Not done yet!

I left Timberline Lodge with trusty ol’ Free Willy along with old friend Posh Spice and new friends Joker and Flower. As Boots’s goal was just Oregon, much to our dismay he left us there and headed home to his lovely wife. The next stretch was beautiful with wonderful views of Mt. Hood. We went by Ramona Falls, under Tunnel Falls, jumped in Eagle Creek, then made it to the Colombia River! Hop, skip, and a jump. And on the high points we could see the Washington mountains looming ahead.

At Cascade Locks my college friend Lily visited us! Joined us for dinner and got caught up on all the happenings of trail and I got caught up on all the happenings of the world off trail. Visits like that just mean the world to me. Then we stayed the night in Vancouver with my Aunt Maggie and Uncle Andrew! Boy oh boy we were treated like kings. Each of us with our own bed, got served hot breakfast in the morning. Aunt Maggie and Uncle Andrew were talked about for awhile as Free Willy, Joker, and I headed off into Washington.

The Columbia River creates the boarder between Oregon and Washington so hikers cross on the Bridge of the Gods out of Cascade Locks. It was an incredible step in the journey. First off absolutely beautiful crossing over the river, secondly a major milestone entering another state, and lastly I think so much more glorious being surrounded by the gorge and thinking of all the none glorious miles we’ve walked in order to get there.

Washington is said to be a lot harder than Oregon and immediately we had a 4,000 ft climb out of the gorge. Then another one the next day. And another the next day. Holy smokes Washington plays hard to get! We were rewarded with beautiful views of Mt. Adams ahead and Mt. Hood looking back. One of my favorite parts of the trail is looking back at looming mountains back in the distance and thinking “dang! I walked from there to here”.

We entered Trout Lake just in time for a storm to hit. Snow and freezing rain in the mountains lead us to take two zero days in the cozy retreat of the Trout Lake Christian Youth Camp. They heard the storm was coming and opened their youth camp to all pct hikers for free! So we piled into the dorm rooms and enjoyed beds, an industrial kitchen and a rec room. The generosity was amazing. It was super fun with a big group of us all concentrated there because of the storm. Enjoyed playing cards, eating good food, playing ping pong, playing more cards, celebrating Van Gough’s birthday, and playing more games.

The rain kept going but we had to get going eventually. My brother Paul saved me by giving me his rain pants when I was in Vancouver and still it was a tough three days. Our tents were very cozy at the end of the day and we had wonderful company, the three of us hiking with Frodo, Starlight, and Boosty. But the cold and wet dragged us down. Especially in goat rocks which is claimed to be one of the prettiest sections. All we saw was fog. In the words of Frodo “goat rocks are not goated”. Let it be known we payed our dues and earned our stripes out there!

We ended up pushing our last day into the dark and Frodo’s dad picked us up from the White Pass trailhead around 9pm. He hosted us for two nights at a cozy Airbnb and his homemade chili revived me from the grave. On top of the rain my left heel had been really bothering me. I got new shoes because of it which seemed to help at first but the last few days saw me limping by end of day.

The northern section of the pct, our finish line, had been closed since July 31st due to forest fires. And the closure area kept growing until it reached Snoqualmie Pass. That was the next stretch for us so after a long contemplation and a few tears I decided I would end there. I knew some people ahead who were taking alternate trails to get to the boarder including walking on roads. But everyone around me was getting off and I finally decided I’d rather just do the actual pct later if I wanted. I felt no need to walk on roads to say I did it but it was a tough decision to end such a long journey I had put so much heart into without a solid completion.

We did our last resupply, I packed out some fireball shooters and headed into the woods for four last days, now a team of Free Willy, Joker, Frodo, Oyster, and I. AND THEN on the very first day we learned the last 60 miles of trail had opened back up! Holy smokes how the tables turn. After more contemplation Free Willy, Joker and I decided we’d finish this section to the closure, then skip up and finish the last section. Another hard decision, as skipping miles always hurts the heart but the trail is closed and alternates are always complicated.

The stretch to Snoqualmie ended up being a blast! The first day my ankle hurt worse than any other time and I thought about getting off early at Chinook Pass, but for some reason (slowing my pace or my continual stretching and elevating finally caught up) after the first day it felt a lot better. Most fun of all we were the least focused team I had been in yet. We would break for hours then end up having to hike into the dark to make it to camp. We were just enjoying good weather, each other and being out in the woods. And with good weather we finally saw Mt. Rainer! Lookin’ fiiiiine. And even better yet we cowboy camped all together in a row every night. Except the last night which unfortunately that night and the next day it poured.

But as the boarder was now open that rainy day was not my last day!! My brother Gavin was waiting at the trailhead and the journey was not done yet!

Highlights:

All the ferns!! Maidenhair fern, sword fern, deer fern, and my favorite lady fern

Not only did Paul save me with the rain pants, but my Aunt Beth saved me when she gave me a opsak bag to store my food! Some nights in Washington I could HEAR the mice scuttling around my tent. That sure wasn’t a highlight, but having all my gear and food unscathed in the morning sure was

It was such a highlight playing cards and ping pong and games with the crew at Trout Lake. It is so easy to form relationships on trail with all of us sharing this huge objective. And with all the twists and turns the trail gives you, you have to be at least relatively easy going. Everyone so open, relaxed and friendly, what a fun squad

Van Gough’s sister did trail magic our second day after Trout Lake. Best trail magic ever!! You’ll see the spread in one of the pictures below. And hot food on a cold rainy day? Too good

Speaking of hot food I once again want to mention Frodo’s Dad’s homemade chili. And. There was a hot tub at the Airbnb 😮

Hiking through Rainer National Park a day hiker looked at my small pack and asked “are you out for a night or two?” I said “yeah but more like 150 nights!”

Joker made us trail sushi with seaweed, knorrs rice, salmon and tuna packets, and spices. Yum!!

Within the stretch to Snoqualmie we reached 2347 miles. Which is of no importance to anyone except I skipped exactly 347 miles in Northern California. And so at that moment my body had hiked 2,000 miles. It is so incredible what our body can achieve. And I am so grateful

I ran into some Boy Scouts at mirror lake. The leader got so excited when he found out I was a pct hiker and told all the boys to come over to take a picture with me! They were curious about my backpack so I took it off and they all felt how light it is. Asked me some questions. I felt pretty dang cool

Got a big hug from Gavin in Snoqualmie even in my soaked clothes! And he brought towels for us knowing how wet it was