From the Northern Terminus to Cascade Locks: Wow-shington, you have my heart!

It is official: I am a SnoBo now – a thru-hiker that escaped the incredible amount of snow in the Sierra Nevada and decided to do a flip flop by continuing the hike going south from the Canadian border. Therefore, the new finish line will be Kennedy Meadows South and I have only 1,947 miles to go – easy!

It’s never too crowded on the extra mile: Tagging the northern terminus

Before the actually hike south would start, we had to get to the Canadian border first. Guess what? We walked there! Not only did that require 30 extra miles, but – lucky as we were – we had additional 10 miles to conquer due to a forest road closure (which opened the following day … as said: lucky us!). Washington welcomed us with afternoon storms, a good amount of rain and pretty wet, cold mornings. Weather conditions which aren’t necessarily easy to adapt to, particularly coming out of the hot and dry desert. But if I have learnt one unique thing about this state: It will never fail to reward the hardship with the most amazing views. And already the first days gave us a good impression on what we could expect for the weeks to come.

“CrossFit wilderness” putting thru-hikers to the test: Bushwhacking, blowdowns and uphill battles

Before I decided to change my long-distance hiking permit and continue the hike direction south after finishing the desert section, I got warned by a friend who had hiked the PCT himself during a high snow year: Washington is the state with the most elevation, the steepest climbs, known for being cold and wet, and the likelihood that we would still catch a lot of snow very high. Though the Sierra and Northern California were buried under record amounts of snow, Washington had an average winter this year and was almost snow-free by the time we started – so at least that would not become a severe issue for us and we actually didn’t even have to put on our microspikes once. Also, the weather improved a lot after only the first couple of days and we were lucky to have a majorly sunny and dry hiking experience throughout the state. BUT: My friend was right on the elevation profile. Though the PCT is generally mildly graded and accessible for equestrians as well, across the whole state the trail is basically made of up- and downhill – ALL DAY LONG!

I can tell by now that body and legs adjust to the elevation gain. Though in combination with sometimes very rocky terrain, a multi-day section between Stehekin and Stevens Pass that was covered with hundreds of fallen trees (yes, I am looking at you, Glacier Peak – a.k.a. „CrossFit“ – wilderness) and generally a lot of bushwhacking, I must admit that I felt miserable at times. I had uncountable scratches and cuts within a few days only and my dreams of becoming a leg model are forever destroyed. As we were approaching the end of the 500 miles through Washington, I felt severe physical exhaustion for the very first time on trail and my hiker hunger had finally taken over – I was hungry all day, tried to avoid thinking too much about food while anticipating every next town stop with highest excitement.

Wow-shington, are you even real?

As difficult as some of the days in Washington were, it never – and I mean NEVER – failed to reward us. Be it a breathtaking view after a long climb, crystal clear and ice cold creeks to drink from or tentsites with premium spots to enjoy the most fantastic alpine glows. The little town of Stehekin stole my heart and we loved it so much there, that we actually took a spontaneous day off. I was close to quitting my thru-hike to apply for a job at the amazing bakery and spend the rest of my life in a little cabin directly by the lake (obviously I didn’t do that, but still strongly considering!). A big part of the trail leads through remote national forests and wilderness areas, the reason why Washington is of such rough, wild, but incomparable beauty. Goat Rocks Wilderness and Knife’s Edge were easily my favorite stretch of this section – it was a strenuous climb for sure as we took the old PCT route over the ridge, but no matter in which direction you turned, every view was simply stunning! Last but not least, the wildlife is important to mention – we saw a family of mountain goats right on day one, countless of chipmunks, some curious marmots (of which one was highly interested in my bag of Skittles) and a lot of deers. I was anxious to run into a black bear any minute on trail (hoping that a first encounter would actually eliminate my now very explicit fear of bears, similar as it happened with the snakes in the desert), but the only „bear“ I saw was my trail bestie, sneaking up from behind and scaring the heck out of me.

Hike hard, chill hard: “Team Potato“ on the roll

Kennedy Meadows South did not only mark the end of the desert, but also my trail family parted ways. While Cola and Slingshot decided to skip the Sierra and hike onwards from Northern California, Blueb and I went on a roadtrip up north and continued our journey – now as SnoBos – together. I can say straight away: trail besties will be trail besties will be trail besties! However, being together all day long, week after week, has led to some disagreements and fights as well. When you spend so much time together, getting on each other’s nerves at times and needing some alone time is likely the most normal thing in the world. I guess what we both know is: We make a good team after all! We like hiking a decent amount of miles in a day, but just as much do we like taking time off and spontaneous zero days have become our signature move by now. I still love meeting people on trail and being surrounded by a bubble of other familiar hikers, but also enjoy the ease of being just a group of two, which sometimes makes it easier to find calm and solitude while knowing that a trusted friend is always around. Also, we can talk about everything with each other and still laugh about a lot of bullshit every now and then, which obviously is another (if not the ultimate) plus!

To be or not to be … here: About mental and emotional lows

I mentioned the physical exhaustion that I noticed for the first time since starting the hike in late April. Much heavier on my heart had become the lack of intellectual challenge as well as a certain degree of homesickness. Simply said: I missed working my brain and being surrounded by my friends and family. I couldn’t listen to any podcasts anymore and, despite how comfortable I feel around my trail bestie, just wanted to feel the joy of my regular life at home again. I blamed Washington and its beautiful alpine landscape for the thoughts that kept spiraling in my head as I felt reminded of my beloved alps ever so often. My mood swings got worse towards the end of the state and as we took a couple of zero days after we had finally reached Cascade Locks (the end of Washington), I said „I want to go home” out loud a couple of times. Not a fun time for me, and surely not for Blueb who was curing a shin injury and certainly had other things on his mind rather than my homesickness. I called my sister and two of my best friends during these days – seeing their faces, talking to them, getting their help to organize my messy mind but also hearing how life at home is progressing luckily always helps!

Never quit on a bad day – hike through Oregon instead!

I truly believe I am benefiting from the fact that I am halfway around the world and going home is an undertaking that will definitely end my hike at least for this season. It is just not as easy to return to trail from Germany, in case you regret your decision to call it quits. And so I continue my thru-hike, hoping that my overall well-being and positive attitude return, making the general exhaustion just of temporary nature.

I am one full state down already and Oregon – the next state to explore – is known to be relatively flat and therefore pretty cruisy. I will hit the halfway marker in the early days there (1,325 miles … INSANE!) and am excited for some famous trail highlights such as Mount Hood Wilderness, Timberline Lodge, Crater Lake but also the city of Bend which is known to be very outdoorsy and hiker-friendly. As my trail bestie will take more time off to fully recover his shin injury, I will hike out on my own for the first time in months which feels a bit like starting from the beginning again … just with more experience this time. The situation is kind of weird to me and I am sad particularly about leaving Blueb behind (oh, how much did I cry when we said our temporary goodbyes!), but at the same time it creates a lot of excitement which is maybe just what I need right now to find joy on trail again.

One important lesson that every thru-hiker is being taught in the early days on trail is: Never quit on a bad day! And I am very proud I didn’t!