Rain, Then Fire
Mile 2403
We hiked out of Snoqualmie this afternoon after getting everything packed up and finishing last-minute errands. I was able to post one of my blogs and also got to talk to Erich for a while which was so nice.
It’s 8:48pm and it’s been raining for at least two hours, with this last hour in particular being heavier rain. I checked the weather on my Garmin and it says it’s only supposed to rain until around midnight, so hopefully tomorrow we’ll be able to take a break at some point and dry out our rain flies and anything else that’s particularly wet. Northern Washington is known for being cold and wet, and that’s nothing to mess around with. I had Erich send me two new pack liners to replace the one I’ve been using since the desert, and the security of knowing my stuff is dry inside my damp pack gives me peace of mind. Me and Ziploc are both using large compactor bags as our rain covers, and that has continued to work so far.
Several Hours Later…
I can’t fall asleep because there’s a mouse running around underneath my rainfly. I have my food in a bear canister outside, but I still have food in my tent that doesn’t fit in the bear can. I tried stuffing that food inside of another plastic bag and then into my pack, and hopefully that helps...
Since it’s raining I can’t tell if I’m hearing little footprints or if it’s just raindrops on my tent. I just really, really, really don’t want it to chew a hole in my tent and come in. I know it’s a tiny little animal, but that just creeps me out and gives me the ick. It’s supposed to rain for another couple hours, but I’m getting driven mad by this mouse...
I was talking to Hot Pink on Instagram earlier today (he just passed his 2000 mile mark!) and he said this section that I’m on was one of his favorites, and that seems to be the consensus of others as well. Excited to knock out the next 4 days and see what these mountains have to offer.
Mile 2417.3
Today was probably one of the most picturesque days we’ve ever had.
I was cranky and tired this morning after last night’s mouse fiasco keeping me up, so it was a tough morning. It took us several hours just to go a few miles because we were warming up from the wet air, took a couple of breaks, and also decided to try and dry out our tents a couple of times. Luckily the second time we tried, we got some sun and were able to have an amazing break on a hillside underneath some incredible peaks.
We then mostly ridge walked for the next few hours until coming upon the best views we’ve had on trail.
After that we had about 100 switchbacks (it felt like 100) to get us down 3000 feet to the valley.
Tomorrow we climb right back up again first thing in the morning, about 5 miles of climbing to start off the day.
Had a nice time in camp tonight. We only went about 15 miles today, so we were able to get into camp around 6pm. It felt really nice to be here so early and relax and chat. I can feel sleep grabbing hold of me and I hope it doesn’t let go until morning.
Mile 2432.7
Today was gorgeous but for some reason I had a really hard day. The morning was enjoyable, even though it was a 5-mile climb with endless switchbacks. It’s nice to climb in the morning usually. But once we got to the top and had our first break, I had low energy and realized I also had a tiny headache... We were up on a ridge with incredible views, but I found myself unable to fully enjoy them since I felt so crap. Finally around 2pm I decided to stop and take my lunch break and also lay down. I felt as though I might need to take a nap which is unusual for me. I laid down and closed my eyes, but wasn’t really able to fall asleep. After a little while Ziploc came up the trail and joined me, and we had lunch together. Afterward I was feeling a little better, but still not great. I followed her down the next 3.5 miles of switchbacks to a river where we took a nice break. I finally started to feel better, the cool air under the bridge was helping my body cool down.
The next few miles to camp I started to feel like myself again. I think because today was so much warmer than it’s been recently (especially after such a chilly night and morning), my body got kind of a shock and then couldn’t cool down, so that may have been why I had the headache and wasn’t feeling higher energy.
We’re camped now on Waptus Lake. It’s one of the largest lakes we’ve come by, and it’s beautiful with big peaks in the distance. We’re camped with some weekenders, since it’s Labor Day weekend. Tons of people are all around the lake, it seems like a pretty popular spot.
I took some NyQuil hoping it will help me sleep tonight. I haven’t been getting the best sleep. I can already hear critters, which I’m not super happy about. I’ve been glad for the bear canister - not for the bears, but for the mice! Just praying they leave me alone tonight...
Lastly, Ziploc and I celebrated our 5 month trailiversary today, which was a really cool milestone. We also figured out that (depending on fire closures) we’ll be done in either 2 weeks or 3 weeks. We’re down to weeks instead of months now, and it feels good. I’ll be extremely sad when it’s over, but at the same time I’m ready to go home. Both are true at the same time.
As I hiked further into Washington, I had a decision to make: would I complete Washington and then go back to California to hike the missing miles I had in the Sierra Nevada? I also had miles missing that I skipped over in Oregon while I was sick, so going back to hike those sections was also an option. I went back and forth and thought about it at length, and after several weeks came to the decision that my time on the PCT (at least for this year) would be over when I reached Canada. It was hard for me to accept my decision, because if I didn’t complete all of the miles in one go, would that mean I didn’t accomplish my goal? Would it mean I couldn’t say that I’ve hiked the Pacific Crest Trail? After what would end up being a total of 1,700 miles throughout California, Oregon, and Washington, I knew that wouldn’t be true. I was proud of what I’d managed to accomplish this year, and would be satisfied to finish my hike on the Canadian border and head home. The PCT would always be waiting for me, and heading back in the years to come, maybe with friends or family, gave me a new kind of excitement around how to experience the trail.
This meant only a few more weeks in Washington, which was quickly becoming my favorite portion of trail. I wanted to soak it all in while I could, because soon everything would be changing. The end wasn’t certain though, and I had a lot of work to put in to get me to Canada.
Mile 2449.2
Ziploc and I pushed hard today but it felt good. We started the day with a 5-mile climb, and once we arrived at the water source we took a “second breakfast” break. We met two guys there, a son and a father, and it was great chatting with them. I shared some of my coffee with the father, and it was just nice to enjoy some time together and get to know some new people.
After that, we had more climbing to do, but it wasn’t too long, maybe only a couple of miles. I got to work, finished my audiobook on the way up, and then as I topped out, I ran into two guys named Cucumber and Cutting Board. We all had a small amount of cell service, and it was comical as we each held out our arms in varying angles to get the best signal possible. I had just enough service to download the 7th Harry Potter book, which was such a treat having just finished the 6th book on the climb up.
Eventually we were joined by Ziploc, and as we were sitting eating a snack, Skittles, Squats, and Wrong Way all came around the corner! It was incredible seeing them there. They had another friend with them named Spfy, and we were even joined by a kind section hiker named Juice. It felt like a party up there on the summit, it was great! We haven’t been in a big hiker group like that in so long, and it felt amazing. There were great vibes, and we all were joyous and joking around with one another.
Ziploc and I were feeling motivated to make it close to 17 miles today so that we’d be able to get to town tomorrow with only ~17 miles to get there. We left that break and were moving really well. On the way down we chatted about the upcoming fire closures, since we’re unsure what the end of our hike will look like. If things open up, we would be able to hike at least to Stehekin before having to flip up to Hart’s Pass, but there’s another fire that might re-close the portion of the trail that goes to Stehekin. We’re unsure how we feel about it, because on the one hand we want to be able to do as many open miles of trail as possible since we aren’t necessarily ready for this adventure to be over. On the other hand, knowing that this trip could be over sooner than planned makes both of us feel a sense of relief. It’s a tough mix of emotions, and I’m not sure which one I’d prefer right now.
Mile 2466.9
We walked to Stevens Pass today in some gloomy weather. It wasn’t full on raining, but still cold and wet as we trudged along.
Partway through the morning I ran into a couple of friends from home, Amanda and Taylor! It was such a surprise, and so cool to have bumped into them out on the trail. They’re doing a section hike of Washington from Stevens Pass to Snoqualmie Pass (southbound) and they’re in for such a beautiful hike. This section has been incredible.
Ziploc and I had fun doing the “Dump Truck Challenge” a little later in the morning. It’s a 709ft climb over .6 of a mile, and hikers attempt to hike up it as fast as they possibly can. We found out about it because people had been posting their times in the comment section on FarOut. From the good vibes in the comments, it looked to be a lot of fun, and just something different to switch up the day a little, so we went for it. I was probably a little too excited and started out quite fast, because about halfway up I was majorly loosing steam. But I just tried to keep going as best I could. I think I only stopped once to briefly catch my breath, but man, it was steep and felt like it was never ending. I was still super motivated to do the best I could, and after what felt like an eternity I made it to the top and got 19 minutes and 22 seconds. It was super fun and I’m glad I did it!
Over the course of the day we didn’t take a lot of breaks. Instead we just pushed ourselves to get to town. The last few miles were especially tough for me. I was dragging on the climbs in particular. Motivation was strong though because I was cold and wet and very hungry, and town had warmth and hot food. As soon as we topped out on our last climb and I saw the ski lifts of Stevens Pass, I knew we were home free. It was two more miles downhill to get there.
We ended up at the Mountaineers, a ski hostel that hosts hikers in the off season. I had a hot meal and multiple mugs of hot apple cider. It made everything better.
Not sure if we’ll be here for one night or two, but we need to get up to date information on the upcoming fire closures, and decide what our plans are to move forward.
Ahead of us were our two last sections of trail (Stevens Pass to Stehekin, then Stehekin to Canada). In those sections were two fire closures: the Airplane Lake Fire and the Blue Lake Fire. They each had long and strenuous detours around them on side trails we didn’t know much about. These fire closures and what to do about them was the topic on all of the hikers’ minds at the Mountaineers. Some people wanted to go through the closures since the fires weren’t technically on the actual PCT yet, just close by (going through them is illegal). I’d be lying if I didn’t say that we strongly considered this option. Others were going around on the detours, and others were deciding to bypass these two sections of trail completely by catching a ride from Stevens Pass all the way to Harts Pass, only 30 miles from the border.
We decided to stay an extra night at the Mountaineers to get our heads on straight and figure out what we were going to do. We were feeling tired from these last few sections of trail. While Washington would continue to get more and more beautiful, it asked a lot of its visitors. Physically it was very demanding. We were pretty beat down from the terrain, the weather had been cold and wet, and eating the same old dehydrated food we’d been carrying for months was wearing on our morale. Ziploc in particular was feeling ready to be done and to be back home, and I wasn’t totally sure if she would be continuing forward with me. A day of rest, hot food, warm and dry clothing, and a peaceful atmosphere at the hostel allowed us both to process what we had to do to get us to Canada.
We decided to hike the next 100-mile section to Stehekin, which included the 17-mile Airplane Lake Fire alternate. Once getting to Stehekin, we would then shuttle up to Harts Pass to avoid the Blue Lake Fire alternate and hike the final 30 miles to the border from there. This would give us one final long section of trail in the remote Washington wilderness on the way to Stehekin.
