Finishing the PCT and Homecoming

Finishing the PCT

I’ve been home for three months; my how times flies.  I’m settled back in and wanted to share August and September on the PCT, plus what life has been like since finishing. 

Johanna and I in Mokelumne Wilderness, California.

I feel incredibly lucky to have hiked with my sister; and feel closer to her. 

Johanna and I saw each other literally every day for 5.5 months.  People asked how we still found things to talk about.  Actually, it was easy.  We made up songs, had deep conversations, laughed a lot, and covered other topics like why it is called “be-heading” instead of “de-heading” and when referring to flowers then its “dead heading”.  We were well matched: pace, and both resourceful problem solvers, low drama and full of laughs.  It’s a rare thing to find such a good partner. 

 

Mokelumne Wilderness, California. I love all the soil type variation. Before the hike I thought I’d like the forest the best, but I came to love these barren sweeping vistas.

On the PCT I got to decompress in a way that normal life doesn’t allow. 

I learned a lot about myself.  Like what parts of my personality are inherent verses environmental.  I was pretty steady and level on the trail, and I don’t always feel that way in normal life.  It was also healthy to pull away from media for 6 months, and the timing couldn’t have been better; we “missed” nearly all the run-up to the presidential election.  I would have thought we missed some critical info or events, but in the end it didn’t matter…the world kept turning and for all practical purposes things were unchanged when I returned; I just missed the constant hype and drivel of unimportant headlines.

In Oregon and Washington there was much more moisture, and the flora made a dramatic shift. We foraged huckleberries and other yummies along the trail. Jojo got so distracted by the huckleberries that I had to set a five-minute timer per patch so that we could make our miles.

 

These folks were volunteers improving the PCT. The PCT is largely maintained by a network of volunteers, and to a smaller extent state and national parks. You could tell everyone involved really has their hearts in it.

My favorite trail saying: The Trail Will Provide

It’s a mentality of abundance, and I’d really like to hang onto that, but I find it’s tougher to hang onto away from the trail.  Life is more stressful at home than on trail.  Back to work, car horns honking, the endless cycle of doom and gloom news and rush rush rush everywhere.  Personally, I don’t feel rushed often, but the “rat race” soup that we live in bleeds into my solitude and creates sensory discontent.  It was easier to have an abundance mindset in a clam place, with chill hikers.  Also, everything is available at my fingertips now, so it’s easy to act on impulse.  If you needed something on trail you either improvised or waited a week to hit town.  Even then, towns were tiny and didn’t have much, and it was a big effort to get around without a car.  Now I can browse Amazon at 2am and have it delivered to me next day; ridiculous.  It’s counter intuitive, but having everything available right now is actually more stressful.  On trail the inability to act on impulse often meant going without, but there was an odd freedom in that.  I didn’t need much to be content. 

Mokelumne Wilderness, California. Jojo and I cowboy camped on this mountain peak.  It was calm, with some thunderclouds in the distance that lit the sky.  After dark everything cleared up and we had the best view of the milky way that I’ve ever seen.  Unfortunately around midnight the wind began to gust intensely. Jojo made a retreat down the mountain at 1 am, but I stayed and for the full effect.   

 

View from our mountain top campsite in Mokelumne Wilderness, California.

 

View from our mountain top campsite in Mokelumne Wilderness, California.

 

Grouse; love this little gal’s camo. We saw a lot of grouse with chicks, and they seemed relatively unphased by the hikers. Whether brave or dumb, they were certainly cute!

 

The fires began in July, and really picked up in August. We wore masks on red and purple air days. The smoke was most intense overnight, and would substantially clear by mid-morning. It was a pretty consistent pattern for several weeks and had to do with how the air currents flowed daytime v. night. This photo is in Alpine Meadows, CA which is outside of Tahoe.

This is how dirty my legs were for 5.5 months. Showers were fun because brown water would poor off your body…made me feel like I was really doing something when I bathed. Rivers were also good for getting the grime off.

Coming home, it was very easy to settle back into old routines. 

Husband, dogs, house, all easy.  Living in a house again felt like magic for a month.  It was the small things I enjoyed most: showers, toilet, running water, a refrigerator with fresh food (not dried and pre-portioned).  I’ve been eating more junk food,  baking cookies and cupcakes weekly. I’m torn between maintaining my nice fit trail body and enjoying all the holiday treats. Treats are winning. 

Three Sisters, Oregon. This felt otherworldly, with miles of lava fields. This area had lots of shiny jet-black obsidian rocks. It was so cool! There were also some springs in the area, one of the only places on trail that we didn’t filter our water.

We met so many kind and interesting people from all over the world. Three Sisters, OR. 

 

Two sisters standing in Three Sisters, Oregon.

 

Two sisters standing in Three Sisters, Oregon.

 

Three Sisters, Oregon. Even where forests burn, there is life that follows. We saw many stages, from burn areas with almost no plant life, to this area where herbaceous plants were repopulating the area, to areas with small trees making come back. Unfortunately, some landscapes are forever changed after a fire and the trees do not return.

I came home in great shape!

I’m running twice a week, which is something I haven’t done in about 7 years because my body just wouldn’t take it.  But I came home with great fitness and was able to slide into running without issue.  My dog Drizzit jogs beside me and is the best little running buddy.  He and I joined a running group on Wednesdays and Drizzit always gets lots of nice pets from the other runners.

My little running buddy, Drizzit the whippet.  

Unfortunately, my metabolism has returned to normal and I can no longer get my money’s worth at the buffet.

When we hit town during the hike, we really gorged ourselves.  My last trail town breakfast was 2 plates of fully loaded waffles (peanut butter, butter, syrup, whipped cream and strawberries), and then biscuits and gravy as my third plate.  The crazy thing is that after all those carbs I didn’t get tired; our metabolism really changed and we utilized sugar much differently.  Even the way my body processed alcohol changed.  Within a month of returning home my metabolism is back to normal, meaning sugar comas if I overindulge.  The body really is amazing how it can adapt.

 

One of our best memories and hardest laughs of the trip.  We found VanCamps Beanee Weenees that were left at a trailhead near Mount Hood. We laughed so hard at our fancy little snack.  No trash can at the trailhead though, so we had to pack out the tin.

 

Biggest rice crispy ever, discovered in Cascade Locks, OR. I was so excited.

 

Putting this fire to full use. It went from rain to freezing rain overnight, and that wetness outside was actually ice. I heated my breakfast and my toes at the same time. This was about 7 miles south of the Canadian border at Hopkins Lake, WA.

 

This was another of my best memories from the trail.  It was an awesome continental breakfast in Leavenworth, WA.  I gorged myself on 3 heaping plates of food.  Best breakfast of the entire trail! 

 

Leavenworth, WA was the last town we spent time in before finishing the PCT. We took a few days off a played tourist. It was lovely.

We got hit by hail near Mt. Jefferson, OR. We were in a burn zone so there were no trees to shelter under, but we knew a storm was coming so we set up our tents. It hailed so hard I thought we were going to get hurt, so even being in the tent I put my sleeping bag over my head to protect myself. Some of the hail was 3/4″ in diameter. My shoes were tucked under the tent flap but still got destroyed. Mud from the hail also made it through the tent’s mesh and into the tent and made quite a mess.  Some hail also broke through the tent.  It was wild!

A look at the lake being pelted by the hail. Rough seas!

Here is Koko Lake after the hail storm passes.

Koko lake at dusk. It’s amazing how dramatically the scenery changes depending on light and weather.

Speaking of weather and views, this also happens. We were hiking around Mt. Hood, OR which is supposed to have some excellent views, but we had 2 days of deep fog. This was actually the best view, often we couldn’t see more than 10 feet and were constantly drizzled on.

Pretty fog near Mt. Jefferson, OR. The climate really turned wet throughout all of Oregon and Washington. A total change from California. 

 

A burn area with very little recovery. Sometimes areas burn twice within just a few years. I didn’t know that was possible, but on trail there were some sections of trail that burned twice in two or three years. Photo: Camp Sherman, OR.

My expectations really changed while on trail; I’m less picky about many things. 

Food, clothes, accommodations, you name it.  At one point on trail I lost a pair of underwear.  Since I only started with 2 pairs this wasn’t great.  My thoughtful sister collected two stray underwear from the laundry mat, washed them and then gave them to me.  And I’m a bit sheepish to admit, but I wore the stranger underwear for the rest of the trip; they were very comfy.  We also got accustomed to pretty low budget hotels/hostels.  Having running water and a bed, even if didn’t come with blankets or sheets, was a huge step up from the trail.  So overall I’m still pretty good with basic.  Even being home, I never use a plastic bag just once, it gets used again.  Zip lock bags were at a premium on trail and I’m just kind of running with that.

Johanna and I also became accustomed to snagging food from the hiker box.  And as the trip progressed we went from sealed packages, to open packages.  For example, I snagged some peanut butter filled pretzels in a battered Ziplock from the hiker box, snacked on them for a half day, then passed them to another hiker.  So that’s at least 3 people those pretzels passed through, and who knows how many more before the hiker box.  And my low standards continue…on a walk around the city today I found a can of iced coffee next to the curb and picked it up.  My husband protested and said “what if there are micro holes” to which I replied “it’s still pressurized”.  What have I become?  Or, maybe it never really mattered.  Beware of you come over and I offer you a canned latte.  Actually, beware of anybody offers you a latte out of a can – have standards people!

Amazing waterfall came out of nowhere in Cascade Locks, OR. This whole area was stunning. It’s easily accessible, and there were a lot of day hikers in the area.

We regularly soaked our feet in cold water. Jojo is also having a little snack break. Cascade Locks, OR.

Audrey, Peggy, Kevin & Johanna. These were the best trail angels that we ran into. They were so kind to hikers, putting people up at their home and also driving hikers all around the area. They did some long drives to get hikers around burn areas where the trail was closed. Some of the trail towns were closed in the area due to fire activity, so things were tough; Peggy & Kevin stepped up in a big way.  They were a highlight of the trip for both Johanna and I.  We also saw the hardship residents in the closed towns went through, with evacuations, closed roads, and burned homes and a lot of chaos as the situations are pretty fluid and change a lot.  This was my first time up close and personal to seasonal fires.

Walupt Lake, WA.

 

Goat Rocks, WA. Guess what, we did see Mountain Goats in some of the higher elevation glacial areas.

 

Trying to be Johanna’s height. Hiking Razors Edge trail through Goat Rocks, WA. This was a highlight; highly recommend this trail.

 

Can you find Jojo? Razor’s Edge Trail, Goat Rocks, WA.

 

Near Mt. Rainier, WA.

 

Jojo wore holes into her shirt and decided it was almost time to retire the shirt.

 

Dru visited us on trail. He had to drive 2 hours on fire roads to reach us. South of Snoqualmie Pass, WA.

My feet are still more sensitive than normal. 

The foot nerve that I was babying on trail is still inflamed off and on and I’m finding that I need to wear slippers inside to cushion my feet or they hurt.  I think this is fairly typical, I spoke to some hikers who said it takes about 6 months for these things to get back to normal.  Johanna said she has no issues upon return, lucky gal. 

Pika near Snoqualmie Pass, WA. We saw lots of pikas in Oregon and Washington and they make the cutest noises. Usually, we spotted them after they vocalized. Cute little buggers.

Snoqualmie Pass, WA.

Snoqualmie Pass, WA.

This is the largest patch of thimbleberries we saw on trail. By the way, my trail name was Thimbleberry; I love them!

We saw some lamas from the trail and went to investigate. There were a couple of Elk hunters that packed in with the lamas. They were super nice guys and made us coffee and had a nice chat.  They run a lama outfitter so we got to learn a lot about the lama packing business.

I been a real homebody for the last three months, but I’m starting to think about the next adventure! 

Drop me a message if you have any suggestions.  It doesn’t have to be hiking; I just want more epic adventure in my future and I’m happy traveling nearly anywhere in the world. 

Headed out for the last section to the Canadian boarder. Johanna, Audrey and Tarot, a friend we met on trail.

Boarder bound, Cascade Mountains, Washington.

Boarder bound, Cascade Mountains, Washington.

Boarder bound, Cascade Mountains, Washington.

Boarder bound, Cascade Mountains, Washington.

Boarder bound, Cascade Mountains, Washington. We slept at Hopkins Lake, 7 miles from the Canadian Boarder. Unfortunately Canada stopped issuing visas, so we had to hike to the boarder and then backtrack about 30 miles to hit a road. We slept at Hopkins Lake, hiked 7 miles in the freezing rain to the boarder, and then back to Hopkins Lake. We had ponchos over rain gear because we did NOT want to get wet with the below freezing temps forecasted that night.

We made it!!!

Northern terminus, what an adventure. Also, look behind us, see that small line cut into the trees? That’s the boarder between the USA and Canada. It’s in such stark contrast to the 30-foot steel wall on the southern border. The contrast is jarring.

Headed back to Hopkins Lake after spending some time at the boarder. I did not love the rain, but such is hiking in Washington.

We set out from Hopkins Lake, WA to find some snow had dusted the mountains. It was very very cold since it rained, then freezing rain, then snow. But incredibly beautiful once I worked up the motivation to get out of the tent.

Headed toward Hart’s Pass, Washington where we will finish our PCT adventure.

Headed toward Hart’s Pass, Washington where we will finish our PCT adventure. Look at those epic cloud swirls! 

Headed toward Hart’s Pass, Washington where we will finish our PCT adventure.

Headed toward Hart’s Pass, Washington where we will finish our PCT adventure.

Headed toward Hart’s Pass, Washington where we will finish our PCT adventure.

Headed toward Hart’s Pass, Washington where we will finish our PCT adventure.

The only good thing about backtracking to leave the trail is that we ran into a lot of friends we made along the way. We saw nearly everyone on the trail the last day; it was quite magical. 

 

Also on our last day, we saw a bear. First bear of the whole trip! Jojo thought it was a big dog on trail at first, nope!

 

More friends on the way out…only 2 miles from the car now. The grandness of the adventure didn’t sink in until I sorted the photos. Dang, this was awesome!

 

Some friends asked how was my “once in a lifetime adventure”?

To which I thought, it wasn’t that big of a deal.  And also, no way, I want more adventures like this, not once in a lifetime.  But then I looked through my photos and realized how epic this really was.  And circumstances willing, there will be more adventures, and hopefully just as grand. 

Dang, this was awesome!

 

 

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Comments 11

  • Peggy Gutierrez : Jan 1st

    So well writen. Thank you for sharing with us. Come see us again if you get back up this way. Happy New Year.

    Reply
    • Audrey : Jan 2nd

      Thank you, Peggy!

      Reply
  • Chris : Jan 2nd

    As one of the old YouTube hikers once said, “I don’t want a once in a lifetime adventure, I want a lifetime of adventure.” Sounds like you!

    Reply
    • Audrey : Jan 2nd

      I like that!

      Reply
  • Diego Acuna : Jan 2nd

    I love your post, your story, and your amazing photos. Great job with all of it, and thank you for sharing your PCT experience. I think every experience on a thru-hike is unique, but all of them are deeply meaningful and powerful. Reading your story helps me understand how you feel while doing this crazy adventure and the little things that help you grow on the trail. Continue with your adventures!

    Reply
  • Audrey : Jan 2nd

    Thank you Diego. I think a lot of the learning happens when you come back and can reflect on it all. Thanks for your encouraging words.

    Reply
  • David Odell : Jan 2nd

    Congratulations on finishing your PCT Hike. Enjoyed your excellent pictures and writing. David Odell AT71 PCT72 CDT77

    Reply
    • Audrey : Jan 6th

      Thank you for your kind words, David.

      Reply
  • Scott : Jan 3rd

    Your pictures are incredible. You have a very good eye for capturing things. Congratulations on you and your sister accomplishments. Tenacity paired with ingenuity can lead to some real grand times.

    Reply
    • Audrey : Jan 6th

      Hello Scott, if you take enough photos a few always turn out. 😉 In all seriousness, taking pictures helped me focus in on my surrounds and was a way to stay present and enjoy the amazing places we hiked. Photos are even more special now that I’m done because it’s easy to think back and think “Eh, it was cool but not all that epic”. Then I look at the photos, and am reminded what a cool adventure we had.

      Reply
  • Rebecca : Jan 8th

    I remember my tramily meeting you two on a VERY windy day coming out of Julian. I believe it was your sister who was writing a book? Great photos! Congratulations on your finish!

    Reply

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