Friday, August 31, 2018 - 15.10 miles Nighttime rain ushered in low-hanging clouds that concealed my splendid view when I opened my tent doors in the morning. I packed up my tent, which was gritty with wet dirt, and set off in my rain clothes. After previous experiences in Washington I was expecting a long …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 92: Over Cathedral Pass
Thursday, August 30, 2018 - 11.70 miles https://flickr.com/photos/186779238@N07/49525363983/in/dateposted-public/ Visitor lurking outside my tent in the morning Today was a genuinely clear day, the best since Oregon. It made me realize how far my standards have fallen that I was so impressed by the previous two days. Today's clarity was caused by a strong west wind …
Wednesday, August 29, 2018 - 10.70 miles I woke up to the reek of smoke. Rays of the rising sun formed distinct lines in the haze and thick, bruise-coloured streaks clung to the horizon, shielding the base of Mt. Rainer as I walked along a section of trail with views of the mountain. I don't …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 90: Suspicious Deer in Washington
Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - 9.70 miles Today I received my first mostly clear views of Washington! It was good timing since the PCT followed a scenic route up into the mountains and along the Kendall Catwalk, which was blasted into the cliff face with dynamite in 1978. The trail wasn't unusually narrow or in …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 89: Clearer Skies
Monday, August 27, 2018 Gaze in admiration at the beautiful blue sky in this parking lot photo of questionable scenic merit! Seeing distant objects is a wonderful thing! https://flickr.com/photos/186779238@N07/49525808856/in/dateposted-public/ It's about time, Washington. That's the view I woke up to this morning. How bizarre that after weeks of haze, the smoke vanished one day before …
Sunday, August 26, 2018 - 10.30 miles I woke during the night to rain. By dawn, it was still raining. A small puddle of water, hopefully from the tiny holes in the roof of my tent and not from mystery holes in the floor, had collected in a downsloping corner of the tent where I …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 87: Arrival at Snoqualmie Pass
Saturday, August 25, 2018 - 16.10 miles Another desolately grey and cold dawn. Because the smoke has persisted and I'll be arriving at Snoqualmie Pass tomorrow, today's theme was coming to terms with tomorrow being my last day on the PCT. It's like discovering that your phone is missing from your pocket, but not being …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 86: Ultramarathon Day
Friday, August 24, 2018 - 16 miles The morning was cold and foggy with low-hanging clouds. https://www.flickr.com/photos/186779238@N07/49526017957/in/dateposted-public/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/186779238@N07/49526055631/in/dateposted-public/ The PCT climbed up Blowdown Mountain. On this viewless day I didn't bother taking the spur trail to the summit. A thru-hiker named Kris Fowler (Sherpa) went missing somewhere along this stretch in October 2016, and with …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 85: Blowdown Mountain
Thursday, August 23, 2018 - 17.50 miles Last night I slept badly, bothered by the flapping of my tent in the wind and how it was merging with the crackling of my air mattress to create a cloud of evil over the campsite. Sorry to my fellow campers. https://www.flickr.com/photos/186779238@N07/49526284877/in/dateposted-public/ Sunrise through the smoke The wind …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 84: I Hate People
Wednesday, August 22, 2018 - 15.80 miles Another smoky day today. Noooooargh. After a few nice views in the morning, thick smoke rolled in everywhere in the afternoon. https://www.flickr.com/photos/186779238@N07/49526008282/in/dateposted-public/ I spoke to a few day hikers who told me that the air quality is supposed to improve over the next few days. A glimmer of …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 83: Misery Loves Company
Tuesday, August 21, 2018 - 14 miles Smoky morning. I walked to the Bumping River, where I had been planning on getting water, but it was filled with green slime. https://www.flickr.com/photos/186779238@N07/49526292637/in/dateposted-public/ The water report had no data for the next two sources, the outlet stream for Crag Lake and a seasonal stream that feeds the …
Monday, August 20, 2018 - 10.30 miles I was still feeling wiped out this morning, but the hotel was too expensive for another night. Crow writes in her resupply guide: 'There are some rooms to rent next door [to the Kracker Barrel] at the very unfriendly Village Inn 509.672.3131. The price varies wildly depending on …
Sunday, August 19, 2018 - 5.50 miles The smoke was even worse than yesterday's when I woke up. I bid farewell to the mountain goats, which were still in the same area, and started down the trail. https://www.flickr.com/photos/186779238@N07/49525999637/in/dateposted-public/ The reroute is marked well, but near a campsite I ended up on a user trail leading …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 80: So Much Smoke
Saturday, August 18, 2018 - 14.10 miles I woke during the night to strange sounds. At first I thought they were animal noises, but eventually I identified them as the crinkling of an air mattress even noisier than my Neoair. So it's possible to surpass even that level of evil... (it's probably a new version …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 79: Knife’s Edge
Friday, August 17, 2018 - 16.50 miles Today was frustrating. I woke up, began walking, encountered a ledge and saw a view of blue sky and Mt. Adams! The visibility had cleared for the first time in nine days, but who's counting. Grey streaks of haze were hanging ominously in the distance, but I hoped …
Thursday, August 16, 2018 - 15.90 miles I was walking by 6:30 AM this morning. The west fork of Adams Creek was 0.4 miles ahead, and I could already hear it. A submission to the water report by Halfmile (!!), who provides free PCT maps and GPS data, had flagged the ford as tricky and …
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 - 12.90 miles My ride worked out this morning and I rode to the trailhead with some other hikers on a couch in the back of a truck. It was amazing. That couch made me miss couches. When I gave the trail angel gas money, he thanked me but said it …
I decided to take a zero today because of my cough and the bad haze and whatever correlation those two things might have. The men who were hanging out on the bench outside the general store (classic small town-style) told me that an air quality advisory had been issued. I went to the cafe for …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 75: Zero in Trout Lake
Monday, August 13, 2018 - 2.80 miles https://www.flickr.com/photos/186779238@N07/49516339607/in/dateposted-public/ When I walked the remaining few miles to the trailhead today, I found a trail angel dropping off coolers and a few hikers hanging around. I accepted the trail angel's offer of a ride into Trout Lake, during which he provided a thorough description of its services …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 74: A Thickshake Is a Proper Milkshake
Sunday, August 12, 2018 - 12.90 miles The mouse was wonderfully well-behaved last night and didn't chew through anything. I didn't hear it exploring either, though the tree was raining on my tent whenever the wind blew, generating pattering noises that could have masked mousy footsteps. Perhaps the mouse got a whiff of my socks …
Continue reading Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 73: The Great Tragedy
BANE OF THE TRAIL 