Mission Accomplished

Good-bye beautiful Stehekin

We took the 8am shuttle out of Stehekin and were on the trail by 9am with a loaf of bread from the bakery in my pack. Just one other hiker started this stretch with us and was the only other north-bound thru hiker we ended up seeing for our last 88 miles.

The first day started out mostly cloudy. By the last couple hours up to Rainy Pass the rain started to come down hard.  We found a good little camp site next to the trailhead parking lot at Rainy Pass with a newly cleaned pit toilet nearby; what a treat!  We met Yeti that day, who was attempting to finish his thru hike from last year. He was an interesting character. As we started chatting he told us how he had to be rescued out of a tree this summer after trying to set the distance record for a lawn chair pilot. He didn't get that record, but he did manage to accidentally set the altitude record in a lawn chair at 21,000ft before landing in that tree. He's going to be on the Today Show on Oct 1st on a clip about following your dream. Look him up if you are interested, his name is Joe Barbara.


Cloudy view at Cutthroat Pass

The next morning the rain subsided but we knew we were in for bad weather all day so we started in our rain gear for warmth and for rain.  By the time we climbed up to our first pass it started to lightly snow.  The clouds were moving fast closing in on the Northern Cascades, but we still had bits and pieces of good views as we went around to the second and third pass for the day.  Once we got back in the trees, we were back in the rain.  We ended up doing a longer day than planned and camped with our new friend Hiker Box up at 6,500ft. 

Me and Hiker Box; Thurs morning view of the N. Cascades

It was a chilly night but we woke up the next morning to a cloudless sky along with frost on our tent.  We had heard Thursday was going to be the best day in the forecast and the forecast was right.  We hiked 6 miles to Harts Pass where we set up the tent to dry out.  The Ranger there invited us into his hut and we excitedly took him up on it. He had a fire going and hot water for tea.  He told us the forecast looked great for Friday too.  This made my day; we could hit the border in good weather!

Midnight Chocolate and I at Harts Pass

Sure enough, Friday was beautiful.  We had a few more passes to get over which normally would be uneventful.  However, after a big rain storm this summer washed out a huge section of trail, there was some negotiating to do.  We had to go in and out of several washouts, the biggest one being about 30ft wide and 15ft deep.  We were happy to have good weather to cross this section as it was still safe but just time consuming.

View from inside one of the big washouts

We then hit our final high point of the trail and began to descend 3,000ft to the valley.  The border was so close!  Then as we hit the last switchbacks down, the 30ft wide mowed down strip of trees designating the US from Canada came into view.  We had done it!  We walked 2,660 continuous miles on the PCT and reached the Canadian border at 1:20pm.  It took us 156 days.  It was just Katie, Hiker Box and me there.  We gave high 5's, took our finish photos and all signed in the register.  The day before there had been 22 people that signed in.  Today, Katie and I were the 3rd and 4th people to sign in.  

Midnight Chocolate and I at the Northern Terminus

I thought a lot over the final few days about the friends I made, the memories we had along the way and how fast this all went. It seemed like the first 100 miles took so long, the 700 miles of desert seemed like forever and now here we were with just days left to go. In the last few miles my mind flashed with a photo slide show of places I saw, funny moments, sunrises, trail towns, trail angels, etc.  I tried to replay the entire hike in fast forward just to make sure I could still remember it all.  I didn't want to forget a thing and yet I know pieces of this would quickly fade. 

We hiked on another 4 miles into Canada for our last night out in the woods.  We got there early, had a fire and hot cocoa.  It was a quiet and calm night.  I was cozy and warm in my sleeping and woke up a few times to light rain hitting the tent.  By the next morning the rain had again subsided and we hiked out our last 5 miles with no precipitation. There was an ultra-marathon going on that morning so we got to cheer on runners coming up the trail as we headed out to the road.  This was a good way to end the trip and kept my mind on something else.  When you really thing about it, this hike ends like any other. You get to a trailhead, get in a vehicle and make your way home.

Katie's parents picked us up in Manning Park. It was so great to see familiar faces.  What took us a month to travel on our feet through Washington we covered in a 65mph drive down I-5 in a half day. So much more noise, moving so fast, closed-in air circulation, road vibration. My legs constantly stiff after each stint in the car. It seemed so wrong heading South after making forward progress North for so long. But when I looked out east over the mountains we had just been in, the weather looked ominous.  Maybe this isn't so wrong after all...

I am not sad about leaving the trail.  If I had another 1,000 miles to go that would have been okay with me.  But knowing this was the end of the trail I was accepting of that and was ready.  I am excited for what lies ahead for me.  What is that you may ask?  I don't know quite yet, but I have a pretty good feeling it will be filled with more adventures and good times.



Midnight Chocolate at the Southern Terminus - Day 1

Cowgirl at the Southern Terminus - Day 1



The Final Countdown!

Note: no photos in this posting, but I will add them later.

We left The Dinsmores by 7:30am and got out to Hwy 2 in front of the Baring store to hitch hike for the last time. The ladies at the store gave us a sign to hold up that said "PCT Hikers To Trail." This seems to help so people driving by sort of know why you need a ride and that you are not just a bum. Sure enough within about 20 minutes an old Land Rover pulled up to get us. They were headed out for a backpack trip themselves and didn't have much room for us, but me managed to squeeze our packs and our selves in amongst their gear.

The 105 mile stretch to Stehekin felt like one of the toughest for me. The miles were not coming easy but the scenery and weather were spectacular! Aside from the 100+ switchbacks we did in one day (I counted 36 alone in a 2 mile stretch), we went up and over many passes and around Glacier Peak. There were tons of down trees across the trail to negotiate. Some we could go around or over, but a few we had to crawl on our hands and knees to get by. This can be a little awkward with large backpacks on, so we made sure to take photos of each other :0)

The last night before town we were again caught in a nasty thunderstorm that echoed loudly and seemed to hover over us for an hour. Thankfully we were dry and in the tent when it came through. Sure enough that marked the end of our 8 day stretch of continuous sunshine. What mother nature has in store for us over the next several days we will soon find out.

This morning we hiked to High Bridge to take the first shuttle bus to Stehekin, our last town and resupply stop before Canada. Probably the most talked about topic on the trail has been the Stehekin Bakery. People talk very highly of this place and it did not dissapoint in the least! By the time we left the bakery I had a sticky bun, a pesto, cheese and veggie-filled croisant and took a made-from-scratch pizza pocket to go. We walked from the bakery to the commmunity of Stehekin which is set right along Lake Chelan with mountains surrounding it. It is a magical place; one that I hope to return to someday. We picked up our final resupply package and also I received a care package complete with a "whiskey slap" kit and a much-needed pair of smartwool socks!

We are seeing hikers heading out from here and it is exciting to know that they too will soon be to Canada. Tomorrow will be our turn as we head back out on the trail one last time to complete this wonderful little hike called the Pacific Crest Trail...

Almost Famous

Hotels are such a nice treat, but the night at the Summit Inn I couldn't sleep at all. It was 2am when I last looked at the clock and sure enough I still woke up at 6:30. It probably was the 3 cups of coffee I had during my late breakfast at the Pancake House that screwed with me; caffeine seems to hit me hard right now. The good thing is I still felt rested just from being off my feet for most of the day.

In the morning we hit the trail at 10am. As it was a Sunday and the trail resumed at a trailhead, there were day hikers and weekend backpackers up and down the trail for much of the day. We immediately started a long climb and after about an hour ran into four hikers taking photos. They asked us if we were PCT thru hikers and were so excited to hear our answer was "yes". They asked if they could hike with us for a while, so after a few photos all 6 of us set off back up the climb. They were so happy to be hiking with us and made us feel almost famous with their excitement and smiles. We answered a lot of their questions about the trail.  They told us about how they learned of the PCT and their experience last year meeting a 23 year old thru hiker at the Canadian border. That thru hiker sadly just passed away this August after losing his fight with cancer. We took a short break with them and they dug through their bags to find food to offer us. After the break, we said good-bye and headed back up the trail. We continue to meet sich great people out here!

In between two half days of hiking, we hiked 2 full days of 50 miles and gained nearly 13,000ft of elevation. After mentioning this to Katie, she kindly reminded me that we did the San Juan Solstice 50 mile ultra run and it had the same stats. Hmmm, why does this feel so much harder??

Washington continues to be spectacular in its terrain and vistas! This 4 day stretch we have had blue sky gorgeous days every day. I hope that weather pattern continues but realize it is wishful thinking being in the NW in mid-Sept.  As we get closer and closer to Canada I start to reflect more and more on this journey. I feel so lucky to have this opportunity to where I get to take lunch breaks at beautiful lakes, streams or passes overlooking some incredible view of the country we live in. It is strange to think that in less than two weeks my view during lunch will be looking out at my parents backyard.

For today however, I sit outside the Dinsmore's backyard in Baring, WA. We got a hitch this morning out of Stevens Pass from the 27th vehicle to come by. It was from a couple and their two dogs, Max and Marvin, hauling hay back to their farm. They dropped us off at the only stop in town, the Baring store and cafe. We were immediately greeted outside by the friendly waitress and went in for a hot sandwich and slice of pie.

With our bellies full, we walked across the railroad tracks to the last trail angels of the trail, The Dinsmores. Jerry Dinsmore greeted us and gave us the run down of the place. Basically, hikers have a whole apartment area to hang out in, a clothes line outside to dry out our things, a huge fire pit, a shower and Andrea Dinsmore does our laundry for us while we relax. Life doesn't get much better than this!

We got a care package from our friends in Leadville, CO who hiked this trail 7 years ago. Rather than describe the items, I thought I would attach a photo for your enjoyment. Not sure how much of this we will try, but I will say the bacon and cheese crickets were a hit!

Less than 200 miles to go and just one last resupply left.

Trail stats after 147 day and 2476 miles:
-# of showers: 32
-# loads laundry: 22
-# nights indoor: 22
-# days hiking in the rain: 7
-# beers consumed: 67

Pics from top to bottom:
-Katie hiking with our day-hiking friends
-View after the top of the climb
-Deception Lake
-Butterflies were everywhere, even on Katie's butt!
-Hiching to Baring
-The Baring store, cafe and Post Office
-My Strawberry Rhubarb pie
-Funny sign at the cafe
-The Dinsmores Hiker Haven
-The hiker apartment
-Crazy Leadville care package contents
-Midnight Chocolate's cursive handwriting from a register

How did I get here?

Sometimes I wonder how I made it this far. The miles are not getting much easier for me even though I have been at this for 4 1/2 months.  With just 260 miles to go it's a bummer my feet are still killing me but the rest of my body and mind feel so good. I wish my feet felt better as it would make this all day hiking thing be a bit more enjoyable. However, the end goal is getting closer by the minute and I wouldn't trade what I'm doing for anything right now. I love the people I have met, the fresh air, scenery and being outside every day.

Katie and I have talked about nearly everything possible, even wondering why they don't call piggy-back rides horse-back rides instead. We have solved riddles, played 20 questions numerous times and even made up our own knock-knock jokes. I think we have almost become like sisters spending this much time together. There are also hours that go by where we don't talk at all and are lost in our own thoughts. I have a clear mind and many ideas running through my head of what is next for me after this hike.

All of our good hiking buddies are in front of us anywhere from 1-5 days. It is wierd thinking I may never see them on the trail again, but I know we will remain friends for years to come. You make a special bond with people out here; much quicker than I would in my "normal" life. Anything goes for conversation and we see each other at our smelliest, strongest and sometimes weakest moments physically and emotionally.

Not much exciting happened in this stretch from White Pass to Snoqualmie Pass, so I will sum it up like this:
-beautiful steep rocky hills and sunny
-then icky clear cut logging and dense fog
-then trail magic from Not Phil's Dad and a CRAZY thunder and lightening storm overnight that briefly turned our tent into a water bed
-then rain all day and hiking in the trees
-then more fog and rain but a short 3 hour day to a warm and dry hotel room at Snoqualmie Pass!
-breakfast at the Pancake House and dinner at the Aardvark food truck, YUM!

The end is near and the weather forecast shows sunshine for the next week! Onwards to Stevens Pass we go!

Trail stats after 143 days and 2402 miles:
- Longest stretch without a shower: 14 days (Cascade Locks to Snoqualmie Pass)
- # showers: 31
- # loads laundry: 21
- # days hiking in rain: 7
- # nights indoor: 21
- # chocolate milks purchased: 16

Here are just few pics from this section:
-Katie on the pretty day
-Me on the icky clear-cut logging day
- dinner at the Aardvark food truck...best curry in WA!

An Unexpected Proposal

We started out this 8 day stretch from Cascade Locks to White Pass by walking across the Bridge of the Gods.  This bridge is a half mile long and connects Oregon and Washington by going over the Columbia River Gorge. 

For the first 5 days we had quite the group - Katie's sister, her sister's boyfriend, friend, and dog as well as Sleeping Dragon.  It was fun as always always having people join us for a bit. We picked lots of berries, they picked lots of mushrooms and Katie managed to get poison oak again. It rained each night a little while we were all tucked away in out tents, but finally our luck ran out and we had to hike in the rain for a full day.

On the fifth day the 5 of us waited at a road for Katie's Aunt Jeanie and Second Cousin Carol to pick up our section-hiking friends and resupply us with 3 more days of food.  We had our own private trail angels as they brought us fresh fruit and beer!

It was during our break here that Katie met her future husband who had been obsessing over her cursive hand writing for over 4 months (it is very nice I must admit). He had been seeing her sign-ins at various PCT registers and was hoping she wasn't 70 years old or a man. When introductions were made, he exclaimed "You are Midnight Chocolate! I love your hand writing and want to marry you!" After the brief awkward moment, she replied back that she was available and that it could be arranged.

After the gang left us and the marriage proposal was over, we were back on trail. It felt good to back in the groove of hiking with just Katie; time to finish what we started 4+ months ago. We went around Mt Adams and through the Goat Rocks area - a place many thru hikers call their favorite section on the PCT.

The last 2 days of the trail have been gorgeous and mostly above treeline as we went through Goat Rocks. It makes me realize why I love Colorado so much as we got to hike "in" the mountains instead of around them.

Now we sit at the Kracker Barrel Convenient Store at White Pass going through our resupply box, doing laundry and taking some time off our feet. We got another fun care package from friends in MT complete with a great note, chocolate and a mini-American flag to wave as we cross the border into Canada in a few weeks.

Two random notes to add...

Despite how tired I am and how sore my feet are at the end of the day, my favorite time to hike is between 6pm - 8pm. It cools down and seems more calm, quiet and  peaceful.  The lighting helps set the mood with the sun shining through the trees as it begins to set for the night. I know the hard day of hiking is coming to a close and I can reward myself by taking my shoes off for the night, blowing up my NeoAir mattress to lie down on as I eat one last snack before bed. I have become so comfortable sleeping in the tent breathing in the fresh air even despite the constraints of my mummy sleeping bag. I don't know what I am going to do once I have a whole queen-size bed to myself!

I completed my goal of doing 1,000 push-ups. I sure hope completing this trail is more exciting than completing my push-up goal. Now maybe I will move on to doing sit-ups...or just hike instead.

Trail stats after 138 days and 2,003 miles:
# showers: 30
# loads of laundry: 20
# pairs of shoes: 5
# of days hiking in rain: 6
# bears: 5
# snakes: 24
# nights not in a tent: 20
# pushups: 1,000

Here are some pics and descriptions from top to bottom:
-Katie with Mt Adams in back
-Me heading up to Cispus Pass in Goat Rocks
-Heading down knife ridge from Old Snowy
-The trail ahead to Elk Pass
-Hogsback Ridge and our trail (Mt Rainier in backdrop)
-Katie digging through the hiker box -me in my "laundry outfit" (have to wear my rain gear as it is the only non-smelly clothing not in the wash)

Good-Bye Oregon, Hello Washington!

We certainly took our time in Oregon compared to most other thru hikers, but we finally made it to Cascade Locks after 29 days.  Doing the math, Anish could have gone up, down and back up Oregon in less time!

Last I wrote we had left BLYC.  We then made our way around 3 Fingered Jack and the stunning Mt Jefferson.  On the west side of Jefferson, we had to ford our first glacial creek with the dogs.  We got to Russell Creek at the wrong time of day, right when the creek is running at its highest from the heat of the day melting the snow above.  The creek was loud, silty and strong.  Midnight Chocolate found a place to ford the creek after about 10 minutes of searching for a safe spot.  The dogs were not too keen to follow, but being on leashes they eventually stepped into and across at the lowest point we could find, only getting water up to their bellies.

Mt Jefferson from the South

Mt Jefferson from the North

The next day we had trail magic from the "Hiker Haus."  They were thru hikers from last year all living in Portland.  There were cardboard signs posted on trees leading us to where they were at which was a campground about a 1/4 mile off trail.  We figured this would be a great place for a break.  When we got there at 10am, we were the only hikers at that time, so they fed us blueberry pancakes, french press coffee, cinnamon rolls and beer. What a great combination for a brunch!  It was great talking to them about their experiences from last year.  One question I asked was how long it took them to adjust to life after the trail.  The answer was "we haven't yet."  Hmmm, sounds like only a part-time job may be calling my name after all :0)

Hiker Haus trail magic at a campground

It was hard to leave the Hiker Haus, but we had plans to meet our friends, Shannon and Beth, in the afternoon at Olallie Lake so we hiked on around noon.  When we got to Olallie Lake, there was just a small "store" with only some staples like chips, beer and peanut butter.  The lady running the place, Trapper Keeper, brought us a fresh pineapple, cutting board and knife and the dogs each got a foot long pepperoni stick.  Oh my, we were all happy campers!  We hung out at the picnic table outside the store for a few hours waiting for the girls and talking with other hikers as they came in and out.  Finally we saw the girls pull up and it was screams and hugs all around!!  The one thing we asked for was for them to bring 2 liters of wine.  The dillema was they could only find a 1.5 or 3 liter bag of wine.  They made the obvious decision an opted for the 3 liter bag which we had no problem all drinking over the 3 nights they were with us.

Beth, Shannon and Katie

Our PCT friends, Muppet, Stilts, Baxter, Wildcat with me and Katie

Make-shift camp spot right next to the trail...it will work!

We set off with them Sunday night.  We had such a great time with them, it was a nice change of pace and I felt like I was on a typical backpacking trip and not hiking the PCT.  We played Password, caught up on life, swam in Timothy Lake and laughed A LOT.  By the time we reached Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood, they had both easily earned their trail names.  Beth is now TLC and Shannon goes by Road Runner. 

Lexi enjoying the view of Mt Hood

They took us into Goverment Camp so we could get food for our last 2.5 day stretch to Cascade Locks.  We also hit the Mt Hood Brewery for a tasty beverage and nachos! Then they drove us back up to the lodge, we said our good-byes and Midnight Chocolate, Wiggles (Lexi), Sleeping Dragon (Xena) and I set back off to get a few more miles in before the end of the day.

An easier creek crossing with the dogs on Mt Hood

We hiked around the west-side of Mt Hood, had another glacier river crossing with the dogs and made our way north towards the OR/WA border.  We had one night where it rained all night long, but thankfully we were all sleeping away in the tent before it started.  By the time we started hiking in the morning the rain had subsided, but the tent was soaked and we hiked in a cloud all morning.  Once we dropped down low enough we hit sunshine and were able to take a long break to dry out some of our gear. 

Hiking in a cloud after a night of rain

Heading down to Cascase Locks and the Columbia River

Yesterday we arrived in Cascade Locks!  My sister hiked in and met us on the trail which was fun.  It is a good feeling to see a familiar face hiking towards you.  After getting shakes in town, we drove to Portland, dropped of Katie and Xena and then my sister and I hit a brewery on our way to St Helens. First thing after I got home was to give my dirty dog a bath and then get myself clean.  Then I did my laundry...twice! I caught up with my parents, sister, bro-in-law, nieces and nephews that night and had a tasty home-cooked meal. It feels good to be back home, although a little strange knowing that we will be back on the trail in just over a day; our journey is not quite over just yet!

Don't Go Chasing Rattlesnakes

Our friends, Shannon and Beth, recently joined us for a few days from Olallie Lake to Timberline Lodge.  It was such a nice change to have them there and they promised to entertain us...boy did they ever!  They wrote this song on their road trip to and from Montana and sang (or rapped) it to us the first night.  They even did a second performance for a few of our other hiking buddies the next night.  Needless to say it was quite a success! 

With their permission of course, I got the words and they are below for your entertainment.  For those of you familiar with TLC's song, "Waterfalls," you can even get the right tune. Enjoy!


RATTLESNAKES.
(Sing to the tune of Waterfalls by TLC)

Midnight Chocolate
Crawling out of her sleeping bag
Eatin’ Hershey’s bars throughout the night.

If at anytime she’s in a jam,
Chocolate’s by her side,
But she doesn’t realize it hurts her so much.

She’s not getting all the protein she needs
Because she’s stockin’ up on sugars and fats.
So she goes out and she hikes the trail the best way she knows how,
A PCT Hiker eatin’ this and that.

CHORUS
Don’t go chasin’ rattlesnakes
Please stick to the trails and the maps that you planned on.
We know that you’re so excited Lexi and Xena are here,
But they think you’re movin’ too fast.

Cowgirl up ahead,
Clearing the trail,
Looking out for all her hiker homeys.

She’s got her best friend,
That’s important to know
But even so she still gets a bit lonely.

Every night she spends repacking her bag,
2,000 miles was a long way to go.
Another sunrise and she’s hittin’ the trail,
There could be cattle you may just never know.

{CHORUS}

Beth and Shannon
Have been waitin’ since April
For their friends to meet them on the trail.

They wake at sunrise,
Crossin’four state lines,
Pushin’ the Chevy to its’ max-mum potential.

They’re a little worried that their legs will give out,
‘cause their packing pounds of chocolate and wine.
They’ve promised that they’ll provide entertainment
In exchange for less miles/ more time.

{CHORUS}