Hello Washington! and Clouds! and Rain!

Before I start this post… I will acknowledge it has been 1 year, 5 months, and 20 days since I crossed the Bridge of the Gods and hiked into Washington State on the Pacific Crest Trail. Since then, I have cherished every photo, journal entry, and memory from my time on the PCT. SO let’s flashback and finish the story…

For 2,150 miles, I heard SOBOs, trail angels, and previous PCT hikers rave about the trail and the views through Washington State. “The views are worth the big climbs and gnarly blow downs!” they would often say. “Goat Rocks Wilderness was my favorite section of the entire PCT,” others would say. As I crossed the Bridge of the Gods, leaving California and Oregon behind, I wondered if the next 500 miles could possibly live up to the hype. 

August 26 / PCT Day 118 / Washington Day 1 – Into the Jungle?

29.4 Miles: Cascade Locks (Mile 2148.2) to Camp Near Trout Creek Bridge (Mile 2177.6)

We crossed bridge of the gods at sunrise. The view from the bridge was beautiful as we entered our last state. The final push. I felt excited, nervous, and honestly, really sad to start the final 500 mile push. 

Sunrise crossing of the Bridge of the Gods… Hello Washington!

I felt intimidated switching from the long, flat miles of Oregon to the steeper climbs that Washington promised. My body felt strong, but my mind felt intimidated of what laid ahead in this section. I was forced to drop any expectations that I had for Washington as we hiked into a thick, jungle-like, forest canopy exploding with new vegetation that didn’t resemble anything I had seen on trail so far. 7,000 feet of elevation gain later, I laughed and settled into camp, truly unsure of how the next days would unfold. 

August 27 / PCT Day 119 / Washington Day 2 – Pairs of Eyes in the Dark

30.6 Miles: Camp Near Trout Creek Bridge (Mile 2177.6) to Camp Near Junction Lake (Mile 2208.3)

One thing I love about being on trail, is feeling so in sync with nature …for better or for worse. I noticed that as the days got shorter, I started my day by hiking for longer in the dark. This morning, as I hiked in dark, I saw a pair of “eyes” staring at me, illuminated by my headlamp. Now, these eyes definitely could have belonged to a cute bunny, but as my heart raced and I hit my trekking poles together with every step to warn these “eyes” not to mess with me, I felt threatened. As the sun rose, I regained my sense of security among the brush and thought more about adapting with nature.

I met up with Spud later that afternoon, and we stopped with some other hikers for trail magic around the mile 2200 milestone. As we walked up, they were sharing tall tales of Washington State mountain lions. We continued onward and arrived at our campsite at dusk. As we walked to a large nearby pond to filter water, we stopped in our tracks when we saw huge paw prints in the mud. Unnerved, I tucked myself into my tent for the evening, and set my alarm for AFTER sunrise tomorrow.

August 28 / PCT Day 120 / Washington Day 3 – Embracing Emotions 

31.8 Miles: Camp Near Junction Lake (Mile 2208.3) to Riley Creek near Mount Adams Campsite (Mile 2240.1)

I woke up grumpy. “I don’t want the PCT to end, but I also don’t want to hike any more,” I wrote in my journal on my phone. A cloud of negative energy hung thick around me, for no apparent reason. I felt more grumpy when I thought about the fact that I was grumpy, because I knew I should just be grateful to be out here. People boasted about how beautiful the Washington section of the PCT is since day 1, and frankly, I was still waiting. I felt claustrophobic in the thick forest canopy. I was scared of the mysterious eyes in the dark. It was smokey, hazy, and rainy – all at the same time. I felt anxious about the upcoming fire closure and planning our route around it. 

Can you really stay grumpy while eating oatmeal with pink sparkly icing??

Spud caught up with me in the meadow for a lunch break. I told him about how I had not been able to shake this grumpy feeling all morning. He opened his backpack and food bag to get out his lunch. He handed me the pink sparkle icing that he had been carrying since we celebrated my birthday back in Ashland. I smiled as I wrote “I’m Grumpy” on my spork to eat my oatmeal.Over the last few months, I had felt a range of emotions. I welcomed the happy moments, learned from fear, and listened to sadness. I sat there, and tried to listen to myself and my grumpiness – I acknowledged it, and even embraced it (with pink icing!), instead of pushing it down, and that felt like an important moment. 

August 29 / PCT Day 121 / Washington Day 4 – Goat Rocks Wilderness

33.6 Miles: Riley Creek near Mount Adams Campsite (Mile 2240.1) to Cispus Pass (Mile 2272.7)

I woke up to signs that I was about to pay my Washington rainy day dues…in full. I hadn’t experienced much rain on the PCT so far, but I could feel the cold and wind moving in as we hiked around Mount Adams throughout the morning. The thick air became a mist which became a light, consistent rain for the rest of the afternoon. When I realized I needed a break and lunch despite the steady rain, I reluctantly stopped among some trees and took out my tent’s rain fly, draped it over myself and my backpack, creating a fort (?) for a dryish lunch.

After lunch, I hiked quickly to warm up. My heart sunk when I looked up and saw a sign that read “Goat Rocks Wilderness”. It was bittersweet to enter this section knowing that it would be rainy and low visibility for the next few days. I cinched my raincoat hood tighter around my face and put my head down, buckling up for cold, wind, and rain tomorrow.

August 30 / PCT Day 122 / Washington Day 5 – Goat Rocks Wilderness Knives Edge

23.2 Miles: Cispus Pass (Mile 2272.7) to White Pass Kracker Barrel (Mile 2295.9)

“We are PCTers! We do not break!” Spud shouted over the wind to me. We were hiking the Goat Rocks Wilderness Knives Edge, often called one of the most beautiful stretches of the PCT, in total white out conditions. I planted my trekking poles on the ground with each step to keep my balance against the strong wind gusts that were blowing us around on the knives edge. 

A near white out and high speed winds on the Knives Edge in Goat Rocks Wilderness 🙁

As we descended from the Knives edge, the wind and fog let up. We made it. Spud was right, 4 months of straight hiking later – no matter the weather, the trail conditions, the exhaustion – we trained ourselves to not break. We had trained ourselves to hike straight through whatever storm, and head north. Hiking north, in this case, helped us arrive at the incredible White Pass Kracker Barrel in time for laundry, showers, and most importantly pizza. The trail provides. It was time to reset.

August 31 / PCT Day 123 / Washington Day 6 – Trust the Trail

23.6 Miles: White Pass Kracker Barrel (Mile 2295.9) to Anderson Lake before Chinook Pass (Mile 2319.5)

Waking up to face the rain and fog again was hard. I didn’t want to continue hiking North, further away from one of the most iconic pieces of trail on the PCT, that I “missed”. But that was the reality of a thru hike. Over a 5 month span, not every day was going to be sunny and blue skies, but we continue walking North anyway. I put on my rain mittens (my favorite silly piece of gear), and hiked back to trail. 

It was a milestone day and my eyes were glued to the ground in search of the Mile 2300 trail marker. I loved trying to picture what these would look like before I them – would it be made out of sticks? pinecones? rocks? – but I never saw one. I finally stopped on the side of the trail and drug my trekking pole in the thick mud on the side of the trail, writing out 2300 so I could properly celebrate this milestone. Feeling pretty proud of myself, I took a photo and kept hiking. Not even 1 minute of hiking later, I come across a pinecone and stick crafted “2300”. I shook my head and laughed to myself. Today is my 4 month trail anniversary, and I haven’t even learned to trust the trail? 

Mile 2300 markers!

September 1 / PCT Day 124 / Washington Day 7 – Noro Cabin

28.5 Miles: Anderson Lake before Chinook Pass (Mile 2319.5) to Ulrich Cabin (Mile 2348)

The rain and fog had started to make me appreciate every little thing on trail again. The way the sun peaked through the fog. The sharp contrast between the trees and the clouds. Any opportunity to get out of the damp and the rain.

Ulrich Cabin and Rat Paradise

We looked at FarOut and set our goals on the Ulrich cabin for camp. There were rumors of a norovirus breakout near the cabin, but the miles and rain made this feel like a risk we were willing to take. I walked up to the cabin to find Spud and another hiker with a fire going (!!!). Spud and I laughed as we both folded immediately to camping in the dry cabin rather than in damp tents again.

Spoiler: did not get norovirus!! Spoiler 2: there are rats in the cabin!!  

September 2 / PCT Day 125 / Washington Day 8 – Trail Magic!

25.9 Miles: Ulrich Cabin (Mile 2348) to Group Tent Site in Green Tunnel (Mile 2373.9)

We woke up to BLUE SKIES! After about an hour of hiking, I looked off into the distance and saw Mount Rainier for the first time on trail. I took a hard stop, and appreciated the view of Mount Rainier, the Moon, and the blue sky. We kept walking and stumbled upon one of the biggest trail magic set ups we had seen on trail. The Labor Day Holiday Weekend had brought out lots of trail angels, and we sat to enjoy snacks and breakfast beers (oh to be on trail again…) while staring at Mount Rainier, still in awe. 

Our first glimpse of Mount Rainier!

The rest of the day was all smiles as we got our miles done under the blue sky, accepted more trail magic, and got to know a few of the other hikers in our very small new bubble that we had fallen into over the last few days. I felt happy, very full, and spoiled the day before a town day in Snoqualmie!

September 3 / PCT Day 126 / Washington Day 9 – Snoqualmie Pass

20.2 Miles: Group Tent Site in Green Tunnel (Mile 2373.9) to Snoqualmie Pass (Mile 2394.1)

I woke up in awe that today I would make it to Snoqualmie Pass. Almost exactly 1 year ago, today, I saw the PCT for the first time at Snoqualmie Pass. After hiking the Enchantments with my friend, Mackenzie, we stopped at Snoqualmie Pass for a beer and to walk onto the PCT for the first time. We saw PCT hikers at the brewery and creepily ease dropped, gaining my first glimpse into what thru hikers and trail families were really like. We drove to the PCT trailhead across the street, and I bounced down the trail until I saw my first PCT badge, hanging high on a tree. On the drive home, Mackenzie and I laughed and wondered what it would be like when I was here next year. Hopefully, I would make it this far, stop at this brewery, see this PCT badge, and remember how far I had come. 

Well, since that day in September of 2022, I had hiked over 2,300 miles of the PCT. It was hard not to get too reflective as I hiked towards Snoqualmie Pass. That night, Spud and I caught up with Detour (who was part of our Sierra trail family) at the same little brewery, I had ease dropped the year before. We laughed hard as we shared our most ridiculous stories since the Sierra. And I felt proud of the journey I had made over the last year. 

September 4 / PCT Day 127 / Washington Day 10 – Big Mac!

26.6 Miles: Snoqualmie Pass (Mile 2394.1) to Alpine Lake with Cloud Inversion (Mile 2420.8)

I ran up to the parking lot trail head and gave Mackenzie a hug. Yup! Mackenzie made it back out to the Snoqualmie trail head with a trail magic cooler of the BEST snacks, ready to hike with us for the morning. Big Mac and I bounded up the climb, catching up for the first time since I hit the trail. It didn’t seem to matter that we were in a constant mist and there were no views from the Kendall Katwalk as we chatted and downed sour patch kids and captain crunch. At the top of the climb, we sat in the mist and ate our lettuce crunch sandwiches (IYKYK), before saying our goodbyes.

Big Mac confirmed her plans to meet us at Hart’s Pass in a week or so, to drive us back to Seattle once we finished the trail. I couldn’t believe we were even making these plans! It was time to figure out how to get around 2 of the big Washington fires and get to the Canadian border!

Thank you Trail Angel Big Mac!

September 5 / PCT Day 128 / Washington Day 11 – Above the Clouds!

30.4 Miles: Alpine Lake with Cloud Inversion (Mile 2420.8) to Glacier Lake Campsite (Mile 2451.2)

We woke up to the most insane cloud inversion, putting me in a trance all morning, as I watched the sun rise over the sea of clouds. It was all fun and games until I descended and realized that I was hiking back down into those clouds, returning to the mist and fog once again. I was relieved when the clouds burned off quickly, and I felt like I was finally getting my groove a little bit more in Washington. The rest of the day was full of quintessential Washington views of the massive granite mountains, making me feel itty bitty as I hiked along. 

Loving the Washington clouds way more from above!

Thank you, Washington. You have not make the final push easy. You have tested me so far – just like every part of the PCT had in its own different way. I am still learning more about myself every day out here, and I would not change a single thing. 1 more week until Canada! Let’s do this thing!