So it's been a mere 98 miles from White Pass, but it feels like a lifetime. We checked out of the White Pass hotel at the last possible moment (actually, we tested their patience and left 30 minutes late. It was pouring and we figured they'd understand. They did). We then went all the way next door to the Kracker Barrel (sadly not related to the Southern chain of home style restaurants, the Cracker Barrel), where hikers were pouring in. They were soaked, freezing, and unhappy. Justin and I looked at each other and said "let's go hit the trail! Yeah!!" Just kidding. Justin got a coffee, I charged my phone, and we sat tight for a little while. But finally, we could delay no longer: it was time to walk. The first few minutes were stressful - not because of the rain but because of the ... frogs. Yes, frogs. There were hundreds of tiny frogs on the road back to the trail (brought out by the rain?). I watched Justin walk ahead and he was like Moses parting the Red Sea, except it was frogs... Frogs hopping to the right, frogs hopping left, frogs darting anywhere to escape Justin's stomping feet. I think we made it to the trail without hurting a single frog, but man it was tough.
New shoes, yeah!
Once we got to the trail, we first experienced euphoria. We'd been carrying this rain gear for 2300 miles, hell yeah we were excited to use it! We'd only pulled it out once or twice during sprinkles in the desert, as well as during that infamous Sierra snowstorm. But woooooo now we were walking in actual rain, wearing our actual rain gear. Yes!
That feeling lasted about 20 minutes. Then the fact that we were wearing bulky and clammy gear, while the skies dumped cold water on us started to settle in. Then we marinated in that feeling. For a while. Like hours. Finally it stopped raining actively, and we commenced walking through a cloud. Nothing dried out, but nothing got more wet either. We'd continue in that state for the remainder of the section.
Jess's date and pear cake kept me happy, despite the cold!
A lot of hikers set up camp super early that night - like the earliest we've seen on the whole trail. People were setting up for the night at 5 or 5:30. What?! We're not weekenders here. You hike until daylight ends! Though Southern Washington isn't notably harder than Oregon (we've continued to do 28-30 miles a day), I think a lot of people just assume the whole state is impossibly difficult and have accordingly reduced their planned daily mileage. Also, I think the rain really took it out of people. We kept hiking though we have to admit it wasn't too much longer, just another few miles. This was good stuff though because it got us out of the bubble of hikers who'd all left White Pass at the same time. And we're kind of curmudgeonly and like solitude sometimes.
Sunrise in the clouds
The next day, we woke up and it wasn't raining! Yeah!! All our gear was still wet though. And the trees above us had been dripping all night so our tent was soaked. Oh, and it had been dipping below freezing during the night and was still hella cold. Let's go walk 30 miles! Nah. We're going to employ a little trick that the mountain guides in Patagonia taught me: breakfast-in-mother-truckin'-bed. Being the morning person in this marriage, I sat up in my sleeping bag and cooked us some breakfast. By which, I mean I boiled some water in the jetboil and then made us hot chocolate and grits. We ate both in our sleeping bag. It felt decadent. I think breakfast in bed is going to be a theme of Washington.
This was a sad day to be on the trail because we were missing my friend Katy's wedding. Katy is a great friend from business school and we both met our husbands in the great Wharton class of 2014. Justin and I spent the whole day fantasizing about what their wedding was like: what food was being served (we dwelled there for a while, especially because we know Katy would not let a guest go hungry), what toasts were being made, and what the dance party was like. Even though we were thousands of miles away, we felt close to everyone because we talked about it all day. We love you Katy and Jon and are so sorry that we couldn't be there to celebrate!!
Speaking of weddings, we ran into friends Zombie and Petunia while eating lunch that day. They came running up to us and gave us big hugs and congrats! We hadn't seen them since before we got married and they were excited to hear how everything has changed since we said "I do" (answer: on the trail, nothing has changed... Except as a wedding gift to me, Justin now carries the trash bag. Which is significant). It was awesome to see old friends and we hiked with them for the afternoon. Poor Zombie is thinking about moving to SF and was horrified to hear Petunia, Justin, and me talking about the rent situation.
We also went through Chinook Pass that day, a popular starting place for day hikes. Right in Rainier National Park (our sixth park!), typically the area has epic views of Mount Rainier. Of course, with the rain, fog, and mist, we couldn't see the mountain at all. But three cheers for the residents of Washington because they were undeterred! Tons of day hikers were out and about, including folks in Trump hats, babies (we actually saw a stroller on that trail!), and dogs galore. Way to get after it, Washingtonians.
Our 6th national park of the trip: Mount Rainier!
That night, we set up our wet tent again, cooked dinner from our sleeping bags, and then really threw in the towel on the "wilderness experience" by watching a movie on Justin's phone. We figured we'd earned it after 4.5 months.
The next day, we planned to do Big Miles: 31 miles. The trail gods disagreed in the best possible way, by bestowing upon us gift after gift! First we came to a snowmobile cabin in the woods where the sun was shining! Everyone stopped and immediately pulled out their tent/sleeping bag/clothes to dry in the meadow. Then, a bit later, we came to a dirt road where a lovely couple was making hot dogs for thru hikers! I had a delicious mustard, cheese, and cucumber sandwich, Justin had two hot dogs. Then, we came across another dirt road where a trail angel had set up his camper, had a fire going, and was offering hot drinks for hikers. We'd already lost so much time at the cabin and the first trail angel though, we didn't have time to kick it and relax at the fire. We grabbed a banana, a soda, warmed
our hands for a second, and kept going.
Justin picked me a ton of huckleberries as we walked (he can scamper around, pick berries, and still not lose our pace. I have to stop and pick them one at a time. Obviously, he does all the picking).
The gift of love.
The huckleberry bushes are turning beautiful fall colors.
Trail angel Theresa brought a warm huckleberry cake! It was the greatest thing ever especially when she gave us seconds.
Then we saw something that really caused the delay. A huge owl. It was the coolest thing. We saw it fly across the trail and immediately could tell we were in the presence of something cool. When it settled high up in a tree, we realized it was an owl (we've later identified it as either a barred or spotted owl) and spent the next 15 minutes watching it. It watched us back. We saw it do the crazy thing where it turned its head all the way around. We saw it puff up when our friend Chapstick hooted at it as he walked under. We asked it how it became so wise. You know, it was an old fashioned owl hang.
Can you find the owl?
We also spent some time talking about all the different categories of lands the PCT traverses: National Parks, National Forests, Wilderness areas, state parks, BLM land, logging tracts, ranch land, Native American reservations.... It's pretty remarkable that the PCTA has been able to work with all of these land agencies to create an unbroken footpath from Mexico to Canada. The Appalachian Trail footpath is protected from Springer Mountain to Mount Katahdin as a National Park - a designation that apparently took decades to secure. We hope that the PCT can be protected in this way in the future.
What a trail
We've got two more days of rain forecasted ahead. We're drying everything out in the hotel room now, and can't wait to go and get it wet all over again!!
Awesome mushrooms section:
But be careful!
