September 17, 2011

Start: 2376
End: 2402

When it rains, it pours. I'm not talking about actual rain, of which we had a bit today, but rather trail magic and encounters with day hikers.

The trail is a magical place and trail magic can take many different forms. At the beginning of the hike I thought of trail magic as simply food or drinks that trail angels left along the trail, or cooked for hikers at a road crossing. Lately though, I've begun to see it more broadly than just those physical things. It could be a smile from another hiker, or a spectacular sunrise, or I could even be the source of the magic. I'd like to think that by talking to various people along the way I've helped to inspire them to dream a little bigger or see the world in a slightly different way, if only for a moment.

Today there were many sources of magic that included both physical gifts (Rainier Beer, root beer, plums, cinnamon rolls, and coffee) as well as other gifts. Hopefully some of the people we ran into today will be inspired to do something more than they thought they could.

The only thing bad about all the wonderful encounters today was the fact that we were trying to get to Snoqualmie Pass and it's warm, tasty treasures that were waiting. We eventually did make it and enjoyed hot food (spicy and temp), hot shower, hot tub, clean laundry, and a room with heating to dry out all of our gear. What a nice thing it is to look out at the cold rain from a climate controlled room!

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September 16, 2011

Start: 2347
End: 2376

Not much seemed to happen today, despite the fact that we walked 29 miles. About 8 miles into hiking today we came to a little cabin on the edge of a meadow that was built by the Snojammers snowmobilers club. We checked it out and then made our way back into the forest. Unfortunately there wasn't a fire going in the wood stove, but it was nice to sit down inside nonetheless.

It was cold pretty much all day, with a few times where the sun came out to give us a little of it's warmth before hiding away behind the clouds again. Other than that it was a pretty neutral day, nothing either good or bad.

Tomorrow we will reach Snoqualmie Pass where I am looking forward to hot food, a hot shower, laundering my clothes (warm from the dryer), and getting my final pair of shoes, as well as socks, waterproof shell gloves, and my food resupply box. It's going to be grrrrreat!

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Who is reading?

Hello bloggies and blogites! I have been diligently keeping you informed of my latest happenings along the trail for the past 5 months and I wanted to make a request of those who have been reading my blog: leave a comment on one post that you particularly enjoyed, found interesting, or that made you think about something in your own life differently. Thanks, I truly appreciate it!
-Stagg

September 15, 2011

Start: 2319
End: 2347

Today started with a wet tent, although I don't think it actually rained. I guess that's what happens when you sleep in a cloud-forest.

After shaking out the fly and getting packed up, we hit the trail, and for the first time in almost 200 miles it actually felt like I was hiking in the great state of Washington. Views were limited to a couple hundred feet, everything was wet with dew, and we were decked out in our rain gear. The situation didn't change much throughout the day, although we did see a few sun breaks with one actually passing across us for a brief moment. Despite being gray all day, it was still good. Perhaps my opinion will change, but for now, the gray is not so bad.

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September 14, 2011

Start: 2303
End: 2319

It was a leisurely morning as 12 Ounce and I sorted through our food, ate breakfast, and made some gear adjustments before getting back to the trail around 11am.

The first miles went smoothly and we talked to a couple weekenders, continued on, and ran into a couple of my coworkers who were in the planning stages of replacing a trail bridge. It's always fun to run into new people and talk to them and see what they are up to, whether they are day hikers, weekenders, section hikers, or other thrus. Some people just get it, while others, well, not so much. The people that "get" why we are thru hiking are usually the most fun to talk to because they have their own stories or dreams of hiking somewhere on the PCT. The people we saw today definitely got it.

The plan for today was to get in 20 miles, but plans have a way of changing unexpectedly. After lunch at Pipeline Lake we set out hiking again and were headed North, when a couple of wrong turns had us near Jug Lake, a couple miles from the PCT. After some GPS locating and looking at the map, we figured out the direction we needed to go and ended up doing a nice alternate route by Jug Lake and Fryingpan Lake before reuniting with the PCT. It was nice to get back to a familiar trail and get going the right direction again.

After a few more miles we neared Fish Lake and started to see a change in the weather. Clouds were rolling in from the west, and for the first time it actually started to feel like Washington. The temperatures have dropped a bit lately and the incoming clouds completed the transition. A couple miles more up the trail it was getting dark so we set up camp near Free Range and another couple for the night. Tomorrow the goal will be to make up some miles we missed out on today.

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September 13, 2011

Start: 2280
End: 2303

"Wow!"
"Oh my goodness!"
"This is amazing!"
These are three of the things I repeated often today as we continued to hike through the Goat Rocks Wilderness.

It all started this morning as we were packing up camp near the headwaters of the Cispus River. We looked across fields of lupine to the West and saw Mt St Helens glowing with the first hint of sunlight on it's crater lip, while the near full moon lingered just above. As we climbed out of the meadow we were treated to views of our second volcano of the day, Mt Adams. Adams also had the early morning glow from the sun rays striking it's snowy flanks. Then it was snowgrass flats, followed by yet another volcano (Rainier) and up and up until we were perched at the top of the knife edge ridge near Old Snowy Mtn. I could go on and on, but I really shouldn't. I will simply say that if you have a free day or weekend you should go for a hike up to Snowgrass Flat. Do it! I promise, you'll like it (pending weather of course).

http://nwhiker.com/gifford2.html

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September 12, 2011

Start: 2249
End: 2280

We made our way today from the west side of Mt Adams up into the Goat Rocks Wilderness today. We had some nice views of Mt Adams in the morning, and could even just make out the faint silhouette of Mt Rainier through the smokey haze. Soon after, we entered some dense forest and didn't have much variation in hiking other than trees which had fallen across the trail that we had to climb over, duck under, or walk around.

Just at the end of this section we passed a trail junction to Wahtum Lake, and then began to climb up toward Nannie Ridge and into the heart of the Goat Rocks Wilderness.

I have been eager to get to the Goat Rocks for a while now. For a couple years I have been wanting to get up here to see a part of the GP that people rave about. It is also one of the favorite places on the entire trail for PCT thru-hikers. As soon as we crossed over the next ridge I could see why.

The last few miles were almost magical as we made our way over Cispus Pass by moonlight and found a soft grassy place to camp in a meadow. Can't wait to see the rest of Goat Rocks tomorrow!

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September 11, 2011

Start: 2222
End: 2249

Today we woke up surrounded by huckleberry bushes, because that is where we chose to camp. Within a mile of hiking we had two unexpected, but fun, encounters. The first was when we saw Billy Goat (hiking legend) heading up the trail towards us. We stopped and talked with him for a little bit, and during our conversation he mentioned that he has hiked every mile of the PCT eight times, and over 40,000 miles total! What an incredible and humble man. He told us, "There isn't going to be the Marine Corps band playing for you at the border. You have to enjoy the trail between here and there, that's the good part."

Just after meeting him we came to the 24 Road and ran into two people getting things out of a car. The moment they saw us they asked if we were thru-hikers, and then they proceeded to invite us over to the trail magic they were just setting up. I ate some fruit and a Krispy Kreme (the first and probably only of the trip). After a short time there we moved on so we could keep on pace to meet up with Gangsta Rap at the 23 Road.

The rest of the morning's hiking was pleasant and we got to the road just in time to see Free Range, and meet up with Gangsta Rap while enjoying lunch.

After lunch the three of us hiked on and up toward Mt Adams, still mostly covered in snow, and found a place to camp. Some day I would like to climb Adams, but maybe not til next year.

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September 10, 2011

Start: 2197
End: 2222

Today's hiking started with a few miles to and past Big Huckleberry Mountain. We then descended to a spring, refilled our water, and made our way toward Indian Heaven Wilderness.

Upon reaching the wilderness boundary, there were a number of cars parked by the road, not unusual for a Saturday, but one was a Forest Service vehicle, which is more unusual. A few miles up the trail by Sheep Lakes, I ran into Rick McClure (archaeologist on the GP) and chatted with him a little about the hike. He was out leading an archaeological hike about the area, specifically the Indian Race Track.

After lunch at Green Lake, we headed on further, only to discover mosquitos. It wasn't much of a surprise, but they were still just as unwelcome. We sped through the remainder of the wilderness, camping just before the road.

Tomorrow, we meet back up with Gangsta Rap and will hike with her to the border!

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September 9, 2011

Start: 2170
End: 2197

Today we got going around 6:45, knowing we had 16 miles to go to get to Wind River where my coworkers were waiting.

The first few miles were easy down to Rock Creek, but then we turned right around and climbed back up another hill before descending once again to Wind River.

From the first few miles I could tell that it was going to be a hot day. It was already a pleasant temperature at 6am, and the humidity hung thick in the air. I'll be the first to admit that I don't like hot, humid weather, but I do prefer it to 40 degrees and raining, as it's likely to do in Washington in September. All I can hope is that the good weather lasts a little longer.

We got to Wind River right at 1pm, but unfortunately most of my coworkers had been there earlier, eaten lunch and moved on before I made it there. Such is life on the trail. A couple of people were still around and still had some food so we took advantage of that treat before heading on. Thanks!

After Wind River, as we approached Panther Creek, we ran into a day hiker sitting next to a tree. She was smiling and we asked her how her hike was going. She said she wasn't out for much of a hike, but rather had come to sit by her favorite tree, which happened to be a large cedar. As we conversed she told us of the Singing Alive workshop where she went to sing to plants and trees with other like minded, and spirited, people. From that experience she came to the realization that she had never asked her favorite tree what her song was. So she had come out that day to ask the tree and listen. It was an interesting experience. Thank you Saliha (Sah-Lee-Hah)

After Panther Creek we started a climb up Big Huckleberry Mountain. It was hot and getting late in the evening so we set up camp a few miles from the top of the climb. It was a good day.

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