Day 123
Cascade Locks to mile 2153.0 ~ 5.9 Miles
It was hard to leave Portland this morning. We all slept in and moved very slowly. Around noon we had all our things packed and were ready to go. After a trolly ride to the station then a long bus ride I was finally back at Cascade Locks and ready to walk across the Bridge of the Gods into Washington. Before I got back on trail I realized I left my camp spoon in Portland so I may have walked into a small diner and “borrowed” a spoon... hopefully the dinner will forgive me but I had no other option, unless I wanted to eat with a stick. Once back on trail it was around 4pm so we just did 6 miles and called it a day. The terrain has already been soooo green and lush. It feels like I’m walking through a rain forest. I’m excited for what I have ahead of me!
Day 124
Mile 2153.0 to 2179.7 ~ 26.7 Miles
So today was my first full day in Washington and myself and the group decided together we were going to try and average around 25 miles from here to Canada. We want to try and enjoy Washington as much as we can and we are way ahead of schedule so we have time to spare. So instead of doing 30-35 miles I did 26 today and it was actually difficult for me to only do 26. I felt like I was slacking and not working as hard as I wanted. I took a longer lunch than usual and a couple longer water breaks and ended up getting to camp around 5:30. I think I’ll settle back into only doing 25 per day but today was strange.
Day 125
Mile 2179.7 to mile 2205.2 ~ 25.5 Miles
Today was full of long difficult climbs. Although, with this new plan of only doing 25miles/day it was not stressful at all.
Tonight when we got to camp. We were joined by 3 other hikers who were going south bound, we call them SOBO’s. They are starting in Canada and heading to Mexico. Because of the logistics it’s best for SOBOs to start in the beginning of July, which is why we’re are starting to see them. It was so much fun all siting at camp together sharing stories of what we’ve been through along with what they should expect. We all sat around and talked for a couple hours and had such a blast!
Day 126
Mile 2205.2 to mile 2229.9 ~ 24.7 Miles
Today was a beautiful day ruined by mosquitos. My arms and legs seemed to be recovered from all the bites I suffered from in Oregon and now that’s ruined. I have about 5 bites per limb now.
The good news was after about 23 miles I hit a road that led to Trout Lake. This is a really small town, but has a general store and a diner. After I quickly resupplied I hit up the diner and had a burger, fries and a huckleberry pie. It was wonderful! Instead of staying in Trout Lake I got back on trail in the evening and did a mile and set up camp. I did this so I didn’t need to pay for camping and so I can get up bright and early and start my day.
Day 127
Mile 2229.9 to mile 2258.2 ~ 28.3 Miles
I have been thinking a lot about life after the trail the past couple weeks. Today it was on my mind quite a bit. It’s funny because before I came out here on this hike I thought I had life all figured out. I was so content with how my life was going. I felt secure, I felt loved, I felt genuinely happy. Not to say I could not fall right back into the life I was living and be perfectly happy, because I know I could. This whole journey has just opened my eyes to what else is possible, other ways this life can be lived. It has opened my eyes to other things I want that I didn’t even know I wanted. I am, and always will be a dreamer and I’m excited to get back home and make some of them a reality.
Day 128
Mile 2258.2 to mile 2283.4 +3 Miles ~ 28.2 Miles
So the day started off by me getting stung by a wasp. All of a sudden I felt a sharp pain on my left ankle, and I looked down and there was a wasp going to town on my leg through my sock. The pain lasted about 30 minutes and I was fine.
I think I can confidently say that today was the best day of hiking so far. I went through the stunning Goat Rocks Wilderness. My first climb of the day had a breathtaking view. The vast valley full of lush green trees, combined with stone cliffs made my jaw drop. Then later in the day I hiked though a section called the “knifes edge”. It’s a trail that goes along a ridge and on both sides has extremely steep drops
Some people said it was a scary/sketchy part of trial but I enjoyed every second of it. There have been a few times on trail where I got emotional because of the beauty I was surrounded by and today was one of those times. It was amazing!
As I was walking down off “knifes edge” I got some scary news from a hiker going the opposite way... There is a fire closure due to a massive fire near Whites Pass, so I knew I was in store for a alternate route. The news I got was that there was a small fire starting on the alternate route too! So myself and the guys all sat upon a cliff and looked down at the fire and tried to decide what to do. Our options were to hike backward and take a different side trail, or hike on and hope the fire didn’t get worse and try to get by it. After assessing the situation we decided to try and hike by the fire on the original alternate route. It worked! I am safely passed the area where the small fire was.
Day 129
Mile 2286.4 to mile 2304.7 ~ 17.7 Miles
Sooooo I had a mouse bite a hole in my tent and crawl on my head last night. I felt something on my head and couldn’t figure out what it was until I woke up and found the hole in my tent and the mesh in my backpack. The mouse tried to get into my trash bag. Ughh! After dealing with the hole in my tent I started my day on the alternate route because of the fire on the PCT. I had about 6 miles before hitting Whites Pass (Highway 12). We got to the road and hitch hiked into Packwood, a small town west of the trail. We were hiking with a girl named Lady Bug but she wanted to hitch into the Cracker Barrel because she had a box their so we went our separate ways. It was fun hiking with her for the last little while. In Packwood the guys and I went to a coffee shop, did our resupply and got a pizza. A lady named Kris gave who we met at the coffee shop was nice enough to give us a ride back to the trail. Once back on trail I crushed about 10 miles and called it a day. I am falling asleep listening to elk in the distance. It’s amazing!
Day 130
Mile 2304.7 to mile 2334.1 ~ 29.4 Miles
This afternoon I really struggled. I guess I was just having a bad afternoon. My body wasn’t having it and I just didn’t want to hike. There were not any camping options for about 8 miles so I had to push to almost hiking 30 miles. It’s also getting cold and a storm may be rolling in so tomorrow could be interesting.
Day 131
Mile 2334.1 to mile 2359.4 ~ 25.3 Miles
25 miles in all day rain... check. The storm that I heard about, hit me hard today. From the time a woke up to the time I went to bed it rained. This is really the first major rain to speak of from my hike so I can’t complain. I knew Washington had the capability of dumping buckets and buckets I got. I think tomorrow is supposed to be cold, but the rain should go away. If that’s the case at least I will spend the day being cold, and not wet AND cold like today.
Day 132
Mile 2359.4 to mile 2384.3 ~ 24.9 Miles
So it rained ALL night. The guys and I stayed in my tent for an extra hour this morning to wait and see if the rain would let up. Luckily the rain stopped eventually but all my gear was soaking wet. Putting on wet clothes from the day before is no fun. By lunch time the sun was out just enough for me to set out all my gear and let it dry out. After an hour in the sun my gear was back to normal!
In the afternoon we ran across trail magic! A guy who hiked the PCT in 2015 was out with his wife and they both had beer, cookies, ice cream, fruit and chips out for hikers to enjoy. It was so amazing and such a nice pick me up after a wet cold day and a half.
Day 133
Mile 2384.3 to Snoqualmie ~ 8.9 Miles
I got to
