Hiking - 2016 PCT - Day 143 to 152

Despite train noise and a street light right outside the inn window I got a pretty decent nights sleep. Morning was more chores (backing up photos etc) and then sending off my bounce bucket to Justin in Vancouver.

I got lucky and when I was in the PO sending my bucket the mother of a hiker was visiting and I was able to get an easy ride back to trail. Bumped into Zuke and Heman there who I hadn't seen since the Cali/Oregon border. 2 brothers hiking the entire PCT together... and sharing a tent! Can you imagine...

After a few more goodbyes and hellos to friends, and sneaking in some lunch at the lodge, I was finally back on trail. Only a 4.5 day food carry but because I'm eating a lot more now I'm pretty sure my pack is heavier than the 7-8 day food carry from Kennedy South!

Luckily it was only a short day out of town. Next morning woke up to a wet tent. It didn't rain but there was so much condensation it may as well have. We still are enjoying good weather though so at lunch I was able to lay it out and it was dry in under 10 min.

Had planned to go an hour or 2 more but came across another great lake and after sitting around and talking to other hikers for a while decided to be done for the day. Shorter than most full days but there is a lot more elevation change now so I could still feel it.



Had a perfect east facing view so got first light in the morning. Wind and the fact I was a little above the lake saved me from another wet pack up. Lots of great ridge walking today offering amazing views most of the day. Could still see Rainer far off in the distance but Mt Baker stood prominent.



It also happened to be the first day of hunting season so the trail was a little busier today. Less than an hour before I came across my first pair of hunters, very friendly guys and keen to chat about the PCT. Others were perched with binoculars looking for deer. Pretty funny as I didn't see one today compared to heaps the last few days, maybe they knew it was hunting season too...

Didn't hear one shot during the day either, but up and down some deep valleys and over ridges that would have drowned out sound. One valley lead us down alongside a creek for a few miles which was pretty awesome.

Last quarter of the day was climbing again. Unmaintained section  of trail (hunters use a side trail) with quite a few trees down but only 1 that was difficult to get around. Camped above a great creek with a rocky back drop which lit up a nice orange with the setting sun.
Rocky ridge also blocked he morning sun but it didn't seem too cold. After a short climb we wound down the side of the mouton past another beautiful mirror like lake. Then continuing down to the very bottom of a deep valley.

After going down for what seemed like ages it was once again time to head back up. Pretty steep section, about as steep as Peasents Ridge on Mt Barney and twice as long! Much deserved rest at a good snow melt creek short after the crest. The rest of the day was fairly gentle all the way to camp.
It was another hikers birthday so we had a small fire at camp as a candle but we're still all in bed by about 8. Woke to the sound of heavy rain at about 3am and it seemed to keep up until morning.  After poking my head out I saw it was mostly just misty with light rain so I packed and went on my way.



It wasn't long before the rain got more serious and the clouds became darker. I had planned a shorter day and then a Nero into Stehekin but with the rain didn't stop for breaks or lunch and made it to the road with time to spare for the shuttle to town.
This weather back home I probably would have had to stop every minute to pick of a leech. I haven't seen one the entire PCT so I do have that going for me, which is nice.

Every room (only 2 separate places) in town was booked, Saturday night... So I was setting up a wet tent in the rain in the overflow campground anyway. Problem with single wall tents if you can't dry them out, when you shove them in your bag the inside gets wet too.

Despite wet walls I managed to keep everything else pretty much dry. Rain stopped half way through the night and I awoke to blue skies and an already fairly dry tent.

Plenty of hikers about in town waiting for the PO to reopen on Monday. A few of us took a short shuttle (3 miles) to the bakery. No pie warmer or sausage rolls... so I can't bring myself to believe it's a real bakery but their pastries were amazing, hot chocolate too. Stayed here and played cards and stocked up on calories for the better half of a day before returning to town to hang out.



After a great dinner at the lodge it was time for bed. Slept in as I had no rush until the 10am post office opening. Collected my resupply box, last one!, and grabbed a few more snacks at the store before returning to trail. The return was via the bakery (the shuttle stops for 10 min to give people time) so got a nice BBQ chicken hot pocket and a ham and cheese crossiant for lunch.

Back on trail early afternoon planning for a short hike to first camp. Before we got there we crossed a cool little suspension bridge. Looked sturdy enough... except for that one broken plank I guess.

All the carabiner holding the wires had "Not for climbing" and no load limit printed on them which didn't inspire confidence. So I gave it a little bounce test to reassure everyone it was still safe...ish. After that no one was keen to walk across while I was still on it for some odd reason...



Camp was a little bit off trail but next to a nice river. Cold night with quite a bit of condensation in the morning. Got a late start trying to give things time to warm up, which didn't work. At about 1030am I was still walking past frost in the shady parts and just before 1pm at higher elevation there was still snow...



Still I had clear skies above despite some grey ones off in the distance and didn't need a jacket to hike in. Lots of beautiful mountains today as well when we hiked through mountain passes.



Got to a camp around 5:40 and stood around for 15 min trying to decide if I should push on to the next. It involved a decent climb and here was the last water so it meant lugging dinner and breakfast water up hill...
Luckily I decided to stop as not 2 minutes after getting my tent up those distant grey clouds from earlier today were suddenly on top of me and it started raining again. Managed to quickly throw everything in the tent before it got too wet and cooked inside.

Awoke to beautiful blue skies. I was camped in a valley so no chance of sun to warm me up though. Stuffing a wet tent into your pack is never fun but I knew at the top of the pass I could get it out to dry. It was cold sitting by it, some fresh snow in the shady sections of the mountain, but it did manage to dry fairly quickly.



By lunch I had made it to Hearts Pass. Last road access for the trail before Canada, 30 miles from the boarder. Some hikers, unable to cross, we're heading back to the road and were able to give some trail conditions for the remainder of the trip. Little bit of snow, nothing we can't handle by now.
Camp was busy with at least 17 hikers arriving before the cold drove me into my tent. 14.5 miles shy of the Monument, might be a line tomorrow to take pictures!

A busy camp meant a busy morning... some must not have realised that it was their last chance of an on trail sleep in! With some making noise before 6am I was awake so started to stir by at least 7. Making decent time I got to the Monument by lunch.

CANADA!!
All in all it took 151 days, 05 hours, 36 minutes and 06 seconds. With 20 town zer0s, 1 trail zer0s and 14 ner0s I probably could have finished a little sooner, but I think it all went pretty smoothly.

The remaining miles to Manning Park felt longer than any other on trail. They seemed to drag on. Eventually though I made it to the lodge, had a nice long shower and by the time you read this will have enjoyed my first beer!

Hope you have enjoyed reading my adventure. I'm sure there will be many more!

Hiking - 2016 PCT - Day 135 to 142

Stayed at the inn right next to the store and shared with 6 other hikers. I was very excited as I found some Vegemite in a hiker box and bought some butter and a loaf of bread so I could make everyone toast for breakfast. It went down about as well as expected.



After having quite a few pieces for myself it was time to pack up and head out. Packing took a while so I was able to fit in a little snack at the store and a can of coke before eturning to trail. I also picked up a warmer pair of gloves as I've had cold hands while hiking the last few days.

I went a little further than I thought I would but that meant setting up camp in the fading light. I was able to mostly get without the head torch, but needed it for cooking. Definitely feeling these shorter days. Today felt quite a bit warmer but there is likely rain again tonight so that might change quickly.

The rain started at about 3am and was still going when it ca me time to pack down the tent. Still not as cold as the other day but stuffing a wet tent away is never fun. I stayed in my sleeping bag for at least an extra hour this morning but knew I had to get on the move eventually.



Met up with some other hikers for smoko and discussed plans for the day. There was a hut/shelter a good distance from where I camped so I said I'd be heading for there. One guy said something like "Yeah, you can say that now but might not if it starts raining." Another that I hadn't really hiked with before but met quite a few times said;

Nah man, if Garfield says he's going to do something; It'll happen.

So that made me feel pretty good. It's nice to know others can recognise something I've always tried to live up to. When your only making plans for a day or 2 ahead it's not hard to stick with them but some people still have trouble with it, even when the only variable is 'how far.'

Was a great section on the way to the hut. Soured only by the fact that I was stung by a bee... I've had a few ant bites but this was the first bite/sting that really hurt. Started to swell so I took some anti-histimine and by the time I reached the hut I could barely feel it.

Not long after I was settled a Trail Angle opened a 1.75 lt bottle of bourbom for the hut, threw away the lid and proceeded to pass it around... Might not be a quiet night out of the rain...



Despite the ample supply of liquid warmth most hikers were in bed or asleep by 930. This was fine by me as I hopped into my sleeping bag around 9. Work to some eager hikers packing away at 6am, the joys of sharing living space...

Some early morning drizzle though the rest was a pretty good day. Sun shone through by 11 ish and it didn't rain again until after I was warm in my tent. Camped near a weather station. Once manned, and abandoned buildings left behind, it's now all automated. And has a phone tower, so great reception.

Rain got a little heavy during the night and continued as light rain through some of the morning. One of the good things about all the rain though is all the little mossy falls right near the trail.

Made it to the next town late afternoon to enjoy pizza and beer. Got a message from Double Check, her and Missguyver were some hikers I spent some miles with way back before mile 500. They finished a week ago and were out doing magic. I was a little too fast for the magic but they were able to swing by town and grab a beer. It was great catching up and swapping stories and also hearing all the news about other hikers I haven't seen in a long time.

Room for the night and decent wifi so I was able to Skype home. I thought Cascade Locks may have been the last chance before Canada so it was nice to have a good connection. Another win was the weather. It was as of someone had flicked a switch. Clear blue skies and a decent temp.

Hiked out late morning after taking the time to enjoy a long bath in the room. I was waiting on a package anyway that went to the Post Office proper rather than the 'Rural Branch' of the same. It arrived about 5 min before I went to check on it, lucky timing.

Instantly started up a huge climb the moment I hopped back on trail. With the clear blue sky I was able to see amazing views that stretched on for ages. Such an absolutely beautiful day both weather and view wise today. Amazing. The reports have us enjoying another 8-9 days of this good weather and hiker stories pitch this as the prettiest section.



Stopped for arvo tea by a small lake with another Aussie hiker I've met a few times. His partner is over to join him on this section, so they were planning to stop there. Another trio arrived with an Aussie I'd never met.
With the 4 of us there we got into a pretty good conversation using words that thoroughly confused the Americans. Reminiscing about Australian food goods also played a big role in the conversation.

After finally setting off again we started up another decent climb. I saw my first mountain goat run up a cliff I think I would have a hard time climbing. Their call is pretty weird though, like a high pitched whistle.

The next morning I awoke to beautiful 360 views of mountains. Lots of up and down today and lots and lots of amazing views. It might be as we've hit it with good weather but I'm really loving this section. Really happy to be able to see all the mountain ridges and not just white cloud.



While the sky was still blue someone had switched it back to bitterly cold mornings. I eventually crawled out of my nice warm bag to begun the day. Despite being fine now there is still plenty of evidence that Washington is a wet state. Seeping creeks, moss covered trees and rocks and plenty of beautiful lakes.



After pushing up yet another steep climb and coasting down the other side I made camp near a lake. Another new group of thru-hikers. People I've only been days apart from since the start but never met. It's pretty cool sharing stories and working out mutual friends.

It was an easy day into Stevens Pass where Copper Tone, the trail angel following the heard all season, was at his final spot.for the year. His offers of Creaming Soda/Icecream spiders went quite as tempting as they were in the heat of the desert... so I took a hot.chocolate instead.

Made my way down to Skycomish to grab my bounce bucket, 2nd package from home and do laundry. Decided to stay the night as I'm ahead of shedual and a few beers sounded like a good idea. Will have to wait for the post office to open tomorrow (1130am) before heading out so I get to sleep in and have a nice breakfast!

Next time you'll hear from me I'll be posting from Canada!!

Hiking - 2016 PCT - Day 128 to 134

After an impromptu bday party for another hiker I went to sleep in the hammock and had a fairly nice nights sleep. Now we're firmly around trees more hikers have switched to hammock setups. I'm still happiest in a tent though.

Before I could get back to the woods I had to cross the famous 'Bridge of the Gods' no pedestrian space, cars going over both ways avoiding hikers. It was a pretty cool bridge though. It isn't the highest but a bridge climb would give some good views.



Second day in Washington and it lived up to reputation. Lots of climbing but with a nice cool change. Light mist most of the morning that condensed on leaves and dropped onto hikers.



For lunch I found an awesome cliff edge to sit on. There were also some awesome views back to Mt Hood and forward to Mt Adams throughout the day.



Wound back down a bit to a nice spring for camp. As I took longer enjoying the views I rolled in a little late but was still able to set up in the fading light. Days are already notably shorter.

The next day started with a sleep in and later departure from camp. Stopping off at a beautiful blue lake for lunch and winding around a few more in the afternoon.  Got to my planed campsite described as 'large' to find another 13 people already setup. Still a bit of light so I pushed on and found a nice quiet solo spot to bed down.



The next day was an easy 6 or so miles to the road for Trout Lake. Well if you exclude the steep 1500 ft climb over 2 of those... Trout Lake was a really friendly town with lots of places at the cafe and store to charge batteries. Made it just in time for late breakfast and by the time I got my resupply box and waited for charging had a late lunch too.

It took a while to get a hitch but eventually a really friendly and happy monk from the local Abby was on his way to leave some trail magic at the trail head and took us up. He thought the PCT would be an amazing spiritual journey, obviously for the 15 min car ride I refrained from sharing my exact stance on religious matters.

Back on trail by about 1630, meaning it was a quick 7 hour turn around in town, time gets away when there's hot food and plenty of hikers to chat with. Got a few miles in before camping near a meadow. Luckily got to eat dinner outside, finishing up just as the sky opened. Only a drizzle but looks set in and might mean a wet pack up.

Rain throughout the night and plenty of Puddles around camp. Little bit on the floor of the tent, must have some small holes by now. Was a small break in the rain to allow me to pack up and get moving.  Rained most of the morning and drizzled the rest of he day, T.Gratts would love hiking in this... Did see a glimpse of blue sky that lasted 15 min before clouds closed in again. Still managed to see Mt Adams ocaisonally and the forest was still beautiful.



Another lucky break in he rain allowed me to setup camp. I know why people slow down in WA, the elevation isn't bad but with early camps because it's cold and late starts because of rain you lose a lot of hiking hours. Glad to camp early though, as soon as I got in my tent it started raining again. According to the weather man it should ease off tomorrow.

Another rainy night leading to another late pack up.  This time though there was just enough light to cast a shadow. No rain this morning but the canopy dripping was enough to keep everything wet. Shoes were under the awning of the tent but still soaked from yesterday. Nothing quite like the feeling of putting on sopping wet shoes to start the day...



Even if they were dry it would have only lasted a few hundred meters. The undergrowth was holding water and as soon as you brushed by would unload onto your legs. Very cold and wet. Some was waist high so shorts get wet too.

Clouds parted at lunch giving a good window to mostly dry everything. Closed back in by the time I was ready to move on. Over knifes edge with some awesome views through breaks in the clouds. I was expecting a little more height/thinner ridge but it was still pretty cool.



It was a cold night with frost forming on the tent, I hope this was a weather event and not to be expected for the rest of Washington! It was a pretty short run down to White Pass made even shorter by a trip down a ski field. Just as I turned a corner there was a really spectacular view of Mt Rainier.



Kracker Barrel Store was friendly and a good place to hang out. It was also fairly clear skies so I was able to lay out gear and get it all dry. Still on the fence about staying at the inn tonight or hiking on but with every passing moment staying the night seems more likely...