Sunday, September 02, 2018 - 10.40 miles I ate breakfast at Glacier Lake. https://www.flickr.com/photos/186779238@N07/49525662578/in/dateposted-public/ Glacier Lake PCT thru-hikers/not-entirely-thru-hikers have been catching up to me since Oregon, but I'm starting to feel like I'm being hit by the herd rather than only the front-runners. That makes sense since the end of the hiking season is rapidly …
Category: Pacific Crest Trail – 2018
Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 93: Fun/Scary
Saturday, September 01, 2018 - 10.10 miles https://flic.kr/p/2ispTAm Today's hiking began with a crossing of Daniel Creek, which is flagged in the water report as a potentially dangerous ford. A sign instructs stock to bypass the ford by detouring around the lake. I wasn't expecting the crossing to be difficult in September, and indeed it …
Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 92: Over Cathedral Pass
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 …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 91: LASHer
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 …
Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 90: Suspicious Deer in Washington
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 …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 89: Clearer Skies
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 …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 88: Blue 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 …
Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 87: Arrival at Snoqualmie Pass
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
Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 86: Ultramarathon Day
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 …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 85: Blowdown Mountain
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 …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 84: I Hate People
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 …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 83: Misery Loves Company
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 …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 82: Non-Elkish
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 …
Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 81: Poor Bees
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 …
Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 80: So Much Smoke
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 …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 79: Knife’s Edge
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 …
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Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 78: Sisyphus
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 …
Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 77: Not Demonic
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 …
Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 76: Drive-By
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 …
Pacific Crest Trail (2018) 75: Zero in Trout Lake
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 …
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BANE OF THE TRAIL 