September 2022
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Day 152-154: Still on Trail
September 3-5; Mile 2465-2487 Day 152 Dov and I spent the day enjoying Leavenworth, a fake Bavarian town in the middle of Washington, as the air around us filled with haze from distant fires. My hopes from the night before – that the fires would burn out quickly, that I could wait them out and still reach the terminus, that I could even walk an alternate route to the Canadian border – had all evaporated in the morning light. The fire near the border had doubled in size overnight, the decision had been made
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Day 148-151: Section J
August 30 – September 2; Mile 2394-2465 Day 148 For almost five months I had been “walking home” toward Snoqualmie Pass and the interstate that led due west to Seattle; now as I stepped back onto trail, each step took me further away once again. Section J covered the part of the trail between Snoqualmie and Stevens Pass – at only 70ish miles, it was a popular backpacking trip for people wanting to complete an entire section of the PCT with minimal endpoint logistics. My friends and I had hiked this section southbound in
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Day 143-147: Trail Magic
August 25-29; Mile 2295-2394 Day 143 I left White Pass early in the morning and walked back to the trail. My mind wandered back three years ago to a trip my friends and I had taken from this very trailhead north to Bear Gap and out at Crystal Mountain ski resort. It was the first backpacking trip that I’d done along the PCT, and I could still remember the awe I’d felt meeting thru-hikers who continued on toward Canada. The taste of the sun-ripened huckleberries above Chinook Pass, the mist rising above the lake
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Day 140-142: The Knife Edge
August 22-24; Mile 2258-2295 Day 140 I left behind my lonely campsite in the morning gloom and donned my rain jacket to protect me from the bugs. As the trail climbed steadily upward, I was soon drenched and had to discard my armor once more. Soon I passed the quiet tents of Adam and DD, both still asleep. The trees stayed thick and dense until I stopped for breakfast, and there the trail picked its way past avalanche fields and talus slopes with views toward Nannie Ridge. Adams was resplendent to
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Day 138-139: Mt Adams
August 20-21; Mile 2224-2258 Day 138 The forest was chilly in the morning as I hiked the few miles to the road into Trout Lake. Clouds drifted between the trees, and a hush hung over the mountains. As I sat eating my breakfast, a squirrel sent pinecones crashing down to the forest floor from a branch far above, and the racket shattered the pressing silence. A line of hikers stood waiting for the “shuttle” into town, and I passed the time chatting with Oyster and Emperor. The latter had spent time
