tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905342098064789892024-03-14T02:53:33.999-07:00Grant & Robin's TravelsGrant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-51528765291876904292015-12-28T22:27:00.001-08:002016-01-01T19:59:07.928-08:00Washington: Rainy Pass to Manning Park Canada Eh? (Plus Crater Lake)The Last Section!<br />
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Trail Angel George once again rescued us at the Rainy Pass trailhead. He asked some other hikers about us and they confirmed we weren't far behind. In fact, we had told Hobbit Feet to tell George we were on our way and that he should give her beer which he did. Also, we had been passing the word around that we had found a hiker wallet and to keep an eye out for someone looking for it. Well, George found a posted note at the trailhead advertising a lost wallet and sure enough it was the same name of the wallet we found! The trail community really is a small world. On the back side of the lost wallet note that George found was another note that the same person had also lost their rain pants. Way back near Snoqualmie pass. The same rain pants Robin found and carried to Stevens pass and left in George's car!!! Yup, we found his rain pants and his wallet. He's one lucky (ahem,shitshow) that we found both and also happened to live in Seattle!! (we returned both items to him in Seattle when we got home)<br />
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We spent a night in Winthrop WA at the KOA. It was a great night, with a campfire and beers. We met a woman and her 9 yr old daughter who became interested in our hiking adventure. We shared stories around the fire with them and Starboard was super excited to hear that the young girl was inspired to try hiking the trail when she reached 20 years. It's amazingly satisfying to feel you've inspired just one person to think big and envision living their own dream. We sincerely hope she does try hiking the PCT or whatever adventure she thinks of by 2026!<br />
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As nice as it was to relax in Winthrop, the weather forecast insisted that we get back on trail the next day (Tuesday 29th). We desperately wanted and needed a day off. We had not taken a zero day since Cascade Locks back on Sept 5th. Robin's knee could use the rest. This is part of the challenge of hiking the PCT: start late enough to make it through the Sierra after the snow melts, but hike fast enough to finish Washington before the snow falls again. (It's easily doable, but boy were we slow hikers!) We had a few rough days in the cold rain and we did not like it much. The idea of struggling through the cold snow in this remote section was not very appealing. So, with the weather forecasting dry and sunny for at least 4 more days, we decided we had to keep hiking. The northern terminus and Manning Park was only a short 4 days away. If we delayed hiking for a rest day, we risked hiking in the rain for the last day or two.<br />
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(Day 170, Sept 29th, Mile 2588.9-2599.3, hiked 10.4 miles) <br />
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Robin's knee was feeling better and the sun was shining. Good Time tried to drink as many beers as possible before they kicked him back out of the van and onto the trail!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElTpz-VYzdVEel-zmTCKL0STdzRwTY3n4ywN58Xg-6SeVsGJakxEBVD6DTUsi30L6h7Be0f8o2Se5p4cjkxD6iDvujlf3_q2U5DeL4j69UczgJk-Irlf5K99TEyk-V_fi-y6aY8Sdy10/s1600/IMG_1585.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElTpz-VYzdVEel-zmTCKL0STdzRwTY3n4ywN58Xg-6SeVsGJakxEBVD6DTUsi30L6h7Be0f8o2Se5p4cjkxD6iDvujlf3_q2U5DeL4j69UczgJk-Irlf5K99TEyk-V_fi-y6aY8Sdy10/s320/IMG_1585.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunny on Cutthroat Pass</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What do you want Starboard?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The glaciated landscape of Washington, near Granite Pass - Yes, that line on the ridge to the right is the trail.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starboard near Granite Pass</td></tr>
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We managed to pass some trail magic to others at the Rainy Pass trailhead. We left some beers and some mini-champagne bottles that ended up with Sass.<br />
Starboard left her headlight in the van. This was the 2nd time she forgot her headlamp:( woops.<br />
Methow Pass was an awesome spot to camp, one of our best on the trail.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Methow Pass Campsite, one of our best on the trail!</td></tr>
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(Day 171 September 30th, mile 2599.3 to 2623.1, hiked 23.8 miles.) <br />
This was a nice day of walking with a pretty sunrise dotted with stars and the moon. This was to be an amazing day in that we didn't see any other through-hikers the entire day! And the weather was decent enough that we were able to eat outside of the tent as we stopped early enough to have a little daylight left.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBj_Srbt9nagBo9B9Gp2m_144NfLJ1zzBPUfL59PMyMJrtDN0a70mtiOiu2_aRrcytpyEMJ5YaHAG21xIA7qMb3oNo49mouqqSZ-yMrvSxIRnmg47nNRDBiJIMwPN8zqixVTvVGhz83CM/s1600/IMG_20150930_065306955_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBj_Srbt9nagBo9B9Gp2m_144NfLJ1zzBPUfL59PMyMJrtDN0a70mtiOiu2_aRrcytpyEMJ5YaHAG21xIA7qMb3oNo49mouqqSZ-yMrvSxIRnmg47nNRDBiJIMwPN8zqixVTvVGhz83CM/s320/IMG_20150930_065306955_HDR.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning, heading North from Methow Pass</td></tr>
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Also, we made it to the 2600 mile marker! The next milestone would be the border!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last Mile marker! Wow!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Fall hiking</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMW2NBP5IZZ7FyakXAmdgvajEFvo0JMCJuDO2YXFfTaLe54MurPc6_1sV4PKyV4d3x8idVSGfoBteKxXhqHhVV-UoCRx5Zl2_nJUlBMiAnqYve_HVAJ6JvF-eDw8OXrTycVDx6YmdKVw/s1600/IMG_20150930_125603420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMW2NBP5IZZ7FyakXAmdgvajEFvo0JMCJuDO2YXFfTaLe54MurPc6_1sV4PKyV4d3x8idVSGfoBteKxXhqHhVV-UoCRx5Zl2_nJUlBMiAnqYve_HVAJ6JvF-eDw8OXrTycVDx6YmdKVw/s320/IMG_20150930_125603420.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice spot for a break</td></tr>
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We were starting to get really close to finishing the trail! We were having great hiking weather, and this last section was really pretty. Yet, we were both ready to be finished hiking. We started thinking about sleeping indoors. Eating eating eating. Showering. Clean laundry. Not having to dig a cathole every morning.<br />
We also were trying to make a logistical plan to go back to Crater Lake and finish hiking the 23 miles we missed due to the wildfire there. All of these thoughts just made us want more and more to be finished. Or at least to be at the border so we could hurry up and drive back to Oregon. A real pressing sense of hurry. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicReRzOB30_28OpTKJEp5tiQQAVO0RmnwOaXFez-JO4Q-Y__64Y3f2Mfr9BDFfh3WwO3XpezUXwhCK1nHBDSu2ZGoeiIolqt0Ue1Be6uB9Rzzr2a0rhKP__EwtTJLXRAnPCibwdYaBPo/s1600/IMG_1642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicReRzOB30_28OpTKJEp5tiQQAVO0RmnwOaXFez-JO4Q-Y__64Y3f2Mfr9BDFfh3WwO3XpezUXwhCK1nHBDSu2ZGoeiIolqt0Ue1Be6uB9Rzzr2a0rhKP__EwtTJLXRAnPCibwdYaBPo/s320/IMG_1642.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camp spot about a half mile south of Buffalo Pass</td></tr>
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(Day 172, October 1st, mile 2623.1 to 2643.7, hiked 20.6 miles.)<br />
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Another day of great weather and nice walking. This would finally be our last day full day on trail including camping at the end of the day. Amazing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQeTljKM2cJ8vsXrq0YElpcrrpCUux34O2uEvXOqenr3yBkpzeZCc834qvJLmm5hx5KiJPRM7N_PnVD5PwGvAt4YRO1U9_igWf5hekd2CBKNvWjAPLPzWHqR2n4XE0uCF6Ry6sDTytAU/s1600/IMG_20151001_072229905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQeTljKM2cJ8vsXrq0YElpcrrpCUux34O2uEvXOqenr3yBkpzeZCc834qvJLmm5hx5KiJPRM7N_PnVD5PwGvAt4YRO1U9_igWf5hekd2CBKNvWjAPLPzWHqR2n4XE0uCF6Ry6sDTytAU/s320/IMG_20151001_072229905.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another fine morning</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9N4es65QriK3itxal3APfcCF3L71_GjNoLIIuXf6eH9Dc-_r-YL32MV8Zt5m-59rQ4Hp6PvAvzGGHXngoWFfhhIvBeooLjodU17UNuNv_0zKD5t4A_52Kalz4R5-iO2Q0Rc8y7SBYWw/s1600/IMG_20151001_135113476.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9N4es65QriK3itxal3APfcCF3L71_GjNoLIIuXf6eH9Dc-_r-YL32MV8Zt5m-59rQ4Hp6PvAvzGGHXngoWFfhhIvBeooLjodU17UNuNv_0zKD5t4A_52Kalz4R5-iO2Q0Rc8y7SBYWw/s320/IMG_20151001_135113476.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tra la la....</td></tr>
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We finally started running into hikers again. We met a few hikers who had tagged the border monument and were hiking southbound back to Hart's Pass for a ride back to the world. Congratulations all around for their success and our anticipated success. Still, we talked about how demoralizing it would be to touch the border and then walk thirty miles back towards the south. From the border monument, it's only about 9 miles to Manning Park and a bus ride to anywhere. After all that walking, a short nine miles sounded a lot better than 30 miles, and even so Hart's Pass is pretty remote, on a dirt road.<br />
That being said, one does need an entry permit to walk into Canada. And there are certain reasons that Canada may not grant an entry permit. We had our permits in hand and always had planned on walking to Manning Park, where Trail Angel Nancy was planning to pick us up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi94qhdsCyIOgpLFLxF5K9wmn7fw5Hw2lPrQfTJja1UZmGKVTAdr73IgwrLgJPtfK6P_kFKlQLp-zuLkGuIpdEH8xV6vuymZ8VCg-TM_oU7IVVoM99Dcb1NQElSiCTlDLzj0Z7WIXPhtc/s1600/IMG_20151001_142515500_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi94qhdsCyIOgpLFLxF5K9wmn7fw5Hw2lPrQfTJja1UZmGKVTAdr73IgwrLgJPtfK6P_kFKlQLp-zuLkGuIpdEH8xV6vuymZ8VCg-TM_oU7IVVoM99Dcb1NQElSiCTlDLzj0Z7WIXPhtc/s320/IMG_20151001_142515500_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More fine fall weather</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg6jekVtDZhH7_BVWC2pyyvgK8ZyYSIOyf-pRlLJgYOzL3luxqx4T0CZefkc2s3UEFVufumyLQWiKX815ifupIKq8o9_V3Hf66P1_x-JY7dFzPwzUx_h4jOeO-QKoUl-_hLJbkYEiRg0/s1600/IMG_20151001_170607837_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg6jekVtDZhH7_BVWC2pyyvgK8ZyYSIOyf-pRlLJgYOzL3luxqx4T0CZefkc2s3UEFVufumyLQWiKX815ifupIKq8o9_V3Hf66P1_x-JY7dFzPwzUx_h4jOeO-QKoUl-_hLJbkYEiRg0/s320/IMG_20151001_170607837_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near Hopkins Pass</td></tr>
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We also started seeing some Northbound hikers too. It was quite fascinating that we were still meeting new people on the trail after all this time! We camped at a nice lake (Hopkins Lake) for our last night on the trail. All the anticipation to finish, and I still slept like a dead person. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw02hYKSPHRd3Lr5ZzhNef1aZJ1Nfq9yU-zjBl3oRjdF4cNTjSNmH3LJI1fc5uxJeJyP6mvqx0YDD8Jt6egPAwoclbvWjdgucq1glaRbklfMVNpkYOtlYORkwhKbMAxst2fio0pRB2SYY/s1600/IMG_1682.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw02hYKSPHRd3Lr5ZzhNef1aZJ1Nfq9yU-zjBl3oRjdF4cNTjSNmH3LJI1fc5uxJeJyP6mvqx0YDD8Jt6egPAwoclbvWjdgucq1glaRbklfMVNpkYOtlYORkwhKbMAxst2fio0pRB2SYY/s320/IMG_1682.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our last campsite on the trail, Hopkins lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Day 173, October 2nd 2015. mile 2643.7 to 2650.1, hiked 6.4 miles to Monument 78 the Canadian Border Monument!!! We made it!!<br />
(and then we hiked from 2650.1 to 2658.91 (8.81 miles) to Manning Park)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_6e6JAHmI2nMgD_8gvXPAqDQ7IW46B7yHDnOMOJdQ1rzooTVSKU1UL5thdQ4gz1EeFsagyganF-Mj2Z5Aeih5u1ZoOMFzMW8NJRTxB_JGljQRzAuosGcU00IGGyG2gQR7mGOiZMzCc8/s1600/IMG_20151002_100854343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_6e6JAHmI2nMgD_8gvXPAqDQ7IW46B7yHDnOMOJdQ1rzooTVSKU1UL5thdQ4gz1EeFsagyganF-Mj2Z5Aeih5u1ZoOMFzMW8NJRTxB_JGljQRzAuosGcU00IGGyG2gQR7mGOiZMzCc8/s320/IMG_20151002_100854343.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our beards really filled in nicely the last few days</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
The day before Sass and Skeeter Bait finally caught up to us on Hopkins Pass. We had been hearing rumors that they were somewhere behind us and we were so happy to see them again. And we were happy to be finishing with these awesome women who we'd seen off and on since Cajon Pass (mile 341 ) and Carson Pass (mile 1076 )<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We were so excited to finally touch the monument! When we arrived we started hooting and hollering and some guys who were already there cheered us on! We didn't know them, as they were southbound section hikers, but they were nice and took pictures for us.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIzuzrNAQwY0pIJqfDwjWQxFkJHpngZYl6lCMHGkkksShK-1EJ91FHMXLRIDiirIA44TRBhY-UqiL8eifxZqiqo_JkstPC5-uLTb7LQZxLlxKMGoynue7pkUltk5X32pMXL3IDnc9Agc/s1600/IMG_20151002_102559382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIzuzrNAQwY0pIJqfDwjWQxFkJHpngZYl6lCMHGkkksShK-1EJ91FHMXLRIDiirIA44TRBhY-UqiL8eifxZqiqo_JkstPC5-uLTb7LQZxLlxKMGoynue7pkUltk5X32pMXL3IDnc9Agc/s320/IMG_20151002_102559382.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We made it! And we're still talking to each other!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Then, Starboard and I had the monument to ourselves for a few minutes which was kind of nice.<br />
Soon enough we could hear Sass and Skeeter Bait approaching and then it was hugs and congratulations all around!<br />
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<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDzcj8aWfuco52uBwQEN7qrE9eKNRstDoar86wbQZRVcwhupymJD6ReDgnu2Zbmiajl6-2k8QUOIz1xIoh5xOTO0BFCnbckFozJDqv7eDZz_bXJaEGh6PvKQDnI2Bd8yAA3S0laTLAvc/s1600/IMG_20151002_094519645_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDzcj8aWfuco52uBwQEN7qrE9eKNRstDoar86wbQZRVcwhupymJD6ReDgnu2Zbmiajl6-2k8QUOIz1xIoh5xOTO0BFCnbckFozJDqv7eDZz_bXJaEGh6PvKQDnI2Bd8yAA3S0laTLAvc/s320/IMG_20151002_094519645_HDR.jpg" width="180" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
We all had some celebration champagne and had a great time celebrating at the monument.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjNSA4AmyPYOaQzsYFpwnsDwrYI4KrRhyz7F-O2DFXdmlTxQGd28Ew6zhqi3pFcdJbkkmAM82jO_KKFrfXIHVAlmmmy7NqZ-F7xbje8gjBnilPIKe_qCr2e1YEP-teyHhbL3wt6q5uME/s1600/IMG_20151002_101100536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjNSA4AmyPYOaQzsYFpwnsDwrYI4KrRhyz7F-O2DFXdmlTxQGd28Ew6zhqi3pFcdJbkkmAM82jO_KKFrfXIHVAlmmmy7NqZ-F7xbje8gjBnilPIKe_qCr2e1YEP-teyHhbL3wt6q5uME/s320/IMG_20151002_101100536.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodtime, Starboard, Skeeter Bait and Sass celebrating</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The next 8 miles were a wonderment. They were agonizing. We just wanted to be done hiking. But they were also surreal. Really? We just thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico? Holy shit! We really are almost done. Wait, really? We're still on the trail?<br />
<br />
It was a giddy, yet melancholy hike into Manning Park. We talked about the logistics of getting back down to Crater Lake to complete the skipped miles. We wondered about our other trail friends who we hadn't seen for a while.<br />
We wondered just how many beers we could drink tonight? How much food could we eat?<br />
We were excited that we would not have to hike tomorrow. Finally.<br />
<br />
<br />
We popped out on the road and there was Trail Angel Nancy again! Woohoo!!! She had cold beverages for us, and a ride in a car the last tiny bit to the Manning Park lodge. Hot showers, restaurant meals and a bed. Nice.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We had a plan. We left Manning Park the next morning, Oct 3rd and drove to Washington to collect our travel van. We managed to drop off the rain pants and wallet we had found on the trail to the owner in Seattle. We spent a brief night at home doing some laundry and left the next day. Oct 4th we drove back down to Crater Lake, OR to complete the miles we had to skip due to the wildfire in August.<br />
(We had arrived in Mazama Village on August 18th, just after the PCT had been closed due to wildfire. At the time, we had tried to come up with a reroute to continuously walk the PCT without skipping. In the end, we found the lack of water resources along the reroute to be too risky. We caught a car ride around the fire closure from Mazama Village to Highway 138, having to skip approximately 23 trail miles between 1819 and 1845 along the Crater Lake Rim Alternate.)<br />
<br />
It was actually exciting to be back in Oregon. But also funny to drive so fast through so much distance that had taken us so much more time to walk.<br />
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(Day 176, October 5th. Mile 1819.2-1845.32; approx 23 miles along the Crater Lake Rim Trail alternate) <br />
We got up early on Oct 5th to hike from Mazama Village to Highway 138. It was amazing how much different Mazama was now. In the summer, it was a very busy place. Lots of tourists and lots of hiker trash. The campground had been full. The parking lot was full. The store was a real buzz of activity all the time. Now, in October? Nothing. The campground was closed. The store was mostly closed. The hotel was closed for the season. The parking lot was empty. There was almost nobody around. We had the trail to ourselves almost.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqSiBlJx9Is5nqyXgm9YspTIKmjgffUP7Iu6b_Efvuue7W_OcjiXfnUkYOmyVdVtf2nJv0egCRsbws9Bpve5sy1633aNxW9OIsldx1z2aFLKPvstHCTjUnxIIz9iPXKiporQ-wIt7A94/s1600/IMG_20151005_072520780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqSiBlJx9Is5nqyXgm9YspTIKmjgffUP7Iu6b_Efvuue7W_OcjiXfnUkYOmyVdVtf2nJv0egCRsbws9Bpve5sy1633aNxW9OIsldx1z2aFLKPvstHCTjUnxIIz9iPXKiporQ-wIt7A94/s320/IMG_20151005_072520780.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back to the Scene</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXe4D4Fh-NvPoNLWN-5eq1kvE5757zUXpWYEfAIhLEtxe6USoM0noQ9LY1GLTPhpJqgNzZApGlogYw4QXvCUEpvn4BaQ6xonMkw1-idtjHj8p40sg__XIqmlLb9_QjZ2RdJ0dtMnEILM/s1600/IMG_20151005_072621379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXe4D4Fh-NvPoNLWN-5eq1kvE5757zUXpWYEfAIhLEtxe6USoM0noQ9LY1GLTPhpJqgNzZApGlogYw4QXvCUEpvn4BaQ6xonMkw1-idtjHj8p40sg__XIqmlLb9_QjZ2RdJ0dtMnEILM/s320/IMG_20151005_072621379.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Are you ready?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<br />
It was a crisp morning, but a gorgeous day. We slogged up the hill, anticipating great views of the lake and the scenery to come. We argued about where we would find water.<br />
And then there it was. Crater Lake. Awesome.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPY8xkFo1dJpMX0qgr1auQzGN8NK7NwfqOrIBYJFoRoEg-HMErooUKfSMBFGCX17smh6wul83i1U25DlE0MoXh4WSemGAXZ8nTBALt1UonSywnB_R1iCGaJbk3QQZX8BUeRSN7DdAU1E/s1600/IMG_20151005_094513539_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPY8xkFo1dJpMX0qgr1auQzGN8NK7NwfqOrIBYJFoRoEg-HMErooUKfSMBFGCX17smh6wul83i1U25DlE0MoXh4WSemGAXZ8nTBALt1UonSywnB_R1iCGaJbk3QQZX8BUeRSN7DdAU1E/s320/IMG_20151005_094513539_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Voila!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiymSRi8gE9xdgfk2NxaUc2joLa_Y95IcfK5e6FiVe_6F_3MiCQ_DqXloX4wtG_nYxLK7c21bBlcy7aiL0-mHQ1d-S8YYHQKS5BhsftDM4TIMiddTUZ1B4hi5JcAsg525WudAu0EHmNCeQ/s1600/IMG_20151005_102029048_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiymSRi8gE9xdgfk2NxaUc2joLa_Y95IcfK5e6FiVe_6F_3MiCQ_DqXloX4wtG_nYxLK7c21bBlcy7aiL0-mHQ1d-S8YYHQKS5BhsftDM4TIMiddTUZ1B4hi5JcAsg525WudAu0EHmNCeQ/s320/IMG_20151005_102029048_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
We had a nice lunch and then enjoyed the views around the lake. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL5sUJjPrGzfCx47KcAbC3FZurv4EVS1rDQW6PA2wNf4CRY85ka8Hfw-35bOH0ykrS4eObcwhiw6dUZryBGOWZziM-Y_RWwJVEW34OE590GpMTmUHhNhUUxMOq8ltvDKSwvjAKN9OHy2g/s1600/IMG_20151005_111355659_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL5sUJjPrGzfCx47KcAbC3FZurv4EVS1rDQW6PA2wNf4CRY85ka8Hfw-35bOH0ykrS4eObcwhiw6dUZryBGOWZziM-Y_RWwJVEW34OE590GpMTmUHhNhUUxMOq8ltvDKSwvjAKN9OHy2g/s320/IMG_20151005_111355659_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crater Lake</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq103mdo26H4XF4QM8RSqK8y3Tjj2mxeSXeH_YchmX40ixs7COL9zwkRHx03bDjx7FzogB4Pf6wxmzH_smqkNG0AyP3TGY__iDIg8UGu79FQsNM5yFUNqfSBFtwl7Hit_utQHTuS3G3m0/s1600/IMG_20151005_122404434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq103mdo26H4XF4QM8RSqK8y3Tjj2mxeSXeH_YchmX40ixs7COL9zwkRHx03bDjx7FzogB4Pf6wxmzH_smqkNG0AyP3TGY__iDIg8UGu79FQsNM5yFUNqfSBFtwl7Hit_utQHTuS3G3m0/s320/IMG_20151005_122404434.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're <i>still</i> having fun?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZETRBxvYaTUWfZpsc7pded0IrJkIKoyaN6Ey6G-qQX5z_x94mLH2v0Q4AE8o_7_Dh6S-_lw-l9QHP7q1UMXbwS43RMmWCMNOicVgiMDDzlunP-PxEV74KKSdEncpu6vWPRS9GlIGP0w/s1600/IMG_1699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZETRBxvYaTUWfZpsc7pded0IrJkIKoyaN6Ey6G-qQX5z_x94mLH2v0Q4AE8o_7_Dh6S-_lw-l9QHP7q1UMXbwS43RMmWCMNOicVgiMDDzlunP-PxEV74KKSdEncpu6vWPRS9GlIGP0w/s320/IMG_1699.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt Thielsen in the distance, with some puffs of smoke from the forest fire that was still burning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<br />
Soon, we were North of the lake and back into the trees of Oregon. Now we had about 9 more miles to hike to Highway 138 and our completion of the PCT. Nine long, boring agonizing miles. Now we really did just want to be done. It was a beautiful day for hiking. But we'd had a lot of beautiful hiking days.<br />
And then we were finished. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CCh5A3kveuQDJ2K72I3udUG-jCbO1UcRfFkrFgH5f7b1kteFLqxVSi5YCKfLYCcL1HOW5D-uTbl1LHiT1KGN4cKAJcralI2z_9ljt1d3UFQU5GoQ0MEnrOU11mbOc5Diero2_a_BpsQ/s1600/IMG_1706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CCh5A3kveuQDJ2K72I3udUG-jCbO1UcRfFkrFgH5f7b1kteFLqxVSi5YCKfLYCcL1HOW5D-uTbl1LHiT1KGN4cKAJcralI2z_9ljt1d3UFQU5GoQ0MEnrOU11mbOc5Diero2_a_BpsQ/s320/IMG_1706.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm Done!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5q1H2isYoFzfS6aik4wpSvnfV48gLLyaDe55fyuYoims10QikgOrAXfg8USx92amcnAaQLXX9FhwW5RFWOCWBsKjVTXR7Ll8W2NqLKU5iydYclrCQfJFOK1mCOi5KlzFC05WmBN0jS-w/s1600/IMG_1705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5q1H2isYoFzfS6aik4wpSvnfV48gLLyaDe55fyuYoims10QikgOrAXfg8USx92amcnAaQLXX9FhwW5RFWOCWBsKjVTXR7Ll8W2NqLKU5iydYclrCQfJFOK1mCOi5KlzFC05WmBN0jS-w/s320/IMG_1705.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Return to our drop off spot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAx-KD7llGiUNTdcxfav3g78uAqgeYn7eymVYm__9jw561kxMUA16n2Rd7NIdmdroHegVHU_GpSLt_db-Y6y9o5gZLglwCAXWHrKlrQ1l-pQKF485ZiSxNZacdisZHOpA608Xs9gGRrKE/s1600/IMG_20151005_174853769_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAx-KD7llGiUNTdcxfav3g78uAqgeYn7eymVYm__9jw561kxMUA16n2Rd7NIdmdroHegVHU_GpSLt_db-Y6y9o5gZLglwCAXWHrKlrQ1l-pQKF485ZiSxNZacdisZHOpA608Xs9gGRrKE/s320/IMG_20151005_174853769_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
We crossed Highway 138 and tagged the PCT sign on the tree at the trail where we had been dropped off after skipping around the Crater Lake Fire Closure back in August. We made it. We finished. Good Time Grant and Starboard hiked the entire Pacific Crest Trail. Woohoo!!!!<br />
<br />
Starboard had stashed a bottle of champagne in the woods to celebrate with and we stood around smiling and laughing and drinking champagne to celebrate. Amazing. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGkBTegQN8X99Za0-CidKFh7-FVvjJYmFLyDkvtA5tckF7z4TX5O4X-9nxu_5a_XgIG-wHp6xLMZtKHZ0H7Z3a2BayChBD3Rpd9NGqTi5cg-m5s3o3cZ4-oa8U2XUkH1_QoTD2LlmTfw/s1600/IMG_20151005_175931753_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGkBTegQN8X99Za0-CidKFh7-FVvjJYmFLyDkvtA5tckF7z4TX5O4X-9nxu_5a_XgIG-wHp6xLMZtKHZ0H7Z3a2BayChBD3Rpd9NGqTi5cg-m5s3o3cZ4-oa8U2XUkH1_QoTD2LlmTfw/s320/IMG_20151005_175931753_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We just hiked the entire Pacific Crest Trail!</td></tr>
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<br />Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-40115960435111820622015-12-18T22:36:00.000-08:002016-01-01T19:58:55.763-08:00Washington: Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass<div style="text-align: center;">
Back on the Trail, Again</div>
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(Day 163, Sept 22nd, Leaving Stevens Pass: Mile 2461.6 to Mile 2475.3, hiked 13.7 miles)<br />
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We actually made it back to Stevens Pass at a reasonable hour (after spending the night in Leavenworth, WA) but I was still thirsty and Trail Angel George was obliging so we drank some beer in the parking lot. We were reluctant to saddle up our resupplied packs for the next seven-day slog and we watched all the other happy hikers returning to the trail and leaving before us. The weather was sunny and warm and good for hiking (and good for sitting in the parking lot drinking beer). We heard rumors of rain in the forecast but we would have to gamble.<br />
We had a nice day of hiking but someone passed us late in the day and snagged the campsite we had planned for. It was quite surprising how busy the trail still was in September toward the end of our hike and the end of the hiking season. Due to the difficult terrain, there were also fewer and far-between spots to choose from. We weren't expecting the competition for good campsites this late in the hiking season! Nevertheless, we found a nice little spot for the night.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKDz-RbmxG8MS8fHnfzUzEdii35Upmz2p7CnVZz3jixcLdE4pEWCFRZ3wohaqmisAN9rMp3GVvIxzsHYQJEBuOAIEni4hiDEQqyHDH7fNqeM4ZgvlWUYevQbFMyO994TEGuY4jyNi1_A/s1600/IMG_1406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKDz-RbmxG8MS8fHnfzUzEdii35Upmz2p7CnVZz3jixcLdE4pEWCFRZ3wohaqmisAN9rMp3GVvIxzsHYQJEBuOAIEni4hiDEQqyHDH7fNqeM4ZgvlWUYevQbFMyO994TEGuY4jyNi1_A/s320/IMG_1406.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfectly fine camping, if you don't mind losing your fuel and your sunglasses. I slept great.</td></tr>
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This is where the wheels started to come off. The first night of the 7-day stretch my cook stove malfunctioned. My flame wouldn't work correctly and I fiddled with the stove for a bit before giving up and letting Starboard boil water for my meal. Not a problem. Except as an engineer I'm never satisfied with just declaring the stove broken and moving on. Oh no.<br />
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(Day 164, Sept 23rd. Mile 2475.3-2495.7, hiked 20.4 miles) <br />
So I decided to try the stove again in the morning for coffee. Success! Or so I thought. Instead, after boiling water and turning off the stove, I left the stove and fuel canister connected and somehow most of the canister emptied itself!! Being tired and groggy I didn't realize what happened until I was packing up the stove. The canister felt both cold and light. It should still have been almost completely full. I compared weight with Robin's still full canister and mine was definitely lighter. Somehow a lot of my fuel had leaked out while I was drinking coffee. Bummer!<br />
This was only day two and now we were already thinking about fuel conservation since I might be out of fuel! Still, we talked through our options and we felt confident that by skimping on our fuel use we would be fine.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZo3eBSNkn-qpYVU-x-VXeA8kssuRKLliFV9gJJ7JBUKbpjP2kjQtdBLWSHrTK2Ung7d4Y3NqcYlKWszgWcntJOd7xxm_Hy3kTG7gAhkyzQ9hCGUy7emRMYaAug7uS-8XxU2U4hzf6Oq4/s1600/IMG_20150923_070109957_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZo3eBSNkn-qpYVU-x-VXeA8kssuRKLliFV9gJJ7JBUKbpjP2kjQtdBLWSHrTK2Ung7d4Y3NqcYlKWszgWcntJOd7xxm_Hy3kTG7gAhkyzQ9hCGUy7emRMYaAug7uS-8XxU2U4hzf6Oq4/s320/IMG_20150923_070109957_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crisp but pretty, Henry M Jackson Wilderness</td></tr>
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And that's the campsite where Robin left her sunglasses. D'oh!! So maybe not our best campsite after all.....</div>
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We set off to hiking in the chilly morning with our morning business chores still to be done with. And then disaster struck again! After more than 2400 miles of faithful almost daily service, the terrain proved too tough for Starboard's digging trowel and it snapped! Man oh man.....</div>
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And then Starboard's knee started hurting. This was a pain she's been battling for years. Yet, she had been pain free for 2400 miles! And now it starts hurting? What the f**cats?? This really was a desperate problem. We were carrying an ace bandage and some high-octane pain killers just in case. But we're also only one day away from a major highway. We could walk back out. But that's backwards to Highway 2. Or, alternatively, we still have 6 days of hiking to make it to Rainy Pass for our next resupply. Should we turn around now and rest Robin's knee? Or should we limp it along and hike at a slower pace for a few days to see how she feels? Also, I just wasted (lost) a bunch of fuel. And the weather forecast isn't totally awesome either. </div>
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We looked at the maps and the Yogi guide and decide that since there is a decent hiker bail-out trail a few days away we should keep going. But the pain and agony for Starboard becomes very frustrating. </div>
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We quickly deploy the ace bandage for starters. We consider stopping early for the day and just resting in the sun to give her knee a break. In the end, we keep on hiking just like every day since crossing the Columbia River. She's a mule!</div>
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A few miles into our morning we meet a hiker heading the other way. He's a hiker we met the day before at Stevens Pass, hiking North just like us. We're all confused. We ask him if he was Southbound? He asks us if we turned around and were Southbounding for some reason? But he was hiking faster than us yesterday and was supposed to be ahead of us somewhere this morning. How could we have passed him? We did some map consulting and it turns out he had been hiking South for about 30 minutes for the start of his day! Whoops! Everybody laughed and headed North again together. (We heard lots of these stories about hikers getting back on trail and inadvertently walking in the wrong direction. Sometimes for hours. Hilarious, though disheartening.)<br />
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The hiking and the weather was decent and Robin suffered admirably along. This was actually one of the more challenging sections. It's approximately 127 miles from highway 2 at Steven's Pass to highway 20 at Rainy Pass. It's quite remote. Stehekin is approximately 107 miles north of highway 2. And that's pretty much it. There's a trail or two where you can walk out to another road to somewhere. But even those 'outs' are about 8 or so miles from the PCT trail. And once at the trailhead, you still have to find a ride to a town.<br />
Also, the elevation profile is quite challenging. According to Halfmile, this 127 mile section involves approximately 31,800' of up hiking and 31,015' of down walking. That's a lot of up and down! Yes, it was steep at times!<br />
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We camped in a cold little saddle near the Indian Creek trail junction. It was pretty damp and cold strangely. Luckily it still wasn't raining and we had a decent day of hiking in overcast weather. This is the day we would meet the trail junction to the North Fork of the Sauk river. This was our chance to bail out and rest for a few days if Robin really couldn't walk on her knee anymore. The weather was definitely changing for the worse. We had about 4 miles to hike to make our choice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojgDnnSUmMuMkAo1LTcRkUSXoP_8nWXbBWzy4g1drf-1HTTJsTdcCUH-Zw0runifZ5E-Z85lJGpiYpO8jy_l5xQFk2blIiCNGvrsUQ-2vGXl5P-gNmGockVZ_oTYeITjLY5gGsNcq0xA/s1600/IMG_1435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojgDnnSUmMuMkAo1LTcRkUSXoP_8nWXbBWzy4g1drf-1HTTJsTdcCUH-Zw0runifZ5E-Z85lJGpiYpO8jy_l5xQFk2blIiCNGvrsUQ-2vGXl5P-gNmGockVZ_oTYeITjLY5gGsNcq0xA/s320/IMG_1435.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glacier Peaks Wilderness near Indian Pass</td></tr>
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(Day 165, Sept 24th. Mile 2495.7-2515.3; hiked 19.6 miles)<br />
There was never really a choice. Starboard had no intention of stopping. And I'm glad we kept going. Logistically, it would have been difficult to hike out to the road and then have to hike back in another 8 miles or more just to rejoin the trail. Better to just slog on through and hope for the best! <br />
We were concerned about moving slowly though. And we had somehow misjudged our distance from Highway 2. We somehow missed 10 miles and 10,000 feet of elevation change when we made our tentative schedule. So now, not only were we running low on fuel, we had an extra 10 miles to hike we hadn't accounted for. This would change our eta to Rainy pass a little bit. So now we were worried that Starboard's father would be worried about us not showing up on time at the Rainy pass trailhead where he was meeting us with our final resupply. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirdVVFQMAn90DiMnNbZzBi4WdKHi14oTSH_pMDS6ZrVBWqESiewZStTIWGqKM1QOL1rySIubgx-2yqDac5XRi_by_SM2F78qa5ThWV-pbPxXT3qvZkwI-NfeH4VaSL4hBcDa-dPHuatYE/s1600/IMG_20150924_171400593_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirdVVFQMAn90DiMnNbZzBi4WdKHi14oTSH_pMDS6ZrVBWqESiewZStTIWGqKM1QOL1rySIubgx-2yqDac5XRi_by_SM2F78qa5ThWV-pbPxXT3qvZkwI-NfeH4VaSL4hBcDa-dPHuatYE/s320/IMG_20150924_171400593_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahhhh,......Washington</td></tr>
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We got lucky and met a great local hiker just about where the trail junction for the bailout point was. (This was also right about at the 2500 mile marker.) We discussed our problems and finally decided to send a message with the local hiker who was hiking back out to civilization. She offered to call Starboard's parents and brother to try and relay the message that we would be late to Rainy Pass, but not to worry about us. We even tried to convey the plan that Starboard's family could maybe drive a car and leave it at the trailhead for us for whenever we would show up, giving details about where to leave the keys and everything. <br />
We had been rationing our fuel and sharing a stove, so we were pretty confident that our food and fuel would be enough to make it to Rainy Pass regardless. Besides, what's a day or so of cold food and hunger after 2500 miles? <br />
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We met a few hikers to take pictures for the 2500 mile marker and followed them all down the trail. The weather was still decent, though threatening to rain or snow. Starboard was still going strong despite the knee pain. <br />
We found a great campsite in a small cirque near Fire creek and were surprised to have it to ourselves after seeing so many hikers. We wanted to make it up over the next pass but we were tired and it was just too far. It was almost dark when we set up our tent anyway. We did see a few headlamps and heard some other hikers pass us by after we were in the tent anyway.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGX7KGzoqe0XrCOicP-jr8k_P_VYydoC1XS5ay9aHcacKJDifX_CtfvzJRoBBJQnILQp4ced4KH12f7DdyzjKFeXU6GAkp2u0U6mMn7ymufNxA1mAu83B-jMEToUoBTrsfHAFU4XXUjH0/s1600/IMG_20150924_092850285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGX7KGzoqe0XrCOicP-jr8k_P_VYydoC1XS5ay9aHcacKJDifX_CtfvzJRoBBJQnILQp4ced4KH12f7DdyzjKFeXU6GAkp2u0U6mMn7ymufNxA1mAu83B-jMEToUoBTrsfHAFU4XXUjH0/s320/IMG_20150924_092850285.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the wheels are coming off...broken trowel, bad knee, cold weather.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkQtNBD2iKwKniQD5N6fpBiLjXmasIj19N7WFP-igYIKiW5m_zKuB2qGQKCfILvgjq0X7ueqDyHe9s9E3ERDwSBESH-TBbceCSXoEtzO2_kStrCPJGrmwOWpZuLahZe_IHQhg7qLmRMys/s1600/IMG_20150924_093209046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkQtNBD2iKwKniQD5N6fpBiLjXmasIj19N7WFP-igYIKiW5m_zKuB2qGQKCfILvgjq0X7ueqDyHe9s9E3ERDwSBESH-TBbceCSXoEtzO2_kStrCPJGrmwOWpZuLahZe_IHQhg7qLmRMys/s320/IMG_20150924_093209046.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still together after 2500...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5Z0Ijp0n8MLcqRwPN53yxlcej1OvaLaOC8tGpquGw7KrA_Aa2IiIMVTm7mB2I5v1hdJOabIutlsFJ0UY6eCPs6J5a_KT8QJ2JFzm41QU-83HGS5EnkMKdXA6TjmDJK-lIuTmi7AG-34/s1600/IMG_1448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5Z0Ijp0n8MLcqRwPN53yxlcej1OvaLaOC8tGpquGw7KrA_Aa2IiIMVTm7mB2I5v1hdJOabIutlsFJ0UY6eCPs6J5a_KT8QJ2JFzm41QU-83HGS5EnkMKdXA6TjmDJK-lIuTmi7AG-34/s320/IMG_1448.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See? I told you the first 2500 miles would be worth it!!</td></tr>
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Then the trail started to deteriorate. And how. I would say this section, from approximately mile 2510 to 2532 were the most difficult hiking along the entire trail. Not kidding. There were a few reasons for this. First, the trail appeared to have been all but abandoned. Lots of logs across the trail. Lots of trail washouts. Lots of overgrowth in the trail. There had been almost no trail maintenance here it seemed. Then, it started raining. And boy did it rain. It's a good thing we had our rain pants! Also, this section was really steep. This is one of the more remote sections that goes around the west side of Glacier Peak.<br />
It turns out, this section <i>has</i> been abandoned! Not intentionally, but two or three major storms since 2003 have made it difficult to do trail maintenance on this remote section. <br />
Check out this write-up about the trail from the PCTA.<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_683483744"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.pcta.org/2015/glacier-peak-wilderness-finally-ready-for-project-planning-35623/">http://www.pcta.org/2015/glacier-peak-wilderness-finally-ready-for-project-planning-35623/</a><br />
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Considering the challenge to repair, we were lucky to have trail at all!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGqdHd8nzyKur6Kz1jgC8sxWTLjUHeDuS9gT_Gp6qUapqJXxhVsOYPlHp_Bh1b0kqCNkeXbtMHJ3vy47eQyQ4yMU6KdSjiwL71t2EApd0EDc6v3q_UF6onNhWY0weTSiYWIpKrxuQ0EU/s1600/IMG_1454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGqdHd8nzyKur6Kz1jgC8sxWTLjUHeDuS9gT_Gp6qUapqJXxhVsOYPlHp_Bh1b0kqCNkeXbtMHJ3vy47eQyQ4yMU6KdSjiwL71t2EApd0EDc6v3q_UF6onNhWY0weTSiYWIpKrxuQ0EU/s320/IMG_1454.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the easier log crossings - good thing we're short!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrgnsWKzipNeBuYGk6CLKtLdnBJ0Wi9ptM2QuWfvlQOfpgEapg-muggQVAZoV7MMx0zdT1MM1VUa5w-flt69Gh0kZz9A18t3mWr1cmqM08q6sHJLweXWA15FyJsugE0uKKT1rR_b-06w/s1600/IMG_1459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrgnsWKzipNeBuYGk6CLKtLdnBJ0Wi9ptM2QuWfvlQOfpgEapg-muggQVAZoV7MMx0zdT1MM1VUa5w-flt69Gh0kZz9A18t3mWr1cmqM08q6sHJLweXWA15FyJsugE0uKKT1rR_b-06w/s320/IMG_1459.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kennedy Creek? This was one of the better spots....</td></tr>
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(Day 166, Sept 25th. Mile 2515.3-2532.7; hiked 17.4 miles in the rain)<br />
Did I mention the trail was steep? According to Halfmile, the difficult 17-mile day from Fire creek to Vista creek we hiked uphill 5400' and downhill 7065' ! Did I also mention that the downhill hiking is what really hurts Robin's knee? This was the day Starboard needed a little extra boost to her Ibuprofen dose. Modern medicine is amazing. She was a much happier hiker when she was pain free.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuag2Br9yt8ButNdditQytsNueLfqs4kGsORIxasHfb6AGKM1SvoQdnQw5616BF_6R7PhrglZcQhKBLjxQ1AKAtzol_VommMWpBJ9wz1ulTbqG9n4g4sPRpiVvE7w_izUMKF5JzShWEPo/s1600/IMG_20150925_083046167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuag2Br9yt8ButNdditQytsNueLfqs4kGsORIxasHfb6AGKM1SvoQdnQw5616BF_6R7PhrglZcQhKBLjxQ1AKAtzol_VommMWpBJ9wz1ulTbqG9n4g4sPRpiVvE7w_izUMKF5JzShWEPo/s320/IMG_20150925_083046167.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the rain on Fire Creek Pass</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4GIWFRTBLlxupnL3gGBnr2YkMYg4gwava8kYouBObOcdJtdfCyLJAjyVulGllMh2jxDZXDHpZeOFNIKr-nw0jps5a1A380XW5V2CQXMiOfy-uvuX6Zp8vw_HJkoVukIHpVX37-5SpQQ/s1600/IMG_1490.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4GIWFRTBLlxupnL3gGBnr2YkMYg4gwava8kYouBObOcdJtdfCyLJAjyVulGllMh2jxDZXDHpZeOFNIKr-nw0jps5a1A380XW5V2CQXMiOfy-uvuX6Zp8vw_HJkoVukIHpVX37-5SpQQ/s320/IMG_1490.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dropping down from Fire Creek Pass toward Mica Lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the view at Milk Creek</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tra la la la la-ing in the rain, descending to Vista Creek</td></tr>
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The next night we camped at Vista creek and immediately the trail improved. It was like night and day how much nicer the trail was.<br />
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(Day 167, Sept 26th. Mile 2532.7 - 2554.6; hiked 21.9 miles)<br />
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This was clearly the latest stopping point of the trail maintenance crew. It's amazing how much our pace quickened by the expertly repaired trail. And the bridge over the Suiattle river was amazing. In fact, we had a rare patch of sunshine on the bridge, and I stayed an extra 45 minutes after Starboard left from our morning break to let the tent dry out in the patch of sun. Wise decision too, as we had another cold damp night after hiking through some snow over Suiattle Pass. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drying out the tent, Suiattle River Bridge PCT</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4sl0WPWDNRWKqHyv4AKOd00CPXGLUKI-mTtq_TrQ_Xu3Gk5UsB0Qpl-arX8-M5pnb91IFMMhTWeudqS5SdznCwUp88ULf8_W-wHRRTJ4nbET10kdTgG2bphGPGJqupS0x_x-CvDWKzOE/s1600/IMG_1544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4sl0WPWDNRWKqHyv4AKOd00CPXGLUKI-mTtq_TrQ_Xu3Gk5UsB0Qpl-arX8-M5pnb91IFMMhTWeudqS5SdznCwUp88ULf8_W-wHRRTJ4nbET10kdTgG2bphGPGJqupS0x_x-CvDWKzOE/s320/IMG_1544.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">North of Suiattle Pass</td></tr>
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And we met Pistol Pete the Porcupine. Followed him down the trail for almost thirty minutes too. He didn't really like us hiking behind him, and everytime we would get a little too close he would speed up and waddle down the trial. Let me just say that's it's hilarious watching a porcupine try to run down the trail! At one point, we decided we should go off trail and try to get ahead of the slow moving beast. But he was way smarter than us and cut the switchback first! Danggit! Then we saw an opportunity to get ahead again if we went cross-country to the trail. So off we went, scrambling through the wet brush and rocks. Just before we made it back onto the trail, there goes Pete, ambling by ahead of us! Danggit again! That guy was way smarter than we were and we resigned ourselves to being stuck behind him for as long as he stayed on the trail. We didn't want to get stickered by his quills!<br />
Luckily, he finally got tired of us following and he wandered off the trail and up into the moraine rocks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTL73HvaE3i8aJuNaoPJ_ZpcXfGqwtUtQFGx28MTnpk6zNidpuho9ECWKuivaxBfophQfS13ib_IkOiAFN5JoMagBlvzpncySrU_otkwBj7cyohNa0bwJsPqZbQBEsl-kzZWSzCkSqZ2c/s1600/IMG_20150926_164322731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTL73HvaE3i8aJuNaoPJ_ZpcXfGqwtUtQFGx28MTnpk6zNidpuho9ECWKuivaxBfophQfS13ib_IkOiAFN5JoMagBlvzpncySrU_otkwBj7cyohNa0bwJsPqZbQBEsl-kzZWSzCkSqZ2c/s320/IMG_20150926_164322731.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chasin' Pistol Pete the Porcupine</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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(Day 168, Sept 27th Mile 2554.6-2574.3; hiked 19.7 miles)<br />
Cold in the morning, but another pretty day. We somehow found a wallet on the trail. We would not have seen it, but it was sitting on a log in an established campsite and it was lunchtime so we stopped to get water and eat lunch. After rummaging through the wallet we determined it was nobody we knew. We decided to carry it because even if we never found the owner, leaving it in the middle of nowhere in the wilderness didn't seem like a great option. Also, the ID showed a Seattle address and we guessed that at the very minimum we might be able to deliver it home after we finished the trail. <br />
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There's a funny little conundrum in the North Cascades National Park. You are required to have a permit to camp in the park. This is nothing new to us as we spend lots of time in National parks. As PCT thru-hikers, we sadly see a lot of hikers who feel entitled to do whatever they want because of the scope of their adventure. So getting an extra permit to camp in the Park can be seen as a burden. Yet, the PCT long distance permit covers most of the permitted areas of the trail. It does not cover this park though. So a PCT hiker must leave the trail and go into Stehekin to the Ranger station to obtain a permit.<br />
Here's the problem with that. From the South Boundary of North Cascades National Park to the North Boundary of the park is 16 miles. Stehekin is near the South boundary. If you go into Stehekin, you are likely to stay the night there as it's a good place to stop, rest and resupply. At this point, most hikers can easily hike more than 16 miles in a day. Probably more like 20-25 miles. So if you want to skip Stehekin (like we did), you want to hike past Stehekin and possibly camp in the park. But logistically it might not make sense to camp at the south boundary (Stehekin basically) and then hike through the park. Likely, you'll end up in the middle of the park somewhere and be wanting to camp. Say, you might be at your 22 miles for the day, but only around mile six of the park's 16 miles. So you would have to go into Stehekin to get a camping permit. But to go into Stehekin, you would have to catch the bus. This would cost time and money. Like, hours of time. The bus only runs a few times during the day. And the ranger station is only open for limited hours. So catching the right bus to get to the ranger station and catching another bus back to the trail might be very difficult. And if you're in town anyway, you might as well camp there. And then you wouldn't need a camping permit because you'd walk through the park the next day! So going into town to get the permit turns out to be quite a burden for the PCT thru-hiker. Anyway, petty thru-hiker problems. We always try to do the right thing and follow the rules. And we're more than happy to give the National Parks our money. We were a little bummed out that this one small section was such a logistical burden to follow the rules. I realize how busy this park is in the summer and I hope we didn't displace any other hopeful campers! (we had the place to ourselves....)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">North Cascades National Park</td></tr>
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(Day 169, Sept 28th, Mile 2574.3 - 2588.9, hiked 14.6 miles, Happy Birthday Mom!)<br />
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And great news! Starboard's family indeed got the message about us possibly being late to the trailhead. Luckily, Starboard's dad was smart enough to ignore our suggestions and decided to just wait for us at the trailhead, no matter if we were 12 or 24 hours late. He met us at the trailhead with cold beer and our travel van ready to take us to Winthrop for KOA camping - a real step-up for us trail trash!! woohoo! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good Time, Starboard and Trail Angel George, Rainy Pass</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the Van</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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We made it! We didn't run out of fuel and Starboard suffered through the pain like a rock star. It was definitely a challenging section of the trail and we determined it was finally time for a day off. Rest the knee. Recharge and relax and psyche ourselves up for the final push to Canada.<br />
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Alas, it was not to be. The weather forecast was too good and we couldn't afford to take a day off.......</div>
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(Just a short note for those of you following along at home - somewhere along the line, our day count was messed up and we fell a day behind the actual count of days on trail. We started April 13th, and so indeed September 28th was our 169th day since starting. There's probably a few numbers that don't match up somewhere in the blog. It's not easy to remember what day it is in the wilderness!)</div>
Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-56936641229340882122015-11-18T13:02:00.002-08:002015-11-18T13:02:47.601-08:00Washington - onwards to Steven's Pass<br />
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<b>If you do not like profanity, then please do not read my blog. Thanks!!! </b><br />
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<b>September 19th - Mile 2404.8 to 2426.1, 21.2 miles </b><br />
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Continuing North towards our next stop in Stevens Pass, the weather returned to rain. First mist, then rain, rain, rain. It was thickly forested. I was mistaken all those years thinking that if I just made it past the day-hiking turnaround point, I would get to stay in Mountain Shangri-la just like when hiking in the Rockies, or High Sierra. Washington always takes you straight back down to the f'ing forests...<br />
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From here, we really started setting up the tent early, 6:30. This night was because we wanted a break from camping with people, so stopped at Spade Creek, but the writing was on the wall, and had been for awhile...We were no longer going to hike late into the night. 6-6:30 pm was to become our norm, and we stopped fighting it.<br />
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<b>September 20th</b> - <b>Mile 2426.1 to 2447.3, 21.2 miles</b> <br />
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Exact words from my journal - "Rains all fucking day, holy shit. Grant hilariously tries to dry rain fly at top of a pass. God he's funny! Grant doesn't cry too much, but does fucking suck today. Feel bad for ultralight hiker ____, she only has a gargage bag for rain gear. Holy shit, ok goodnight"<br />
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There were all these day hikers, coming in from who knows where, and I could help but feel sorry for them. Work all week, then have to hike in this crap, then paste a smile on their faces as if it's great. We don't think it's fun hiking in the rain. It sucks.<br />
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<b>September 21 - Mile 2447.3 to 2461.6, 14.3 miles, Stevens Pass</b><br />
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Way back while we were in Snoqualmie Pass, I told my dad we would arrive at Stevens Pass at 2pm. Well, we were only 15 minutes late. Pushed through wet, steep terrain, but the rain had eased (still, everything wet, cold, steep) We were 15 minutes late. Not bad! Dad pulled through for us with burritos, and we convinced him to stay the night with us in Leavenworth. The hotel we settled on was really crappy, grant and I could not get our shit together, and in the end we were too exhausted to go out for dinner, so grocery store food it was....We are not doing this right. No days off, we were to hike in the morning<br />
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<b> </b>Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-71316276201684975272015-11-18T12:42:00.002-08:002015-11-18T12:44:22.622-08:00Washington - Leaving Snoqualmie PassOk, well, truth be told, I am suffering from post-hike depression right now. That coupled with Western Washington's infamous shitty, cold, dark, rainy weather and being alone, I'm not in a good place. One way it has manifested itself is in my refusal to write or even reflect much on what I have accomplished, thru-hiking the 2,650ish mile Pacific Crest Trail. So I'm forcing myself to sit down, and at least write something today...Here I go.<br />
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<b><a href="http://instagram.com/grantrobintravel/">Instagram </a></b><br />
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<b>Washington Continued:</b><br />
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September 18th - Snoqualmie Pass - Mile 2390.9 to 2404.8<br />
13.9 miles<br />
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Woke up in the condo, tried our best to get it together. Diana took us to the trailhead where a group of people we knew, Cobain, Geisha, etc... were about to hit the trail too. We offered them beer, and they happily accepted. We said goodbye to Diana, then sat at the Picnic table with that crew while they ate lunch and we drank another beer. Grant and I finally started hiking at 1130.<br />
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I had high hopes about this section of trail. this was the only part of the PCT in Washington I had ever hiked, and only about 5 miles of it to Kendall Catwalk. I told Cobain that I had looked out at the mountains and had always wanted to just keep going, enter into the heart of the mountain range, instead of always having to turn back around to the roar of I90 and the drive home. So it was really nice to walk across Kendall Catwalk, and then keep going!!!<br />
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Years ago, I had been hiking to Red's Pass and the Commonwealth Basin, which also shares part of the PCT before veering off to the right, when I ran into an fast hiker, probably in his early 60's. He asked me if he was getting close to "the lake" and I told him I didn't know about a lake (I was only using day hiking guidebooks at that point and didn't think about going beyond the suggested routes), so I asked him if in fact he was trying to go somewhere else, like the Commonwealth Basin where I was going. He huffed "NO!!! PCT!!! GOD!" and ran down the trail. That was the first Thru-hiker, and he was a total dick....But I digress, so I kept going and made it to "the lake" Ridge Lake!<br />
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Ridge Lake was very pretty, and there were a ton of day hikers veering off to desperately eat their lunches. There were people talking about keeping their energy up, an older man trying to make his adult son eat a lot more than he wanted for the big 6 miles back to the car, etc... I couldn't help but have evil thoughts about how funny it was that they were all so desperate for food when they weren't even working that hard. I don't know why, considering how obsessed with food I was at that point, that I found it funny how obsessed with food everybody else is too.<br />
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We kept going leaving the crowds behind, climbing up up up. The scenery was stunning, but soon it became clear that we were walking around a bowl, and the view towards I90 was never going to change! Water was scarse, so I was quizzing the occasional weekend backpacker about future water sources...Leading to much confusion, though we got pretty good intel. Towards the end of the day, right before finally cresting the ridge to the other side, we ran into a Goat. This old billy goat would not freaking get off the trail....He just kept slowly walking down the trail. We didn't want to get too close as it was a very steep drop off, and goats have been known to be pretty aggressive. Finally, we were yelling at the old goat, cmon, get off the freaking trail GOAT!!!! he finally scurried up above the trail, but we still had to pass pretty close to him in order to continue on. We ran into the Cobain crew, and they had had a similar experience minutes before, and had named him Gary. Then we heard another hiker yelling "Hey guys!!! look up, I'm like 2 feet away from this goat!!!" I'm guessing Gary the Goat is the most photographed goat in the wilderness considering how close he likes to hang out with hikers.<br />
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We kept going, found a nice trickle of a stream, and decided to hang it up a little early since we had found that unexpected nice water. Just as we were setting up camp, our friend Heather rolled in, so we all camped together, rain threatening.<br />
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It was nice to keep going, I loved Gary the Goat. Short day, but hey, no zeros!<br />
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<br />Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-29533066974990241092015-10-17T14:19:00.001-07:002015-10-17T14:19:32.646-07:00PCT - Washington Part I - Cascade Locks to Snoqualmie PassHi all, not to ruin the secret, but We've finished the hike!!! I'm still going to fill you in on Washington though...<br />
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<b>Washington Part I - Cascade Locks to Snoqualmie Pass </b>- Mile 2144.2 to 2390.7, 246.5 miles <br />
September 6th -17th, 12 days, no zeros!<br />
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We left Cascade Locks September 6th, not super early, but not too late. We took our sweet time crossing bridge of the Gods, with mom stalking us in her car across to Washington. Lots of pictures, lots of hugs goodbye to mom, several celebration PBR's for making it to our home state, and finally we were walking...<br />
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The first day up was damp and raining despite a forecast for sun. Welcome to Washington. It was also steep, but not as bad as we feared considering we were climbing from near sea level up to something like 5,000 feet (don't quote me on that). Water remained challenging. The topography was steep, thickly forested with dense underbrush, so finding a campsite outside of what Halfmile and Guthook offered was off the table. We got to a campsite at a watersource at 1830 having "only" hiked 20.7 miles. This was the earliest we had camped in a long, long time, perhaps ever, but would become the norm in Washington.<br />
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For the next 80 miles to Trout Lake the hiking continued to be steep and thickly covered in trees, with only occasional peek-a-boo views. We managed to do a two 25+ mile days, therefore making a quick in and out of Trout lake a possiblity.<br />
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We arrived at the highway to Trout Lake in the morning of September 9th, having hiked 11 miles, to see a large group of hikers crowded around a huge RV. The RV owner was the father of one fo the hikers we had not met, and he had picked all these kids up, let them camp with him at the RV park, cooked them all burgers, and gave them all the beer they could drink, then gave them a ride back to the trailhead. We were all cheering because they had just opened up the trail through Mt Adams literally hours earlier. We were all so excited to get to hike, and then after he took lots of pictrures, he offered Grant and I a ride to town. Woo hoo. I had been dreaming of getting a hitch in an RV this whole trip, and they made my dreams come true. He even gave us beers for the short ride to town!!!!!!<br />
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Trout Lake was great, very friendly wonderful people. We ate a lot of food, drank some beers, had a huckleberry milkshake, grabbed some supplies, and were promptly offered a ride back to the trailhead by local superhero trail angel Gary. He had a couch in the back of his pickup truck just for hikers. The ladies all sat in the cab while the hiker trash boys clambored into the back.<br />
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Gary had been giving hikers a ride around the fire closue for a few months, about 5 hours roundtrip for him, and there were several who were getting that same ride today. We told them the trail was open. They said they knew, but that they hadn't planned on that many days of food. Hello! We got our ride from the grocery store!!! Really? These are the types who drove me nuts, not here to hike, but only to party, and this, in my humble opinion, was a gross abuse of the niceness of the trail angel. The trail is open. Hike the trail assholes. Oh yes, I know about "hike your own hike" but this is the sort of trail angel abuse that has made us the most hated class of hikers ever, and will quickly burn these nice souls out.<br />
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Back on trail, we met our first long distance horse rider of the trail. She showed me footage of her riding to the top of Forrester Pass. Seems crazy. Her horse was pretty awesome, but I don't like horses on the trail (yes I know it's an "equestrian" trail). Most of the riders we ran across on the PCT didn't know their asses from their elbows yet took their skittish, untrained horses onto one of the most popular trails in America...And they destroy the trail. The riders on Wyoming trails are so much better, I guess because they are real working horses/riders where these are a lot of rich joyriders? But I digress...<br />
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We hiked through burn areas from recent years fires, and got views of this years damage. Mt Adams was great! It was cold. And then we made it to Goat Rocks Wilderness...<br />
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Goat Rocks Wilderness, for once, lived up to it's hype. Ciscpus Pass was gorgeous. We took a million photographs thinking that was it. I was thinking, this was nice, but not as big as I thought it would be. Just as I thought we were going to head back into the never ending trees again, we discovered the rest. Stunning. The knifes' edge was crazy!!! So hard. The day went on forever, in a good way. We took our time, enjoying our long-lost mountain scenery, scenery we hadn't really had since the High Sierras. There were goats at goat rocks. Tons of them!!! I didn't want them to head butt me off the knife edge, so I was scared. Baby goats, old billy goats, goats galore!!!! Awesome. We survived the Goats.<br />
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We didn't make it as far as we planned on before camping, which was great because we found a far better site not listed on our Apps, with incredible sunset views of Mt Ranier, water, and views of our magical alpine mountain wonderaland we got to spend the day in. It was fleeting, as it was only a day, but it was a full f'ing day of sunfilled magic. Yay Goat Rocks.<br />
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Back in the trees....<br />
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We made it to White Pass September 12th where Mom and Dad met us. Mom got us a nice room in a budget type place in Packwood, where the owner kindly did our laundry for free. She saw how dirty our socks were and decided to do those in their own load. I was really grossed out for her....<br />
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Packwood, unfortunately, really really really sucked for food for me. The pizza was nearly inedible. I hit the trail the next morning literally crying because I hadn't had good food, and I was so very hungry. I kid you not, I was crying about food, tears rolling down my cheeks, screaming and shaking my fist. Oh the humanity.<br />
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By day two, I was less upset about my hunger, back in the swing of my trail food. Mmm....sour cream and onion potato chips again! Lucky me!!!<br />
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White Pass to Snoqualmie Pass was, in a word, not worth it outside of a thru-hike. Lots of hunters, lots of trees. The highlight was that at Chinook Pass, my friend Gene met us to hike with us a little bit. That part was pretty. He hiked so fast, we could barely keep up! It was so freaking cold that day. We met him at 9am, with a little hiccup, and sat in his car for two hours drinking coffee, beer and eating homemade zuccini bread. Gene subtly suggested that maybe we should actually hike that day :) We did. He dragged us by our ears up the hill, then we said goodbye, and kept hiking. We made it 23.3 miles that day, despite our long morning break. We also missed our water source by .3 miles. I decided I wasn't likely to die if I kept hiking, so in the end hiked 23.3 miles on only 1.25 liters of water...and a couple of beers :) I was thirsty, but not even close to real dehydration. I mean, it was even snowing on us at times, so yeah, not the desert.<br />
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We continued to average the low mid 20's for mileage until Snoqualmie Pass. We camped about 6 miles away with our friend Heather. That was I think our second or third night camping with her, and she remains the only person we purposefully and happily camped with, and for that many days, like for the whole trail. Wow!<br />
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At Snoqualmie Pass, our friend Diana arrived with our requested Vietnemese sandwiches, our resupply boxes, and a free place to stay. She stayed with us that night, as it was a little too far to walk from all the stuff we needed (restaurants and bars), but we had a blast at Trivia Night at the brand new brewery.<br />
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She did make us hike in the morning....She had shit to do back in the real world.<br />
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Stats:<br />
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Sept 6th, Day 147 - Mile 2144.1 to 2164.8 = 20.7 miles Elevation Change +5169/-3923<br />
Sept 7th, Day 148 - Mile 2164.8 to 2190.6 = 25.8 miles Elevation Change +6878/-4817<br />
Sept 8th, Day 149 - Mile 2190.6 to 2216.2 = 25.6 miles Elevation Change +3236/-2897<br />
Sept 9th, Day 150 - Mile 2216.2 to 2232.1 = 15.9 miles (Trout Lake) Elev. Change +3723/-1983<br />
Sept 10th, Day 151 - Mile 2232.1 to 2255.7 = 23.6 miles Elevation Change +2525/-2904<br />
Sept 11th, Day 152 - Mile 2255.7 to 2277 = 21.3 miles (Goat Rocks!) Elev Change +4452/-3494<br />
Sept 12th, Day 153 - Mile 2277 to 2292.4 = 15.4 miles (White Pass) Elev Change +2411/-4237<br />
Sept 13th, Day 154 - Mile 2292.4 to2316 = 23.6 miles Elevation Change +4017/-3058<br />
Sept 14th, Day 155 - Mile 2316 to 2339.3 = 23.3 miles (hike with Gene) Elev Change +4044/-3863<br />
Sept 15th, Day 156 - Mile 2339.3 to 2363.3 = 24.0 miles Elevation Change +3903/-5728<br />
Sept 16th, Day 157 - Mile 2363.3 to 2385.2 - 21.9 miles Elevation Change +5222/-5066<br />
Sept 17th, Day 158 - Mile 2385.2 to 2390.9 = 5.7 miles (plus some) Elevation Change +737/-1600<br />
Snoqualmie Pass, not a zero.<br />
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<br />Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-91789941052639749122015-09-05T09:58:00.002-07:002015-09-05T09:58:40.057-07:00OregonHi Everybody, long time no type :)<br />
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Since I last wrote, we have finished Oregon, sort of. I am sitting at a hotel computer in Cascade Locks drinking a cuppa coffee generally enjoying not being on trail for the day.<br />
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We left Ashland with high hopes and big fears about the fire burning in Crater Lake National Park. We made it to the highway to a popular stopover for hikers at fishlake (like, how many "fish lakes" are there in the world!) and word was that the trail was finally closed. That was our last highway before the park, so we spent a few hours hemming and hawing about having Grant's sister pick us up. In the end we decided to push on. Sure enough, the trail was closed as well as the North Entrance Road to the Park. We then spent hours working out our own detour to the East Side of Crater Lake on roads through the neighboring national forest, with input from a few other brave souls. It looked pretty solid except for a 30-mile waterless stretch. Even with that, multiple calls to the National Forest office yielded no clear answer as to whether the one water source, a river, was actually running or not. It added about 25 miles, i.e. an extra day, plus all that water to carry, and added lot of fear of water sources being, and fear of what 50 miles of road walking would do to my knees, feet, and joints. I cried a lot, fought with grant a bunch, drank a lot of beer, but in the end decided against the detour. We got a ride from a trail angel around the fire detour, therefore ending what I was calling my "thru-hike". It was the first time we missed a section of trail, 27 miles, and was devastating, though not as devastating as the people, some very close, who were actually being effected by the fires, and the fire fighters who died in Washington fighting the fires. We are just walking, after all, so what does it all mean anyways?<br />
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Half the trail up in Washington was also closed due to devastating wildfires, and that aided my resolve to skip that section, as the prospects of finishing the hike at all were pretty bleak.<br />
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Mt Thielson was a nice break from the monotony of the forest walking of Southern Oregon, then we hit Bend, spending three days with Grant's sister. That flew by. We walked around the Sisters, through gorgeous lava fields and obsidian flows. Amazing. All this then turned to rain. Great for the fires, but bad for us, because we had made it to the West side of the mountains, i.e. the rainy side of the mountains, and all the Pacific Northwest people know, it doesn't just rain, it rains, and rains, and rains, all day long, all night long, for days. Well...we don't have the gear for that. One day we only hiked 8 miles, crossed an extremely dangerous stream, and had to quit hiking. It was awful. We put the tent up, shivering out of our wet clothing, and spent 6 hours trying to warm up. Hot water bottles in the sleeping bag, hot meals, etc...By the time we ate dinner, we were warm, but it continued to rain, and it was too late to hike any more. Putting on wet clothing the next day was awful, but we bolstered by the fact that we were able to look up a forecast an know it would be sunny that day.<br />
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Now a full day behind meeting my mom and neighbor in Cascade Locks, my neighbor had to cancel coming down to Cascade Locks. However we were able to text her with some new gear requests, and she up and decided to meet us in Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood with all our new gear she bought us. It was awesome!!! Pack covers, new rain jacket for Grant, RAIN PANTS!!!! GLOVES!!!!! SOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good thing too, because the next day it rained on and off all day, but we were finally warm. THANKS DIANA!!!!<br />
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So that brings us to Cascade Locks. Mom made it, we are taking a zero against our neighbor's good advice :) Several friends have abandoned their thru-hike attempt here, but we just ran in to some other friends continuing on, and gotten work of several others ahead, so we will continue.<br />
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I left my journal in Bend, so no daily stats. We are hiking a shit-ton of miles every day though, except town days, and rain days. Wish us continued luck.<br />
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pictures on <a href="http://instagram.com/grantrobintravel/">instagram</a>Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-90506794132770507212015-08-14T17:45:00.003-07:002015-08-14T17:45:29.138-07:00Day 112 to 122 - Mt Shasta to Ashland, FINISH CALIFORNIA!!!Hello Everybody,<br />
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Well, the big news is we finished California!!! I am very proud of us as we thru hiked the whole thing, every step around all fire closure detours, everything. You can trace a continuous path for almost 1700 miles, over 1700 miles when you include our climb of Mt Whitney, and trip over Kearsarge Pass to resupply. We are pretty damn proud of ourselves, but have more to go.<br />
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The bad news is is that there is a fire ahead near Crater Lake. The alternate route along the Crater Lake Rim Trail is still open but the official PCT is closed, so for now our plans aren't changing there, however the fire could move east and close our trail. We will cross that bridge when we come to it, which is in five days. <br />
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The other bad news is that literally half of Washington State is closed due to fires. Put it to you this way, the re-routes around fire closures are now closed due to fires. It's looking pretty grim. But what can we do but take it day by day and see what happens?<br />
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As for this last section leaving Mt Shasta, fires were also the name of the game. We were never in danger of wildfires, but the smoke from a ton of fires in the Trinity Alps area gave our lungs a run for their money for about five days. It wasn't that much fun as we couldn't see anything through the smoke, in the near distance anyways, and the smoke was a little irritating. For two days we were moderately nervous that we maybe were in danger and perhaps didn't know where the fires were afterall, but interstingly none of the other hikers seemed concerned. One even said that since he is a smoker, it didn't bother him at all!!! Holy crap. But we made it to a few road crossings with no closures, saw no rangers (and it's a hugely popular trail if you haven't noticed) and saw tons of weekend warriors, so we decided there was no real danger, and only mild irritation, and soldiered on. However, like I said, there were a few days where we really couldn't see the views through the smoke, but we have heard that the Trinity Alps and Russian Wilderness are beautiful. Maybe we will come back some day. I will say this, the sunsets were really cool. We hiked into the night most nights to get bigger miles in and for water sources, and the light was really eerie through the smoke. Kind of fun right?<br />
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The other theme of this section was that we were killing it with miles in order to get back on "schedule" and meet Trail Angel Nancy in Ashland on time. I somehow miscalculated the ETA (I think coming up with it based on the California/Oregon Border, not including the extra 20+ miles to Ashland). Once mom made hotel reservations, I realized my mistake, and decided the only way to make it would be to skip Etna, one of the best towns on trail, and carry 8 days of food instead. That made the steep climb out of Castle Crags (Mt Shasta) very painful. Our muscles ached, more blisters appeared, and I feared injury. But it was worth it in the end. We killed it with the miles, arriving several hours ahead of schedule.<br />
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Speaking of killing it with the miles, once we were in range of Seiad Valley, I decided I desperately needed a meal. For days my thoughts were consumed with thoughts of food, literally all day I could think nothing else but food. I even began singing Oliver's "Food Glorious Food" song to myself. So, waking up at 0515, as usual, and hiking by 0610, I decided we could definitely run the 17.5 miles to Seiad Valley before 2pm when the only cafe in town closed. Oh, I should mention the trail passes right through town, following about 6-7 miles of road walking, so not out of the way. At any rate, we made it by 1245. Yes, 17.5 miles in about 6 1/2 hours. Woo hoo. After eating food and milkshakes, we grabbed a box of beer and went to the RV park to shower and do laundry. We figured it would hard enough for mom to see how skinny we'v gotten, let alone be overwhelmed by what 9-10 days without a shower/laundry looks and smells like.<br />
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So not only did we run that far for food, we managed to drink beer, do laundry, hang out with friends, shower, resupply AND LEAVE!!!! We made it 2.5 more miles down the trail that same day, putting us light years ahead of schedule. Yay us. Grant and I are terrible at getting in and out of town, which is why we skipped Etna, so this is a bigger miracle that that morning's big miles, perhaps the biggest miracle of the whole trip.<br />
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Ok, so, wish us luck. We will need it. I don't know what we will do about Washington, but for now we will keep on truckin. If you want to see what we are dealing with, we get our information from the PCTA.org trail closures page. It's mind boggling trying to wrap our heads around what the hell is going on up there, but basically, Mt Adams is off and on closed, then basically from Stevens Pass North to the Canadian border is basically closed. We'll see.<br />
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Daily Stats:<br />
Day 112 - mile 1498.7 to 1514.0, 15.3 miles - got out of Mt Shasta a little later than planned (as usual), steep climb up out of the valley<br />
Day 113 - Mile 1514.0 to 1537.2, 23.2 miles - long hard day, many new blisters for Grant<br />
Day 114 - Mile 1537.2 to 1562.4, 25.2 miles - smoke increases, no trail closures signs at hwy 3<br />
Day 115 - Mile 1562.4 to 1588.1, 25.7 miles - slow going, uphill all day, seems like, hike well after dark to get a flat spot to camp.<br />
Day 116 - Mile 1588.1 to 1611.5, 23.8 miles - still smokey, can't see anything<br />
Day 117 - Mile 1611.5 to 1636.1, 24.6 miles - a little less smokey, short section that reminded us of the Idaho side of the Tetons, better mood. Decide in the morning to get up super early to run to Seiad Valley, then in evening give up<br />
Day 118 - Mile 1636.1 to 1655.9, 19.8 miles. up at 0515 as usual, decide to run for the Seiad Cafe before they close afterall. Make it. Less than 1,000 miles to go!!! Almost 20 miles despite 6 hours off during the day doing laundry, eating, shower, drinking beer. Dang!<br />
Day 119 - Mile 1655.9 to 1680.7, 24.8 miles, so hard, crazy old destitute man near the spring. Yikes. so happy to have the life I have.<br />
Day 120 - Mile 1680.7 to Oregon Border 1689.2!!! onwards to mile 1703.6, 22.9 miles - WOO HOO!!!! WE FINISHED CALIFORNIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
Day 121 - Mile 1703.6 to 1716.4, 12.8 miles - Ashland, Mom, food, beer<br />
Day 122 - Zero in Ashland<br />
Day 123 - another Zero in Ashland<br />
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pictures on <a href="http://instagram.com/grantrobintravel/">instagram</a>Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-90999215032319011602015-08-02T16:39:00.001-07:002015-08-14T16:45:54.796-07:00Days 106 thru 111 - Burney to Mt Shasta<div dir="ltr">
Got a late start leaving Burney, as usual, but hey, at least it wasn't a zero! Mailed my puffy ahead to ashland and sent my camera home, as I have forever lost my charging cord plus a ton of pictures from early on the trip plus years of pictures before. It's awful, but I think a lot of it is on my computer at home, and we have lots of pictures from grant's camera and our phones so not a total loss, but still makes me want to throw up a little...as usual, I meant to back up the full sd card but never found time in towns or it wasn't available, and I kept forgetting to mail it home. That's the way it goes, but I guess that's the good thing about social media and blogging.</div>
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Hiked to Burney Falls State Park. Wasn't feeling it with the hiker trash. We have gotten stuck in a vortex of people we really do not like or connect with, kids that are waaayyyy too trashy, druggy (and I'm not talking smoking dope or doing a little this or that...way overboard), or just something about them that isn't right. It sucks having all your friends ahead or behind you, and also having no isolation on trail. I am in total disbelief on how many people are still on trail! But there are still bright spots, some truly wonderful people as well, but we do seem to be in a vortex of evil bubble right now :( oh wait maybe it's us!</div>
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It's been hot, well into the 100's, which is quite difficult to deal with. There has been a lot of tree coverage, so not burning like in the desert, but pretty awful.</div>
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Grant turned 40 on trail. I tried to throw him a trail party. A little sad as there was literally nobody we knew on trail to share the fun with, plus it was one of those 103+ days, but I managed to surprise grant with a couple of Sierra Nevada Torpedo Pounders which we cooled off in one of our few and far between water sources. Also brought cake, candles, glow sticks, and our Mardi gras beads and lei we were already carrying. Put in a really long, hot 22 mile day because we have to carry on, but managed a few minutes of fun :)</div>
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This trail continued to be filthy, dusty fine dirt coating our feet and legs. The dust comes right through our socks, and the sweat turns it to thick mud which seeps into our pores and the lines in our feet creating a hard clay crust that is impossible to scrub off, not that we had water sources to do that in anyways. When your only water in 12 miles is a small spring forming a tiny pool that you must scoop with a cup, you are not going to stick your feet in it (unless you are an asshole) so we were extremely dirty for a long time, though we tried our best at night to wipe down with wet wipes.</div>
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My socks acquired holes this section, which compounded the clay crust problem.</div>
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Grant got blisters after 800 miles without, probably due to the heat and dirt.</div>
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There are a ton of wild fires and the air is thick with smoke.</div>
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We made it to Mt Shasta and decided on a zero day, our first in 22 days, believe it or not.</div>
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It's not all bad. We are super stoked to be on flatter terrain, walking tons of 20-25 mile days. Looking forward to being done with California, a reality in about 11 days!!! My parents and Grant's friend and his family are visiting in Ashland which we are really really really excited about. We are doing our best to gain our weight back here in Mt Shasta so they are not totally shocked, and are doing pretty well with that. I might have a stress fracture in my left foot, but I will not stop hiking until I am out of California, plus I'm sure it's nothing :)</div>
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Daily stats:</div>
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<b>Day 106</b> - leave burney, mile 1408.8 to 1420.8 plus .7 miles store detour = <b>12.7 miles</b><br />
<b>Day 107</b> - Grant's Birthday!!! Mile 1420.8 to 1442.0 plus .8 for water = <b>22.0 miles</b><br />
<b>Day 108</b> - hot, fing hot. Hot, hot, hot. Mile 1442.0 to 1461.4 plus .3 for water = <b>19.7 miles</b> ( bunch of noisy people camp next to us as no other camping, steep hillside walking for miles)<br />
<b>Day 109</b> - up at 0415, back on the desert "4x8 watch" schedule for hiking. Hot, hot hot, no breaks, hike all day. Mile 1461.4 to 1485.0 = <b>23.6 miles</b><br />
<b>Day 110 </b>- Mt Shasta City mile 1485.0 to 1498.7 = <b>13.7 miles</b><br />
<b>Day 111</b> - <b>Zero</b> Mt Shasta City!!!!!</div>
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Take it easy!</div>
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Pictures on <a href="http://instagram.com/grantrobintravel/">instagram</a></div>
Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-87165691659811683582015-07-28T07:40:00.001-07:002015-07-28T09:15:17.748-07:00Day 88 thru 105<p dir="ltr">Apparently it has been almost three weeks since I posted anything.  I'm not going to lie, its hard to make time to do this especially since we have decided on no more zeros until grant's birthday, which will be in Mt Shasta at the end of the month. We have rmped up our mileage to 20+ per day, and recently more like 23-25 a day. The terrain has flattened out, finally, but not before a few days of hot steep hiking into and out of the feather rivers various forks. Swam in an incredible swimming hole, bit the climb out does not make it worth the hike unless you are thruhiking...well, maybe an overnighter would be fun, what do I know?</p>
<p dir="ltr">I still don't have time to write, my usual refrain. We are in Burney, having nero'd yesterday. Got a new tent here, finally, after an ongoing saga with Big Agnes and REI. Our zippers failed on one door. Big Agnes was pretty unreasonable, suggesting we take a week off trail while we wait for ground shipping so they could repair it, also suggesting that we find a seamstress to repair it, finally offering to sell us a refurbished tent body, and then we could send our broken one back at which point they may or may not reimburse uss based on their arbitrary assessment of whether it was warrntied or not, then possibly minus the cost of repair. Basically a bunch of crap. They have their heads in the sand about the realities of thru hiking.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Next we called rei who were really helpful and from a hot ridgetop we ordered a new one with overnight shipping, planning on returning our broken tent when we get home. Well, of course we were out of service after we left the ridgetop, and a few days later, when we called to check, turns out it was out of stock and would ship a month later, with overnight shipping to a town we would obviously no longer be in. Soooo...uh, no, and I let her know that it was absurd that we weren't told when we ordered that it was out of stock. That got us a 20% off gift card, but still stuck with broken tent. Meanwhile they told us of four stores around the country that had them in stock, none of which actually had them in stock when we called, and all of which would only have shipped ground anyways (hence a call to a friend in Tacoma to pick it up and overnight it for us, a moot point as the store was out and my friend was out of town)</p>
<p dir="ltr">While shopping for a different tent we saw that our tent may be back in stock afterall, a call verified, and we were able to finally order our tent and overnight it to Burney (with the weekend it was actually four days..oh well). Meanwhile on trail the other doors zipper failed, so yeah, just in time. Short of it, we have a new tent!!!! Yay.</p>
<p dir="ltr">OK, hot, triple digit temperatures this week, below are some stats.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Oh, by the way, we blew past the halfway mark!!!! Woo hoo!!!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Day 88 - leave Tahoe, mile 1090.0 to 1101.6, 11.6 miles, desolation wilderness, rain<br>
Day 89 - mile 1101.6 to  1122.1 - 20.5 miles, woman says our lei and Mardi gras beads make her happy<br>
Day 90 - mile 1122.1 to 1142.3 - 20.2 miles Squaw Valley, where I would have met my friend from the Maui, bit he was at sea. We made it late in the day anyways. See a guy we hadn't seen since the first week of the trail! <br>
Day 91 - mile 1142.3 to 1162.4 - 20.1 miles, camped at a spot where somebody had just buried some of her brother's ashes. Left note. Decided he wouldn't mind camping with us.<br>
Day 92 - mile 1162.4 to 1186.2 plus .2 for water getting = 24 miles, ran into old creepy hands first thing in the morning. Old bastard who thought it was reasonable behavior to walk up behind me and start massaging my shoulders without saying anything. What was I supposed to do? Whip around so he got a handful of my breasts too? This was waaay back in Canon Pass best western months before and I've been trying to hike fast to avoid the old bastard ever since. Jerk. Bad mood today for obvious reasons.<br>
Day 93 - 1186.2 to 1195.4 = 9.2 miles Sierra City, new shoes, but they are out of canister fuel, so we wait all day while they try to track some down in the next town. Super nice people, and we finally get out of town that evening, camp by highway, but at least not still in town.<br>
Day 94 - mile 1195.4 to 1214.9 = 19.5 miles - hot uphill, camp in fields of purple flowers<br>
Day 95 - mile 1214.9 to 1236.9 - 22.0 miles see only two other people today<br>
Day 96 - mile 1236.9 to 1257.6 - 20.7 miles , epic swimming hole, also lost a sock, crap!<br>
Day 97, Mike 1257.6 to 1261.0, plus 6.7 Mike buck's lake alternate, mile 1265.4 to 1267.6, minus .3 for bushwacking to road, equals 11 miles. Wtf!? Overstayed bucks lake. Woops<br>
Day 98, mile 1267.6 to 1290.2 - 22.6, Belden, leftover dregs of a rave, awful weird peoe everywhere, stressed out employees, hike out is steep, hike until 1030 pm to get a flat spot to rest. Belden is a bust.<br>
Day 99 - mile 1290.2 to 1311.4 - 21.2 miles<br>
Day 100 - mile 1311.4 to 1328.8 - 17.4 miles - HALFWAY !!! Night in Chester.<br>
Day 101 - mile 1328.8 to 1331.4 - 2.6 miles, nero in Chester, by accident. Took forever to leave, but got another (in stock) tent ordered.<br>
Day 102 - mile 1331.4 to 1355.3 - 23.9 miles, skip Drakesbad resort. Oh well<br>
Day 103 - Mile 1355.3 to 1379.4 plus .8 mile restaurant detour = 24.9 miles, start of hat creek rim section <br>
Day 104 - mile 1379.4 to 1402.4 - 23.5 miles - hot hat creek rim. Yikes!!!<br>
Day 105 - mile 1402.4 to 1408.8 - 6.4 miles, nero in Burney, got our tent!!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Cheers everybody. Photos on <a href="http://Instagram.com/grantrobintravel/">instagram</a></p>
Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-21135524062334296762015-07-08T15:18:00.001-07:002015-07-08T17:12:44.569-07:00Day 72 thru 87- Mammoth Lakes to South Lake Tahoe<p dir="ltr">Leaving mammoth was challenging. We woke up at the campground, got up early, then stopped by the store to drop stuff off at the hiker box. Of course we ran into a friend, Cat Stealins who I hiked with last year on the PCT. That of course delayed us a bit, but we eventually got out of dodge.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The two days it took to get to Tuolomne were challenging but beautiful. Garnet Lake was gorgeous. We did not want to camp at the water's edge, so we climbed up up up past it, hunting for a spot above with a view. We found a fantastic hidden spot just before sunset and had a great view for dinner.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We arrived at Tuolomne meadows in the evening, with varying reports of how late the store would be open. Some kids told us 7pm, so I sent grant running for beer "don't wait for me and don't look back". He made it before 7, whereas I did not, especially since I was stopped by a concerned parent looking for his sons coming off the JMT " excuse me miss, are you off the JMT?" "Yes, but I'm in a hurry (thinking he just wanted to chat)" " have you seen two young men?' "Sir, I have seen thousands of young men on the trail!" Sigh, I couldn't help him, and I was mad at the delay while also ashamed of myself for being impatient. Such is life, but he found them either way. I think asking him where the store was clued him in to looking for his hikers there.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The next morning was a tad challenging to get our boxes as they were overworked and stressed out, somehow mistaking my smiling face and chattiness as being impatient. After he told me to calm down when I thought I was being friendly may have led to an exchange of words as that made me quite unhappy. Anywho, after giving at least half our food away to a destitute hiker, we escaped.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Those last couple of days in Yosemeti were quite beautiful, nice leading to stunning view at the park border, Harriet and Dorothy lakes (grant's mother and maternal grandmothers' names) with more stunning mountains as a backdrop. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Near the end of the section at Sonora Pass, hwy 108, we climbed a very exposed and beautiful ridge. Fear of being scorched by the sun proved to be unfounded as instead we got caught in a huge, awful hail storm, hail so big we were afraid of being knocked out. Hiding in the scrub brush was marginally helpful, but we ended up screaming in pain "f#%$ g'ddammit, f@#$, Aaaaahhhhh!!!!" as we covered our heads with our arms, soaked, cold, and scared.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It finally ended, the landscaped blanketed in white like a snow storm. We ran the rest of the way afraid the storm would start up again, and made it to sonora pass at 6pm, a 19ish mile day, and a day early for meeting our friend.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We called our friend and somehow convinced her to make the two hour drive to get us right then. We met her and her daughter at Kennedy Meadows North after a hitch, hugs all around, dinner, and a long two hour ride back to her house where we had the best zero of the trip. A normal/real life friend, hardly any chores, no hiker trash, good peeps, fuzzy dogs, a picnic and swim in the lake, a beer on the deck while we watched the rain, plus wonderful food her recent high-school graduate awesome daughter made us. Aaahhh, stream of consciousness zero day. Thanks W. And F. !!!!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Back on trail, only making it five miles north with our hangovers turned into about ten hours of solid sleep in our snug little tent home.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The Sonora Pass to hwy 4 section was nice,except for the fourth of July was an all-day rain storm. After trying to hide under trees off and on all afternoon, the rain increased so much we got so cold and nervous it wouldn't stop we finally set up the tent and sat shivering inside. Of course, 15 minutes later the rain finally stopped for good, so we packed up the muddy tent at about 5pm and hiked on until about 8pm, getting about 18 miles in. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Ramping up to 20ish mile days, hwy 4 northbound was absolutely stunning, wildflowers peaking with fragrant mintgreen sage brush. Nice rock formations. Lovely. </p>
<p dir="ltr">We made it to Carson Pass where the volunteers at the visitor center were also making trail magic feeding long distance PCT hikers. We caught them at the end of the day so they pleaded with us to eat as much as possible. I ate two apples,  bananna, two bags of chips, a soda and twizzlers in about ten minutes and didn't feel a thing...yes, hiker hunger is a real physical phenomenon and I am already afraid of when I stop carrying 30 pounds 20+ miles a day. Ahhh, future-me problems.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Hey, so we made it to South Lake Tahoe. Grant called his mom to ask her to help us get a room as we were overwhelmed by choices and she has traveled here several times. Well, she hooked grant up with a room that he is sharing with me as an <u>early</u> bday present, and neither of us will ever deserve this kindness. Nevertheless, we are EATING and drinking, washing our down items in our ensuite front loading washer and dryer and generally enjoying ourselves, so THANKYOU H.!!!! Yes, I my have cried (again) when we saw the "room". Holy shit we are lucky sons of b%$@%es!!!!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Daily Stats:<br>
Day 73 - less than nero...  .3 miles to car camp without a car at reds meadows<br>
Day 74 - red's meadow alternate, JMT alternate, totals 12.5 miles<br>
Day 75 - finish JMT alt 1.7 miles, PCT mile 922.9 to 942.5 = 21.6 miles Tuolumne Meadows<br>
Day 76 - mile 942.5 to 949.6 - Tuolumne Meadows nero/half day<br>
Day 77 - mile 949.6 to 967.8 = 18.2 miles, today is 1,000 miles on our feet when including Mt Whitney and Kearsarge Pass!!!<br>
Day 78 - mile 967.8 to 982.4 = 14.6 miles, up late (0630), challenging terrain<br>
Day 79 -  mile 982.4 to 998.6 = 16.2 miles up late again, can't seem to get the miles in!!!! :( Dorothy and Harriet lakes, leave yosemite<br>
Day 80 - Hail storm and friend day!!! Sonora Pass, plus pass 1,000 miles of PCT day!!! Mile 998.6 to 1017.1 = 18.5 miles<br>
Day 81 - Zero with W. And F. In Murphy!!!<br>
Day 82 - Nero, mile 1017.1 to 1021.9 = 4.8 miles<br>
Day 83 - July 4th, rain day, mile 1021.9 to 1040.7 = 18.8 miles<br>
Day 84 - late start hiking at 0830!!!, mile 1040.7 to 1060.2 = 19.5 miles<br>
Day 85 - Carson Pass trail angel day, mile 1060.2 to 1081.7= 21.5 miles<br>
Day 86 - make it to Tahoe - mile 1081.7 to 1090.0 echo summit parking = 8.3 miles<br>
Day 87 - ZERO in awesome South Lake Tahoe. In room laundry  means down cleaning day :) thanks again H.! </p>
<p dir="ltr">Pictures on <a href="http://Instagram.com/grantrobintravel/">instagram</a><br>
</p>
Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-24078855191404900992015-06-23T17:47:00.001-07:002015-06-23T17:47:52.552-07:00Day 63-72 - More Sierras, 9 days outside, Zero in Mammoth LakesHi all, just a quick update, in Mammoth Lakes taking a zero, which is almost over. Blogging is getting really hard!!! I may some day come back and write this stuff up.<br />
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We have now done most of the John Muir Trail. The PCT follows it for 175 miles, plus we did Mount Whitney. We will likely not go out Yosemite Valley to finish, as we have already viewed half dome and it sounds like a crazy hellish crowded place, and the John Muir Trail has been crowded enough! (but still great)<br />
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Scenery continues to be stunning, though I don't get totally jaw dropping ecstatic constantly. I am able to hike through it, instead of stopping for hours. I guess I'm jaded. I think it gets more dramatic the further South you go, so we hit the best stuff first, but it's still been great. It's also been physically challenging, trying to make at least 14 miles a day so as not to run out of food. many people did run out of food on this stretch, hiker hunger taking over, people bailing in unplanned places, or full on hiking 20 mile days with nothing in their bellies. Crazy!<br />
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I should have been documenting what altitudes we have been at. Basically we have mostly been above 10,000 feet for weeks. The trail goes straight up, then straight down, then straight up, etc...They have built huge stairs into the trail which is wrecking my knees, especially with all this weight.<br />
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This is about all I have time for. Forest fire ahead, about a mile and a half from the trail, so we don't know what the near future holds. Below are some stats:<br />
<br />
Day 63 - Kearsarge Pass to Charlotte Lake for bear food storage box = 8.3 miles<br />
Day 64 - Glenn Pass - .8 miles Charlotte Lake trail plus mile 788.9 to 802.7 = 14.6 miles (really hard day for some reason)<br />
Day 65 - Pinchot and Mather Passes - Mile 802.7 to 818.8 = 16.1 miles (another really hard day)<br />
Day 66 - No passes, should be easy, but it's not. My body aches and is really run-down. - Mile 818.8 to 833.6 = 14.8 miles<br />
Day 67 - Muir Pass - bad mood for some reason. Scenery Hangover? Mile 833.6 to 849.9 = 16.3 miles<br />
Day 68 - Another No-Pass day. Very rude girls roll in at 9:30 giggling and waking us camping right next to us. At Salley Keyes Lakes; Mile 849.9 to 864.1 plus .6 for water because we screwed up = 14.8 miles<br />
Day 69 - Selden Pass - wake up at 0500 and make tons of noise for paybacks to the awful giggling girls next to us. hahahahahaha!!! Fair is Fair. Motivated for miles to get out early on Monday to Mammoth, fantastic campsite above waterfall, so mile 864.1 to 882.1 = 18.0 miles<br />
Day 70 - good walking, easy fords, forgot to write anything, camp near Deer Creek - Mile 882.1 to 900.9 = 18.8 miles<br />
Day 71 - Out to Reds Meadows, bus to Mammoth - Mile 900.9 to 906.7 plus 1/2 mile Reds Meadow Trail = 6.3 miles Mmmm...beer, food, and hot tub<br />
Day 72 - Zero in Mammoth, hard to get chores done!!! But here I am<br />
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photos on <a href="http://instagram.com/grantrobintravel/">instagram</a><br />
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p.s. You might be wondering how our bodies are changing. I have no idea how much weight I've lost, but I can definitely tell that my calves are giant, and my thighs are lean and strong. I still think I have a huge beer belly, but whereas I started out between a size 6 and 8, my pants quickly loosened on trail, so I bought a size 4 a few weeks ago, something I haven't been in quite a while. Well, the past few weeks those size 4 pants and shorts have also become quite loose. Today in Mammoth I tried on a size 2 pants, and they fit just fine. A size 2! I will order size 2 pants for a few weeks from now. 2!!! I was never a size 2, even when I was 10, probably. Definitely never in High School or Middle School. At 34 I am much smaller and stronger than my aneorexic teenage years, only I am a healthy strong small. So though I still see a flabby beer belly, obviously there has been major change to our bodies the past 72 days. Grant will be turning 40 in a few weeks (sorry honey), and is crossing this milestone the strongest and fittest he has ever been in his life, even when he was a teenager pounding nails for a living, telemark skiing, playing soccer, and rock climbing in Jackson Hole. Quite amazing. With about 1,750 miles to go, I am sure we will be nearly unrecognizeable to our family and friends when we see them next.Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-66744236737513104642015-06-13T11:44:00.001-07:002015-06-23T17:07:52.215-07:00Day 54 - 62Hi All, I don't have time to do a real post. I made it to the High Sierras, really high! Summited Mt Whitney 14,505' and highest mountain in the lower 48 states, climbed over Forester Pass where the views were so stunning I cried. We earned those views, and it was overwhelming. Made it over Kearsarge Pass to resupply in Independence. Now well over 800 miles on our feet, and loving it. Please see photos on <a href="http://instagram.com/grantrobintravel/">Instagram.</a> I may flesh this out tonight, but library does not give much time on the computer.<br />
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Mileage:<br />
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Day 54 - .8 miles down road, mile 702.2 to 704.3 - 2.9 miles, but hey, we left Kennedy Meadows!<br />
Day 55 - mile 704.3 to 721.5 = 17.2 miles<br />
Day 56 - Mile 721.5 to 741.7 = 20.2 miles<br />
Day 57 - mile 741.7 to 757.8 = 16.1 miles<br />
Day 58 - Mile 757.8 to 766.3 plus 3.5 miles alternate to Guitar Lake = 12 miles - blizzard Camp<br />
Day 59 - summit whitney, hike out to mile770.1 = 16.3 miles (did I mention we summited?)<br />
Day 60 -Forrester Pass - Mile 770.1 to 785.4 = 15.3 miles (did I mention Forester Pass?)<br />
Day 61 - Kearsarge Pass to Independence - mile 785.4 to 788.8 plus 7.6 miles kearsarge pass = 11 miles<br />
Day 62 - zero in IndependenceGrant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-29185719766111906382015-06-13T11:37:00.002-07:002015-06-13T11:37:26.597-07:00Day 51 to 53 - Walker Pass to Kennedy MeadowsAfter a nice day off away from Hiker Trash, we hit the trail again. Busride to Lake Isabella, then bus to Onyx, then hitch to trail head. Water situation not too bad. Got to Kennedy Meadows at about 1pm June 4th, where Mama Goose and Cavalier were still there!!! Clapping, cheering, beers all around. What a great place :) We got them wasted before they had to hike. Hahaha, fair is fair. Grumpy Bears for dinner and a good time. Not much time to blog, so this is what you get :) May update later, so check back. Below our mileage:<br />
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Day 51 - Mile 65.3 to 664.4 = 13.1 miles camp just past Joshua Spring (plus half mile for water, but whatever)<br />
Day 52 - Mile 664.4 to 687.4 = 23 miles Hike hike hike!!!, two big hills to climb, people at summit, so move on and camp in the rocks near a mine<br />
Day 53 - Mile 687.4 - 702.2 plus .8 miles up road to Kennedy Meadows = 15.6 miles 700 mile mark and official end to the Desert!!!<br />
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Ok all, pictures on <a href="http://instagram.com/grantrobintravel/" target="_blank">instagram</a>Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-9458917722735328532015-06-13T11:30:00.001-07:002015-06-13T11:30:38.236-07:00Day 49, 50 - zeros in KernvilleWe Zeroed in Kernville. It was really nice!!! River, food, etc... Ok, that is allGrant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-71506068006364177392015-06-01T16:50:00.001-07:002015-06-01T16:50:11.760-07:00Day 48 - walker pass, lake isabella, phil, andhiker trash party<p dir="ltr">Mile 643.1 to 651.3 = 8.2 miles Nero</p>
<p dir="ltr">Made it to walker pass campground at 9am. Read the trail register and saw mama goose had made it!!! And there was Pabst! Drank a Pabst with the three amigos, then a lady pulled up dropping a hiker off. Three amigos said she was going to lake Isabella so we asked her for a ride. Three amigos said they would tell cavalier. Unbelievable luck<br>
Wandered around town, ate lunch, did laundry with cavalier, drank beer at the local dive bar, resupplied a little, then rolled into the hotel, ride with cav's friend. Party central. Crappy rooms, pool. Phil shows up, party til midnight, holy crap. Can't blame mama goose this time :)</p>
Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-41925354948301629062015-06-01T15:51:00.001-07:002015-06-01T16:50:04.148-07:00Day 47 - desert hellscape<p dir="ltr">Mile 621.9 to 643.1 = 21.2 miles<br>
Up at 0400, hiking at 0515. Hot day ahead. Make it to a water cache 9.5 miles later at 10am, recently stocked by an amazing person. We had lunch and decided to take the water and skip the 1.5 mile detour to the spring fed mud seep water source. Enough to dry camp and make it to walker pass!!!<br>
Next was a 3.4 mile slog up a steep mountain hellscape, temps soaring close to 100, maybe more. We make it to the summit at about 1245,/then start hunting for shade to lie in under. Plenty to sit under, but took awhile to find a sleeping spot. After resting a few hours, all our friends start passing us having climbed the mountain in the beat of the day. Mama goose, who had camped 7 or 8 miles behind us said she was going all the way to walker pass, 18 more miles and a 34.4 mile day! I knew she would do it, crazy awesome lady! (She did!)<br>
We had hopes of getting within eight miles of walker pass so we could hitch a ride with cavalier's friend, and we did. <br>
OK desert, I'm going to sleep you away for a few hours.</p>
Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-71708223368597377142015-06-01T15:41:00.001-07:002015-06-01T15:41:07.935-07:00Day 46 - camp past robin bird spring to some other dry camp<p dir="ltr">Mile 603.9 to 621.9 = 18 miles</p>
<p dir="ltr">Seeing as the forecast was more of the same only hotter, I set my alarm for 0438; in like weird times. We were up and attem all morning chores done by 0535. Not bad!  </p>
<p dir="ltr">I forgot to mention something...but hey, is their a doctor in the house? 'Cause my PCT has an AT infection. How can you tell if somebody as hiked the Appalachian Trail (AT)? Oh, they'll tell you.Mama goose excused, but Appalachian trail people, we had faint curiosity at the start of the trail and an ability to laugh off all your introductions "hi. I hiked the AT", but after 600 miles through the desert, now we just want smack your kneecaps with our hiking poles when you slip it into the first sentence. We have all payed our dues and its a different trail!!! We don't give a shit if you hiked he AT. Whew.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Back onto the PCT, where I'm hiking, we had a beautiful morning hiking in a nice forest with boulders for interest. Even the burn area was alive with fragrant purple flowers, such as I've never smelled. Our noses do not detect our own or others body odors anymore, bit are becoming highly sensitized to other smells.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> We did finally come over a ridge and had a look at the brown desert hellscape ahead, realizing the nice walking was all scam. One more kick in the ass from the desert before Kennedy meadows. We grabbed what looked like the last shade tree before desert hell, and took a nap. There was rumor of trail magic ahead (don't ask me how news travels backwards without southbounders, it just does) so we got up at 2:30 and continued into the heat.<br>
Sure enough, a half mile later was a guy and his parents handing out tuna sandwiches, craft beers, snacks, Gatorade, soda, cold water, everything, and they had made a little shade to crawl under with lawn chairs and everything. B It was their last hours of trail magic after a few days, and so they encouraged us to drink and eat everything plus hike out with the canned beer....so we did :) than you Matt!<br>
We left at 4pm, hiked another six to 8 miles or so, camped in a sandy wash with our friend topper. Pretty sweet day. I love trail magic!</p>
Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-23719447173002087282015-06-01T11:23:00.001-07:002015-06-01T15:19:54.120-07:00Day 45 - Golden oaks spring to robin bird spring and beyond/ darwin's theory <p dir="ltr">Mile 583.3 to 603.9 = 20.6 <u>miles</u></p>
<p dir="ltr">I'm not going to tell you about my day, I'm going to tell you all about how this trail is not a joke, and how certain sections are not for beginners, end of discussion.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I joke that grant and I are two of the fat, old slow kids on trail, because we only do 20 mile days, and we like to drink beer, but really, we are well oiled machines at this point.  We also had previous trekking experience before the start of the trail. We have upped our game considerably in the past  45 days, and approach each day's challenge calmly and confidently.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Tehachapi to Walker Pass is one of the most challenging, hot, dry, sometimes steep sections of the entire trail. After Landers camp spring, 7 miles past Robin Bird spring, the next water source is supposedly a mud seep where you must dig a hole and wait for a puddle to fill before scooping it into your water filter bag; and that is 26 hot miles away plus a mile off trail to find, that is unless you go to a scum covered cow trough 1.5 miles off trail with dead rats and birds floating in it, also with sketchy flow at best. </p>
<p dir="ltr">We know this because there is a "water report" - a freely available, well published, crowd sourced resource detailing where all of the possible trail water is and how good it is.  Almost everybody knows about the water report and carries it with them, either on a smartphone or in paper form. It is also "easy" to deal with finding water because we are all strong hikers who have hiked 600 miles through the desert to get to this point.</p>
<p dir="ltr">There is a certain book/ movie out there that I loved, and has inspired many people, women in particular, to get outdoors and do something bold with their lives. Unfortunately, the author started her journey at this challenging section, so there are tons of people following her footsteps exactly.  But this is one of the biggest droughts of California's history.</p>
<p dir="ltr">One lady in particular we met stands out, and is so upsetting I can't even begin to process my feelings. We met her at the end of the debacle, so didn't witness it all firsthand but this is her story:</p>
<p dir="ltr">She set out from Tehachapi having never even been hiking before (according to her, that <i>is</i> first hand conversation). Her husband dropped her off, and that was it. She is very overweight, and had bought all her stuff at big 5 including a bear canister. I don't mean to be a gear elitist, as their are many people who look down their noses at my off-the-shelf rei purchases, but you might imagine they sold her one of everything and the weight added up.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I don't know how far she made it before my friend got to her, but I believe it was about two days and 15-20 miles in. Her knees were destroyed and her pack felt so heavy that she decided to lighten the load by throwing all her food and cookset by the side of the trail and kept going.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I believe at this point other hikers had already given her water (putting their own lives in danger), but even if she had had the physical ability to carry the proper amount of water (at least 5-6 liters at her slow pace and for dry camping) she only had a 2 liter capacity and had already run out several times. She was encouraged by other hikers to turn around early on, but she wouldn't, and was even found considering wandering down an abandoned dirt road to try to get back to town. Other hikers again rescued her from herself telling her it didn't go anywhere, there was obviously no traffic, and no known water. I should mention she had never heard of the water report, had no maps, and her cell phone was dead after the first day, not that there was service after the first day anyways.<br>
So she keeps going (!) </p>
<p dir="ltr">She must have made it to Golden oak spring, again without capacity to carry enough water. Past here is about when our friend found her. Here she was in no condition to safely go back or be alone, and he didnt want to hike backwards with her, but he knew another friends parents would be trail angeling ahead, so he fed her, gave her water, carried extra for her, and hiked her speed  for two days to Robin Bird spring, amounting to something like 9 miles a day. At one point he tried carrying her pack for her, but gave up soon as it was ridiculous. She was so slow, that the last three miles he ran out of water and had to leave her for his own safety saying he would come back for her if she didn't make it by dark.</p>
<p dir="ltr">She made it out, got her ride, even got some pain meds for her knees. I assumed she was on a short first time trip and before I knew all the details laughed and said she had picked a pretty gnarly section for her first time hiking or backpacking, but when I asked her how far she had planned on going, she said she didn't know!!! Nothing she said made sense, so the best we can surmise is that she thought she would just keep hiking the trail towards Canada!</p>
<p dir="ltr">One of the "humorous" parts of the story is that somebody picked up her kitchen gear thinking a thru hiker had accidentally forgotten it, and carried it up to bird spring where she got it back!</p>
<p dir="ltr">OK, so anyways, I love that "Wild" has inspired people, women, that they can do something big, get outdoors, take care of themselves, but Cheryl Strayed was not this  unprepared. She had been hiking and was physically fit, just hadn't been backpacking. Part of why her pack "monster" was so heavy is because she carried a ton of water. She had maps, a plan, and in those days did not have a thousand other hikers to bail her out, nor a smart phone and water report (point being it is much easier for us 15 years later). She was much better prepared and stronger than she makes herself out to be in the book and movie. I am sad that so many elitist pct hikers say negative things about her (guess they are sad they suck at writing) but unfortunately the so-called Wild effect is a real and potentially deadly phenomenon out here. <br>
The other sad thing is that woman likely will never go hiking again. You tube videos are no substitution for experience (yes, she said that's how she learned about/trained for backpacking), and the way you learn is by starting small for f's sakes! Backpack three miles to a god damned lake! Have so much fun and let your body recover, then go from there. Don't start from Tehachapi during a drought in 90+ degree temps!!!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Look folks, hiking in the desert is no joke. You can easily die. Our friend and other hikers saved her life, and she might not even know it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Thanks readers, this shite scares me, and worrying about myself is hard enough. Now everybody drink a beer, hike, and go jump in a lake.</p>
Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-90734234249275589492015-06-01T10:33:00.001-07:002015-06-01T10:33:22.372-07:00Day 44 - tehachapi hwy 58 to golden oak spring<p dir="ltr">Our friends wrangled an early ride for us out of tehachapi, so we met mama goose and cavalier at the teepees (the scene of the crime) at 6:20 am with four gallons to cache for them at hwy 58 as they were starting 8 miles back at willow springs road. For us it was a 17 mile waterless stretch, so 25 miles for them. We were lucky though because the pcta had recently fixed the trough that had cracks in it, and do other work with the piping etc... so golden oaks spring had recently become a reliable source of water again. For months we had been told/ read that it would be 44 miles without water, but because we hiked the extra eight miles earlier, and because volunteers worked their butts off for hiker trash like us, it was a paltry 17 miles...<br>
Though it was not easy. After enjoying seemingly weeks of unreal cool weather, we were hit head on with 90degree temps with it forecast into the 100's as the week progressed, thereby increasing our water consumption, wreaking havoc on our feet again(in combination with new shoes and fine dust) and worsening our outlook on life. On the flip side, though yogi's guide says it is hot hot hot section (yes) there was far more shade opportunities that we expected.<br>
We caught up with a warrior we hadn't seen in awhile (rather he caught us).  And we told him he was actually  ahead of everybody, so he took a nap to wait for them.<br>
We rolled in to golden oaks spring about 5:30pm where our friends were camping (yes, they overtook us despite starting 8miles behind us) and we ended up staying there too. Peer pressure! Our hangovers didn't protest.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Competing bullfrogs in the cow polluted spring fed trough, redneck camper garbage everywhere...<u>sleep</u></p>
Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-74105048497455799802015-06-01T09:25:00.001-07:002015-06-01T10:43:21.594-07:00Day 43 - tehachapi zero<p dir="ltr">Miles- <u>ZERO</u></p>
<p dir="ltr">Almost got hit by car going for Mexican food, thought we were going to be hit again but it was just somebody offering us a ride...</p>
<p dir="ltr">Memorial day parade, warrior hikers marched with their american legion hosts in their hiker trash uniforms. Dropped my phone and smashed it right before they walked by, so no picture and no more phone.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We got goosed! In the teepees. That is all</p>
Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-2858502159896766262015-05-25T11:27:00.003-07:002015-06-01T09:23:43.076-07:00Day 42 - Push to Tehachapi<p dir="ltr">Mile 549.7 to 566.5 (hwy 58) - 16.8 miles</p>
<p dir="ltr">Up early on our windy ridge. Make coffee from our tent. The stakes had pulled up from our respective rainfly vestibules and was flapping. Instead of getting up to search for the stakes and reset it, we just tucked the flaps under our tent below our sleeping pads, and held tight that way. Luckily at dawn it was not that hard to find our stakes. Success. Wehadnt feared rain that night, but we thought we would try to keep sand and dust from pushing through our mesh all night with it. We have the big Agnes copper spur II, so though it is a double walled tent (tent with separate rain fly) the tent body is nearly all mesh with only a solid bathtub floor which saves considerable weight. <br>
Any who, another day of hiking through wind farms. I started to go a little crazy, always feeling like we were hiking in circles. We made it to the willow springs road, which is theoretically an easier hitch into town, but we opted to continue on another 8 miles to hwy 58. Almost nobody does this I guess, but it means a much longer water haul the ext day if you don't so I don't understand why everybody bails. That next section was a bit soul sucking. It was much hotter, drab, and towards the end there were ridiculously long and shallow switchbacks down the hill. It was freaking stupid and I see now why people cut PCT switchbacks, sometimes they are absurd. I actually hated the trail at that point. Anyways, after that it was about a mile to the freeway overpass, in the middle of nowhere. As we got closer to where all the hikers were sitting, god knows why, grant spotted a car heading towards the onramp and yelled for me to stick my thumb out. I never saw the car before it had pulled over to give us a ride! Im sure that group of hikers are still talking about it. Part luck I guess (or good karma?) And part because we are only two people with a lady, or "ride bride" as we are sometimes called. grant and I really are a couple though. Made it to the hotel, got our new shoes, and had a nice soak in the hot tub. Not a bad day really :)</p>
Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-67225515920953122752015-05-25T11:27:00.001-07:002015-05-25T11:27:40.227-07:00Day 41 - Hiking through Windfarms is Windy, and my first "10 by 10"Mile 529.2 to 549.7 20.5 miles<br />
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UP and attem, hiking by 0610, all morning chores complete. Windy as all hell. I was hell bent on getting my first 10 by 10 in (ten miles by 10am). I had come close before. Grant had to keep stopping to address his blisters, but I really wanted to charge on, so I left him (knowing he had enough water, come on, I would never leave him to die in the desert, and for god's sakes, it's blisters, and people are always walking by, well, not that day, but i would have gone back for him, and I had goals!!! Fueled by the first marathon of my life, I became a callous person, but you know) Ok, well, I got my ten by ten, but it was at the cost of our relationship...Not totally, we hugged and made up, then hiked on. We've been together for 14 years, we tend to repair our rifts quickly.<br />
Hiked on through wind so strong it was blowing me off the trail. Not too scary, but a tad annoying and challenging. Made it to our water source, where we saw Cavalier!!! hahaha, we had caught up, sort of. He was leaving, and we were going to spend 1-2 hours at the water source. Very funny how this trail works out though.<br />
Had a huge lunch, trying to eat through the weight on my back. I still haven't learned how to resupply and always have waaay too much food, which equals way too much weight. Headed out of the canyon where the wind continued to blow me off the trail, but uphill, instead of down the steep hillside :) Uphill, downhill, UP HILL. I know it's the nature of the beast, but some days you are just over it. Made it to a water cache with chairs and apples. We had enough water, but ate an apple and chatted with some fellas, subsisting off of food they find in hiker boxes, boiling water and making stews out of things such as couscous, mashed potatoes, and anything else, all in a big pot they share. So fun to see how other people do things.<br />
We hiked on another half mile, and scoured the area for half an hour before we found something enough out of the wind but not next to dead trees. Made dinner in the tent because of the wind and fatigue, then to bed.Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-14147102290732948462015-05-25T11:16:00.004-07:002015-05-25T11:16:51.581-07:00Day 40 - Our first Marathon!!! Yes, US!Mile 503.0 to 529.2 - 26.2 miles, oh yeah, you heard me, a marathon :)<br />
Woke up on trail to a little more misty rain, but it seemed to settle down as we moaned and groaned. I had had night terrors all night long, trying to scream but coming out as wimpers that Grant ignored, of course, cooly letting my be terrorized by my mind all night long...Anyhoo...<br />
Packed up our sopping wet tent, and moved onwards. Stopped for water at a "guzzler" which apparently is a big plastic tank partially underground with a low roof and downspout used for collecting water. THere was water alright, and we got all the rest of our morning chores done. Then hike hike hike, flat, wet but not raining, finally heading down out of the hills towards the Mojave Desert floor. At about 1230 we stopped for lunch (third breakfast? second lunch?) and dried out our tent and rainfly, then up and hiking onwards to Hiker Town.<br />
Hiker Town is some guys home where he built all these little bungalows to look like an old Western town. Pretty cool. Lots of subdued enthusiasm in the hiker lounge, aka garage. Everybody staring at their phones, pretty weird. Most people hike the Mojave, LA aquaduct section at night, but it was really cool that day, so we were just getting water and moving on. Made it to the open aquaduct. rushing cold water in the middle of the desert. Of course, that didn't last long, as it soon went underground. We turned Northerly and followed a branch of the aqueduct in a pipe, then turned easterly again, where it went completely underground and was just a dirt road with miles of concrete over the underground water.<br />
At about 6pm we stopped to eat dinner before hiking on. We checked our halfmile App on our phones and saw we had gone about 23 miles. I said, "We are hiking a marathon today. We can do 3.5 more miles!" Grant agreed (well, he didn't fight it)...And we did!!! But not a step more. We gorilla camped on the side of the dirt road in some bushes and called it a night.<br />
<br />Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-53316301322847965232015-05-25T10:58:00.003-07:002015-05-25T10:58:41.055-07:00Day 39 - back on trail at upper shake campground - hangover hiking - 500 MILES!!!<div dir="ltr">
Alternate Road Walk Mile 6 to 12.9 (PCT mile 493.4) - 6.9 miles</div>
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PCT mile 493.4 to 503.0 - 9.6 miles</div>
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Total miles = 16.5 all with a big fat hangover!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Got up in our ghost brothel. I looked at the maps, and decided to go back to our original plan of getting off the road walk at the earliest point, Shake Canyon, or something like that. Everybody else is road walking all the way to hikertown because it saves a ton of miles. A lot even hitched all the way to hikertown from the Anderson's, and those who didn't are roadwalking something like 20 miles. Some need to get to Tehachapi before memorial day weekend closes the post office, etc...we are sending our stuff to a hotel, so no problems for us. We are, however, meeting Grant's dad up at Walker Pass on the 30th, so being behind schedule and "adding" miles means we will have to hoof it the next week.<br />
We say goodbye to our road walking friends at our turnoff for the trail, 4.4 more miles down the road, sitting around drinking warm beers from the night before, when a huge rattle snake came slithering past us. Yuck! I jump up out of the way, while our friends scrambled to get a picture. It gaves us one little rattle and kept on going. Now I can't say I was the first person to hike the PCT without seeing a rattlesnake, but I'm glad I finally saw my first one. Now the next one won't be as scary.<br />
Walking up to join the trail was not bad. It is very sad more people are not doing it. Actually, it kills me. It did mean solitude though. We climbed up into the low clouds, and had a very cool, misty, beautiful hike. It really is nice walking up there, so don't road walk crazy people!!! Made it to mile 500!!!! And I can honestly say it's been about 500 miles as we have not skipped anything, having now walked a continuous path through all the fire closures. Pats on our backs, yay!!!<br />
We made it 16.5 miles with our hangovers, pitched a tent, and about 20 minutes after we climbed into our sleeping bag, it started raining. Whew, barely made it!</div>
Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1490534209806478989.post-18187959209593265572015-05-25T07:26:00.001-07:002015-05-25T10:53:15.786-07:00Day 38 - we got Goosed!<div dir="ltr">
Anderson's, mile 478.2, PowerHouse fire closure alternate road walk to Lake Hughes Rock Inn. Big 6 mile day!!!</div>
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Got up, had some pancakes, cinnamon!!! At casa Del Luna, made it to the store for supplies, turns out the lady who work's there, her daughter is about to graduate from the US Merchant Marine Academy Kings Point as an engineer, and she did her cadet shipping with Grant. Small world, and small industry. Luckily, Grant claims he was nice to her :). Walked to ranger station, washed our socks, started walking the detour at about 10am. We got a text from mama goose, they had already made it to rock inn and were waiting for us. We get there, and turns out there was another beer front! Yikes. Mama Goose got us two rooms upstairs in the old brothel, complete with ghosts, and everything. No arguments allowed. You know how it goes. We did get laundry done though! Anyways, day 5 of a beer front, and we have a new name for what happened "we got goosed!!" Well, actually, grant and I are always down for debauchery in old brothels. We are sailors, after all.</div>
Grant & Robin's Travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618949331812276400noreply@blogger.com0