Day 134
Snoqualmie to mile 2414.5 ~ 21.4 Miles
I woke up from a really bad night sleep in the hotel. You’d think that the chance I get to sleep in a nice soft bed I’d sleep like a rock but I think I sleep better in my tent. Watson, Holmes, Skipper and I all had a nice slow morning at the hotel and didn’t leave until around 10:30.
Once back on trail we crushed 21 miles. We are trying to get to the next town, Leavenworth by the 16th for Skippers Birthday. The 21 miles were really tough and I was in such a crappy mood. There were lots of rocks and uneven footing, which is my absolute worst nightmare. My ankles twist and turn so often and it’s scary and it hurts! But nonetheless I got to camp and had a nice mountain house meal I got out of the hiker box and called it a night. We’re going to wake up early and try and crush a 30 mile day tomorrow.
Day 135
Mile 2414.5 to mile 2444.7 ~ 30.2 Miles
I have been hiking in such a beautiful area but everything is bogged in with smoke. It’s such a bummer! Every hill I climb I can see the potential of a stunning view but don’t actually get it. I’m really hoping the last 200 miles get better and have less smoke.
Today I went through a whirlwind of emotions. I think I am ready for this journey to be over. My body and mind are over hiking this amount of miles everyday. My feet and toes have some serious damage and I haven’t been enjoying the hiking as much lately. I am very much ready to get to Canada. At the same time, I never want this to end... I love the lifestyle and freedom out on the trail. The ability to be in nature and experience the beauty the trail has to offer is priceless. I guess I’ll just have these conflicting thoughts as I get closer and closer to the border.
Day 136
Mile 2444.7 to Leavenworth ~ 19.5 Miles
After crushing almost 20 miles by 1pm myself and Holmes got to the parking lot of Stevens Pass and were greeted with trail magic! It was a couple that had hiked 1000 miles of the trail and decided to get off because they were not enjoying it as much as they thought they would. It was fun to chat with them and eat cookies and chips.
After the trail magic it took about 20 minutes to get a hitch into Leavenworth. When we got in we were blown away with how cool and unique this small Bavarian town was. Today was Skippers birthday so we all went out and had pizza and beer to celebrate!
We stayed out until about 11pm and when we wanted to go back to our Airbnb we found out that there were no rides... no Uber’s, no Lyfts no taxi services... at 11pm!!! So we walked 2 miles in the dark back to our room.
Day 137
Zero Day
This will most likely be my last zero day on trail. I spent it relaxing my incredibly achy feet, having German food and watching Netflix. I also got some news that makes me want to puke...
Around 5pm I got news that the PCT is closing trail from Rainy Pass to the Canada Border. This means it’s possible that I won’t be able to finish at the border and I won’t get to finish at the monument. All these years of planning, I pictured myself at that monument. All these months walking I pictured myself at that monument. It will be really crushing if I’m not able to make it their due to a fire. I’m really hoping that there will be a resolution in the next few days or at least an alternative...
Day 138
Leavenworth to mile 2473.9 ~ 9.8 Miles
We spent the morning and had lunch in Leavenworth. We were in no rush due to only wanting to do 10 miles out of town. It was so much hanging out in a unique town like Leavenworth that it made it easy to hangout. After filling up with German food I hit the trail around 2pm.
The whole time I was hiking I had my mind on the fire situation ahead. I am trying my best to be at peace with whatever happens but I’m finding it difficult. The fact that I want to control the ending to this journey so bad makes me understand that this is an area id like to work on. I find myself in situations where I see myself wanting control. I’m going to try and let go on this obstacle. Whatever happens, happens.
Day 139
Mile 2473.9 to mile 2500.2 ~ 26.3 Miles
All day it was soooo smokey! Every hill I climbed I was robbed of a view. It’s such a bummer coming through this section with all this smoke. I think I will want to come back and redo this section again.
What did make my day is that I saw a Bald Eagle! It was a beautiful, and swooped about 100ft in front of me. I was smitten walking away from that moment!
Day 140
Mile 2500.2 to mile 2524.5 ~ 24.3 Miles
The smoke got even worse today. There was also ash falling from the sky for most of the day. I’m sure walking 25 miles a day in pure smoke is not great for my body and I’m sure will take its toll.
There were a couple of sketchy moments that I could have gotten hurt pretty bad. The first, I was walking in a swampy section of trail and I went to step over some water and my foot caught a wet rock wrong and I went down. Fell right on my butt and luckily I didn’t land on a rock or a root or it would have hurt even worse. The second I was balancing on two logs that were parallel with each other and I slipped and my left leg went right in between the logs. Luckily it went straight down and I didn’t lean forward or I could have hurt my leg badly!
Day 141
Mile 2524.5 to mile 2549.1 ~ 24.6 Miles
The smoke got so bad today that I started feeling it in my lungs. There was ash falling from the sky and nothing to see because of the thick fog like smoke. It’s such a drag that this last beautiful section of trail is being altered like this, but this is the PCT and anything can happen.
Day 142
Mile 2549.1 to mile 2551.8 ~ 2.7 Miles (+11 Miles on detour trail)
Today ended up being my last steps on the PCT... because of all the fires in Northern Washington the trail is closed North of here. It’s such a strange feeling knowing I’m done with the trail. Once I stepped off the PCT and went onto the detour, the emotions hit me hard. I was sad, happy, proud, scared all at the same time. I didn’t know I would feel this way when it ended but I’m so thankful for the time I spent on this amazing trail. The dirt has been my home and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
My next goal is to make it up to Canada, do a one day, 16 mile hike to reach the Northern Terminus. I think seeing the monument will help close the book on this incredible journey.
Day 143
Zero Day
Myself, Watson, Holmes, Skipper, Angel Baby and Piss Puff all stayed in Chelan last night. We are all taking a bus to Winachee and then renting cars to drive up to Manning Park. Tomorrow we will hike to the monument and back!
Day 144
Manning Park to Northern Terminus
This is it... I don’t even know what to write because of how many emotions are flooding my body right now. Today I hiked 8 miles to the border and got to touch the monument. The feeling of seeing that monument is one that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. The pride I felt and the extreme sense of joy almost brought me to tears. I fricken conquered my goal of walking the PCT!!! The flip side brings me sadness knowing that this journey has come to an end. I know that the feeling I felt walking on that trail will leave an everlasting imprint on my future. I felt alive, I felt venerable, I felt free.
The people I met along this journey were the biggest surprise of this hike. I knew I would meet some cool people, but I didn’t know I would leave with friends I would consider family. After walking this trail I can say I have friends from all over the world. In particular Holmes, Watson, Skipper and 8-Ball. These guys all taught me things that I will take forward in life and made me a better person. I’m so thankful for their friendship.
Going forward this trail has opened my eyes to adventure, culture and pure happiness. I’m know I will have some more adventures in the near future, but this one will always and forever hold a special place in my heart. PCT... Thank you.
