Snoqualmie Pass to Skykomish, WA (9-24-2013 to 9-28-2013):
9-24-2013
PCT MILE: 2402.00-2409.73
-Left Snoqualmie Pass today
-Ate lunch at the Ardvark food trailer at the Chevron... OMG it has amazing food! While there, I saw Indie, Appa, Moist, Safari, and Puff in addition to all the other hikers I've been spending time with recently (Cookie Monster, Solstice, Explagrance, Golden Boy, New Orleans, & Chops).
-It was great to see Appa and Indie; I hadn't seen them in a loooong time! I love those boys so much. I love everyone from Team Vortex! I was incredibly happy getting to catch up with and hug everyone.
-The weather was shifting between sunshine, rain, and snow today! It was lovely, but frustrating because I had to keep adjusting my gear and my wardrobe to match the weather conditions.
-I left super late in the afternoon. I decided to only hike in a short distance. The only campsites listed on my trail guide were a great distance from one another: the first was located just 7 miles north of me on the trail, while the second listed campsite was 18 miles away from me. Due to my late start and the weather, I stopped at the first campsite.
-My next stop is Skykomish, WA so I can pick up mail and stay with The Dinsmores at PCT Mile 2476. This means I have 66.27 miles to go until I get there. If I can hike just 22 miles a day I should be there in 3 days. I hope I can hike fast!
-My forehead/eyebrow wound is doing okay. It hurts a little bit but its not reddening. I'm thinking maybe I should go see a doctor to inquire about stitches. I'm nervous this gash could leave an ugly scar on my face. And, with all the walking I'm doing, there is constant sweat pouring down my forehead and going straight into my wound. I'm sure it's not a big deal... but being out in the wild means I have dirt on my hands... so when I go to wipe the sweat from my brow I risk getting dirt and bacteria into my cut. Ugh... I hope I can keep it clean enough until I get to Skykomish, WA and see a doctor or at least consult WebMD.
-It's so cold! It started snowing earlier. It stopped snowing and there isn't any sticking to he ground yet... but winter is coming to Washington! It's exciting and scary for me- mostly exciting though.
-I likely will not catch up to: Safari, Puff, Moist, Indie, Appa, Solstice, Poolside, or Deep Dish. I hope I see them again... but they're hiking after than I am to Canada and they're not stopping in Skykomish like I am.
-Behind me are Shady Acres, Apache, Gone Slow, Sharkrider, Rocket Llama, Giggles, Story Time, Simba, and No Rush... I hope they catch up so I can see them all again.
9-25-2013
PCT MILE: 2409.73-2424.11
-Woke up to a mouse chewing on my trash bag. I scared him off.
-Went back to bed because it was FREEZING outside. I couldn't stand the thought of getting out of my warm sleeping bag, changing clothes, and taking down my tent with it being so cold outside. I decided I'd sleep in a little and wait for the sun to warm things up a bit.
-I finally woke up at 7:30am. It was still pretty cold, but not as bad as it was earlier.
-Got on the trail by 9:30am. Apparently I move much more slowly when it's cold!
-Not feeling the hike yet today. I'm just feeling dull and sluggish- and my back and forehead hurt.
-It's really foggy here- hardly any visibility- so I feel like I'm climbing mountains for no good reason. I'm just climbing, climbing, climbing, and all I can see is fog and the trail right in front of me... no pretty views are in sight even though I know they're surrounding me. Grrr
-Appreciation for both sides of the spectrum when it comes to the PCT: desert vs. mountains, inclines vs. declines, cold weather vs.warm weather, hiking fast vs. hiking slowly... etc. I was irritated at the cold and foggy weather this morning. I turned around a ridge and it swung me onto a ledge overlooking a beautiful landscape of mountains, lakes, rivers, and meadows with even taller and more rugged mountains in the background that were frosted with snow. There was blue sky and the sun was shining. What a stark contrast to the other side of the ridge! What if I had given up and just sat down on the foggy side of the mountain and been miserable when I could have persevered and kept going only to stumble upon such a perfect sight?! What a great life lesson: Keep going and never give up.
-The clouds were a veil over the horizon. I saw stunning scenery when the veil was lifted.
-Frustrated and I don't know why. Even with the beautiful scenery and weather, I just wasn't feeling the hike today. I didn't want to work or do anything really. I have no clue as to why I feel this way.
-The weather was crazy today! Cold, overcast, foggy, rainy, misty, sunshine, hot, blue skies, marshmallow clouds... The weather in Washington is very fickle and can change in an instant!
-Love Hate relationship with the trail.
-Dilemma about today's hike
-OMG! What a day! It's been crazy for me- in my head mostly though. The hiking was nice, the weather turned out to be gorgeous, I was surrounded by waterfalls and rivers... but I just didn't want to hike. I decided to have a short day, to camp before a large climb, and to start fresh in the morning. It feels good to be making a decision that's best for me even though almost everyone else pushed on. Listening to myself is hard for me to do at times; I'm very happy I did it today.
-Camping with New Orleans (Nolene, a potter, from South Africa) and Chopps (a dude from Chico, CA who turned down a helicopter ride during one of the forest fires this year).
9-26-2013
PCT MILE: 2424.11-2445.38
-Much better day today
-Sunshine and blue sky with great views
-Lunch with Nurse Betty! It was fantastic seeing her! I hadn't seen her since the Mojave Desert! She said the next section is REALLY difficult. I'm a bit nervous about this.
-Camped with Chopps and New Orleans again.
-So much stuff to say, but I'm too tired to type.
9-27-2013
PCT MILE: 2445.38-2457.56
-Panic attack because it snowed. The brown trail turned to white right before my eyes- as I walked up a mountain. It was beautiful, but everything got so white so quickly that I feared the snow might not stop and that I could be marching into a death trap. I told myself to keep going because I would be closer to town if I headed north, instead of marching an even greater distance to the town I just came from. I kept going and the more the trail descended, the less snowy it became. I felt relieved.
-Next, I got to a sequence of river crossings. Some rivers were small, some were large but tame and had rocks thoughtfully placed for hikers to jump across on, and some rivers were totally dried up. And then, some rivers were grand waterfalls dumping gallons and gallons of water into a raging river tumbling over volcanic rock on the side of a mountain. I fell into the latter earlier today. I was carefully crossing the river by walking across logs and rocks, but at one point I stepped on a slippery rock and fell over into a pool of water. It was raining, cold, and foggy too. I picked myself back up, got back on the logs, and continued to cross the river. To my shock, my rain gear kept me almost entirely dry! Even my backpack stayed dry- all but one front pocket. I finished the river crossing and hiked until I reached some trees. I stood under a few low hanging branches of some huge tree and stared back at the rugged river I came from. I caught my breath, collected my thoughts, and told myself it was time to keep going. (The longer I stood there the colder I became. I HAD to keep moving to keep my body temperature up.)
-I wanted to walk at least 20 miles today so that I would only have to hike 10 miles tomorrow when I'm going into town. BUT, because of the rain, my snow anxiety, and me falling into the river, I decided to camp early, before some climbs and long ridge lines where camping would be a bad idea. I was afraid to ascend so late in the day and be fully committed to walking another 16 miles in the rain.
-Found a nice spot, set up camp, collected water, got in my sleeping bag and dry clothing, put boiling water into my Platypus water bladder, warmed myself up with my warm water bottle, listened to music, finished reading a book, ate, rationed my food, drank some tea, and did whatever I wanted while I listened to the rain landing on my tent. I was so happy to not be out hiking!!!!!! And I was happy to be listening to myself and not trying to keep up with others.
-I hope tomorrow is a good day with good trail and tolerable weather that I can stay dry in.
-Considering getting off the trail, and finishing the last half of Washington for next year, as my grand finale to finishing the trail. I don't know what to do. I will take a zero-day in Skykomish, WA, think about my options and look at my maps to see if I'm up for what's in store.
9-28-2013
PCT MILE: 2457.56-2476.00
-Just woke up (7:00am). It's raining and cold!!!!!! I DO NOT want to get out of my sleeping bag, much less my tent. Grrrr... I have recently learned that I am emotionally sensitive when it comes to bad weather! Many hikers have this "whatever, it's just wet and cold" attitude; they push forward with what seems like great ease. Yet I seem to lack the resolve to even get dressed! Ha! Everything is also covered in mud... EVERYTHING. I wish I could stay in my tent until the weather clears... but that won't be for about 10 months and I definitely don't have enough food or fuel for that long of a stay. I am only 18 miles away from civilization where I can eat a cheeseburger, drink a soda, shower, rest, do laundry, clean my gear, and assess my hiking situation to determine if I should keep going further into the desolate wilderness of northern Washington, or if I should return to the hustle and bustle and heat and traffic of Houston, TX. What polar opposites!!!!!!!! Ugh- this is a tough decision. Good thing I don't have to make it now.
-Today I need to hike 18 miles which includes an instant incline over a mountain pass where I'm likely to encounter snow since it's over 5,000 feet elevation, then a steep decline, then another large incline over another ridge and mountain pass, and then a series of smaller declines and inclines until I stumble out of the woods onto a freeway where I will hitch hike 30 miles to Skykomish, WA. I doubt I'll be able to find a ride by the time I reach the highway, so I'll probably set up camp in the woods just near the highway and hitch in the morning- a Sunday which is hopeful in terms of people's willingness to offer rides.
-I've been rationing my food just in case I don't make it into town tonight. I have 2 packets of oatmeal, 2 packets of tuna, 1 payday, about 10 pixie sticks, 4 powdered breakfast pouches, hot chocolate, 1 peppermint tea bag, 3 instant decaf coffee packets, and about 1/4 cup of crumbs from a bag of cheetos given to me by another hiker. Wow! I feel kind of pitiful right now, but its funny at the same time. Good Lord- please get me through today! I'm going to return to my strawberry oatmeal and my morning cup of coffee mixed with hot chocolate that my momma sent me. Thanks mom!
-The trail turned into a series of streams and waterfalls. If there was a slope, water was running down it. I was drenched and wading through puddles of water, mud, dirt, twigs, and leaves. I felt pretty miserable... yet I still had many moments of joy.
-I wonder if the Cascade Mountains got their name because all of the cascading waterfalls that are liberally scattered throughout the range? Or is it because of the cascading lava that once formed the mountains? I've got no idea... but waterfalls are EVERYWHERE up here! It's breathtaking- even in miserable weather conditions.
-Ran into Sierra Bum and Shady Acres. It's Sierra Bum's birthday today!
-Hiked up onto a ski resort... at the top of a ski lift. I eventually saw tons of buildings (the resort) below me in the valley. I assumed everything would be closed, but the closer the trail took me to the buildings, the more clearly my eyes could make out a neon blue and red "OPEN" sign buzzing in a window. I followed the trail to the highway and cut over to the resort. It was open... AND it had hikers inside!!!!!!!!!!!! Appa, Indie, Moist, Shady Acres, Sierra Bum, and a few others were there. They had hiked north, but had to turn around because the weather was too harsh. Lady Killer and his wife offered some of us rides to The Dinsmore's trail angel home in Baring, WA (near Skykomish, WA). I took one of the seats and got to The Dinsmore's Hiker Heaven in the evening time.
-I am relieved to be in town and so happy to see everyone. Even Safari is here!!!!!!!
-The Dinsmores have practically turned their garage into a "hiker shelter" with bunk beds, old couches and chairs, a wood stove, electricity, a porta potty, showers, laundry, tv, movies, rides to town, and whatever other help we may need. They are 100% volunteers who help us out of the kindness of their hearts. What lovely, wonderful people. I love them!
