VeeStamats
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Day 129
We started the day knowing we were just 60 miles away from the end. Somewhat last minute, we decided to push 27 miles all the way to Hart’s pass. Mostly because there were no other campsites. We didn’t really want to be pushing larger miles this close to the end because there wasn’t a reason to rush…right? Today’s hike was It was a beautiful start to the morning with instant views of the cascades all around us. The smoke in the air limited the visibility, but didn’t ruin the majestic peaks and valleys for me. It was a really easy hiking day compared to the constant climb we did the day before. By early afternoon we started to see small plumes of smoke north of us. This caused Tim quite a bit of anxiety, and definitely made me nervous. At this point we hadn’t gotten cell service or wifi for a week and didn’t have any updates about the status of fires in northern washington. As far as we knew, the only major concern in the area was the mudslide that closed 10 miles of road out of Hart’s pass but that we could deal with. By later in the afternoon as we came within 10 miles of Hart’s pass we got a better view of the plumes: there were two significant large plumes of smoke north of us, two east/west of us. Knowing there was a ranger at Hart’s pass, Tim pushed quickly to the campsite while I lagged behind more slowly and at berries, knowing these might be my last few of the entire trail. I finished the last 5 miles with Shaman, and we conversed easily about spirituality and hiking. We passed a sign that was updated today with a map of all the fires surrounding the trail and what trails had been closed. Miraculously, the PCT was still open, but every single side trail was closed by a different fire around us. That map had been updated today. By this point, we were all just trying to stay positive, stay together, and stay vigilant. All of us at camp made a plan for the next day (that we had changed at least 5 times to this point): hike 27 miles to a campsite at a junction 3 out from the terminus, potentially drop packed and hike in and out to terminus tomorrow. Knowing we may be hiking 33 miles, we all woke early the following morning.
Day 128
Brutal climb today out of Stehekin. Almost no descent today, just climbing for 23 miles which really gets to you, especially in another darn heat wave! The heat was extreme, paired with heavy rainfall, which was odd. Unfortunately my ankle started to act up around mile 12, slowing me down for the remaining miles. I had a great hike up the rest of the way with Tango though. Our morning was a blast since the bus stopped at the bakery unexpectedly! We love this bakery. I had two cinnamon rolls, a pesto mushroom onion croissant, and a fruit and cheese danish. That was plenty of calories for the day.
Day 124
Rainy days are here again! We were so happy to be cold today in off and on rain, mist, fog, and views. We had tons of elevation change, tons of climbs, and all of them with beautiful mountains and rivers. We hit 2,500 miles, so just 150 more to go! The evening ended at a stunning river that kept us asleep all night long with white noise.
Day 120
We are TIRED. We thought today would be an easy day with just 24 miles, but it ended up being 6000+ feet of elevation gain, 3 climbs, I had cramps the whole day, and we were just very slow moving. Thankfully, there were huckleberries literally the entire day on both sides of the trail to gorge on. We had what I believe to be one of the steepest miles of trail yet at the very end of the day today. More than 1000 feet per mile, up to our campsite which was at the top. Not. A. Fan. On the bright side, it was just us at the campsite and the five of us had some good laughs at the top before tucking in for the night. Love camping with friends!
Day 118
Just seven miles all up hill, and boy were they eventful. Mile 5, my shoe tore. I already ordered my next pair to be shipped to Stehekin, 180 miles away. These shoes were just not going to make it. After a few minutes of panic and complaining, I called REI to see if there was any way they could help me. The customer service woman saved my butt. She said REI would figure out a way to cancel the pair I had ordered, and send a new pair to Leavenworth by the day I would be arriving, at no additional cost beyond what I had already paid for the other pair. I was so relieved, so amazed, in awe really that they did that for me. Then I had the most stunning trail sunset I may have ever seen. The alpen glow lit up the mountains on the Catwalk just as I got to the top. Stellar 7 miles!
Day 116 - Snoqualmie Pass
Today we hiked out 10 miles to make it to Snoqualmie pass by 8:45! The early start had us both on the wrong foot, with cramps to start out the day unfortunately, but the miles passed, we had imromptu trail magic, and got breakfast with Mimosa’s sister and Dad in “town” which was great. The drive was long so we took a pit stop in Yakima. What a town. We got new clothes at the goodwill, mine consisting of a romper and swimsuit, while Tim got a dress. We also went to McDonalds. Mimosa and Breakingbad unfortunately got very sick when we finally made it to Cascade Lockes. We think they had Norovirus or food poisoning. So the rest of us went to the trail says location and signed up for raffles and saw some friends, getting dinner at a different brewery than before. We saw many trail celebrities including Jupiter, Josh Perry (FKT holder), and the Daley family (2 parents, 3 kids under 5 hiking the trial this year). Loving it!
Day 112
This was probably the most gorgeous day of hiking I’ve ever done, followed by the worst night of mosquito hell I’ve ever endured. Sometimes when days are bookended with badness, I avoid writing about them for a bit to get some better perspective. Now writing a few days later, what really stuck from the day was how amazing Goat Rocks and the Knife’s edge were. Over just 5 miles we saw so much beauty, with 360 degree views of Ranier, Adams and St. Helens, paired with stunning craggy climbing and snow fields. Then on the walk down we got incredible wildflowers. We were completely blown away! White Pass was also quite nice, a gas station with some hot food and resupply stuff. There were probably around 30 hikers there when we were, everyone laughing while doing chores and eating as much as they could. Leaving white pass started out sentimental, then turned into a race against time as we quickly lost our sanity through six miles of hiking through mosquito swarms to our agreed upon tent site. I had actually just told my mom over the phone that the mosquitos weren’t that bad in Washington. Well, mom, I take that back.
Day 111
It’s like we’ve returned to the Sierras! 25 miles of hiking today was pretty meh, followed by 5 unbelievable miles that came out of nowhere. Goat Rocks is breathtaking; rolling hills, valleys cut by snowmelt streams, paintbrush and lupine everywhere you turn, craggy rocks and outcroppings above, views of Mt. adams, Mt St. Helen, and Ranier. This is the stuff backpacking dreams are made of!
Day 110
We left Trout Lake late in the day, after a huckleberry pancake and huckleberry roll in the morning. Nine of us piled into the bed of a truck ( a short bed!) and rode the 25 minutes up to the trailhead. We flew through 15 beautiful miles of train just under Mt. adams, with views of Ranier and St. Hellens in the distance. The wildflowers were absurdly gorgeous, and the meadows glowed in the evening sun. The feared river crossing was a simple log-walk. Today was a trail highlight for sure.
Day 109
24 miles in to Trout Lake—pretty rapid hiking, with early morning watermelon trail magic. So happy to get off our feet!