The Skykomish Split

This morning as we were eating breakfast, we realized that some drastic changes were needed. We planned to stay in Skykomish tonight and get our packages in the morning. Unfortunately that would have made it impossible to get to our next (and final) stop before the PO closed for the weekend. We would need to put miles in tonight to do it. What it meant was that we needed our food drop today,  but it would be nearly impossible to hike the 25 miles and hitch into town before the Post Office closed at 3:45.

Our plan: split up. I took a side trail down to Hwy 2, while Zm carried the torch on the PCT. I was able to get to the highway around 1, and was in town before 2. Got the package, grabbed some food, and now I am at Stevens Pass waiting for Zm to show up. I will cook her dinner as she takes a much needed break, and then we hike on.

It looks like we will hit the border around the 28th, and most likely we will be done on Oct 1 or shortly before. We are looking forward to being done.

9/18 Rain and clouds

Once again, chores have allowed me to squeeze out a blog entry. Zm is sealing the seams on our tent, something we should have done before starting this trip.

This morning we climbed into a cloud. The trail climbs up high with extensive alpine views. Unfortunately the views were obscured for most of the day. Being on high ridgelines in clouds and rain takes its toll. It is similar to night hiking in that you have no frame of reference. Lacking is the sense of forward progress that fuels our hike.

This was also the first time to really test out our rain panchos. They mostly kept us dry. When we took breaks we would drape them over ourselves to hide from the rain completely. As the day progressed, the rain relented and our spirits were raised.  We should have nice weather for the next several days.

Roo and Marmot caught up at Snoqualmie and there are now six of us including Seahorse and Chillidog. We all have the same tent.

It just started raining again, but Zm is already done. Time to sleep once again. As the days get shorter, sleep time gets longer.

Halfway thru WA

We have been at Snoqualmie Pass since noon yesterday. Many hikers are here and the motel has taken on a dorm atmosphere.

The weather is terrible but we are going to roll out this morning anyway.

250 miles left!

9/13 Thirteen miles past White Pass in Washington

Amazingly, we have time for a blog entry from the trail. Several rips and tears on various pieces of gear are being repaired by Zm as I write this. We stopped about 45 minutes early at 7:00 to facilitate the necessary repair and enjoy the bottle of wine that I carried out of White Pass.

The weather has been phenomenal and unseasonably warm. The inevitable rain is still farther out than the forecasters can predict. The hot weather has a downside, which is fire and bugs. The nearby fires have been limiting our long distance views in a way similar to LA pollution. This morning the high pressure system relented enough to allow wind and clearer views for the first time in at least a week.

So far the Washington highlight has been the Goat Rocks Wilderness. This section was clouds, rain, and snow in 2006. Yesterday it was hot and gorgeous. Zm took the appropriately excessive amount of pictures.

Another big change has been the consistency of people. Washington has no choice of resupply points, therefore everybody seems to get in lockstep with other hikers. Also people's paces are aligning because we all know we are going to make it to the border. The difference between a 25 and 30 mile pace is a paltry 2 days at the finish. We are all dialing back to the easier 25 days to enjoy the end of this experience as well as the spectacular scenery that Washington has to offer.

Within 5 miles of us tonight are many hikers. There is a good chance that most of them will be equally as close when we finish this trail. Today we got to enjoy Seahorse, Chillidog, Han Solo, Bubbles, Boots and Pepe Lopez at White Pass. Some left earlier, some later, all knowing that we will encounter each other again in the next few days.

We are in good health and excellent spirits and in near disbelief that less than 340 miles of trail remain. Good night from mile 2317 of the PCT.

Oregon Is Complete

First, an apology for the lack of posts. We have been enjoying our experience to the fullest and blogging cuts directly into sleep time.

We are in Cascade Locks, OR, right next to the Colombia River and the border of WA. Since our last pathetic post in Ashland we have traveled over 400 miles and the entire length of Oregon. The travel has been easy compared to other sections but the days have still been long and focused.

We have seen Crater Lake, the Three Sisters, Hood, Jefferson and tons of other volcanos. We have swum in warm mountain lakes and feasted on huckleberries.

For several days the mosquitoes were really bad. We slathered on deet to ward them off. The late snow melt has delayed their peak for at least a month.

One of the big highlights was our trip to Bend. Our friends Kirk and Anthony were going to meet us at McKenzie pass to take us into Sisters but they weren't there when we got there. After getting in touch we discovered they were in Bend with a busted head gasket. However they had borrowed a car from a friend and ended up meeting us anyway. We ended up going back to Bend with them and staying with the aforementioned friend for two nights of fantastic and unexpected trail magic.

After leaving Bend we were two days behind and behind people we knew. The last part of Oregon has been great because we have finally started to hike with people again. There were a chunk of us determined to make it to Timberline Lodge in time for the breakfast buffet.

We made it but then discovered that the trail had just closed ahead due to a huge fire. The detour was way off to the East and consisted of lots of road walking. But due to the camaraderie of five other hikers the detour was actually fun and not just bearable.

So now we are waiting for the right people to show up. We want good folks around for the final leg of this trek. Either that or we get bored and go in to Washington anyway.

Just 500 miles left!