no cell service.”

And the first day it was 100 degrees, with many others to follow.

Both groups were led by an experienced leader and there were lifelines available, if necessary – a satellite phone and a Personal Locator Beacon.

One hot day on a sun-exposed ridge in Idaho, Frances’ group was nearing an emergency.

“We had one day that was kind of scary, a crazy experience,” she said. “We were trying to avoid the heat, but it was like 105. We all ran out of water. We’d been 8 to 10 hours walking with minimal breaks. Every other girl on the trip, their faces were turning white and their lips black. We took a nap on the ridge with no shade.”

By “nap,” she means they were to the point of passing out.

Frances woke up after lying down for 30 minutes and could tell that others in her group were in trouble. She grabbed five empty Nalgene bottles and ran down toward the creek bed to “scrounge for water.”

“I didn’t even purify the water. There was no time. We just needed to hydrate,” Frances recalled. “In that moment, there was nothing else to do … take a nap or press the PLB.”

Frances’ water retrieval was enough to get her group moving again.

“Fran and I were pretty fit,” Josephine said. “Sometimes being patient (with others) was a challenge.”

By the end of 28 days, all challenges had been conquered.

“You develop a mentality unlike anything else,” Frances said.

A bus picked up Frances along the Selway River. Then they went to meet the group in Wyoming.

They returned home, showered and rested, and embarked on a final cross country season together with a renewed strength. Hiking hundreds of miles had not done much for their cardiovascular fitness. There had been no running. But their legs felt strong and their minds felt even stronger.

Physical challenges and recreational activities are held dear by residents of Hood River, located in the scenic Columbia Gorge. The twins have taken up kite-boarding. Even after coming home, they made time to go on a hike around Mt. Hood in August with their parents.

But the experience gained on those two twin hikes, to become self-reliant, to solve problems, and to endure when fatigue and pain sets in – figure to be valuable in cross country season and beyond.

They learned, more than ever, that they can take care of themselves.

“This time, I didn’t cry about you, didn’t miss you, for 28 days,” Frances said to her sister. “But I loved seeing you at the end of it.”

Separating for college no longer feels as daunting.

“We’re ready to tackle the world as individuals,” Josephine said.