#ThrowbackThursday
This is part of a series of journal entries I have made while section hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2013 over on Trailjournals.com. I am moving them here to Must Hike Must Eat and updating them with photos (and maybe fixing typos). Look for them on Thursdays or you can head over to Trailjournals.com and read as many as you would like!
http://www.trailjournals.com/journal/entry/431605
Trip Miles: 424.83
I got up to try and write some entries at 4:45am, gotta love that dial-up. It took 45 minutes to type just one entry! Checked the WSDOT website, looks like HWY 20 is going to open today. Yay!
Ate breakfast today with Charlie (whose real name is Kurt) and three other thru-hikers; Dude, Professor and a young man from Switzerland. For about 2 hours, everyone was discussing and deciding final destinations and logistics of finishing. Having already finished, Kurt was deciding whether to stay on the trail or head back to Wisconsin. Or find another trail…
I was able to reach my son, Mitch, on the phone. Sounds like he made it in okay to Seattle. He has been visiting his dad in Texas for a few weeks while I am hiking.
I checked out of the hotel and with all day to wait before heading back up to High Bridge, I hung out while hikers sorted their resupplies that they had picked up at the post office when it opened. Kurt and Dude have hiked several trails together and their stories and banter was quite entertaining.
I had lunch and continued to stare at the blue green water of Lake Chelan. Mesmerizing.
Soon it was time to take the 5:30pm bus to High Bridge. There were several of us, including another thru-hiker, Aaron. When we got off the bus, yet another was sitting there eating dinner, Daniel. Dude and I wished them luck as they headed north. They hoped to go 5 miles to tonight before camping.
Dude (Anthony) and I camped at High Bridge and enjoyed a nice evening and conversation. He’s headed south, having flipped up from California due to wildfire smoke. A vet, he’s hiking to stay healthy.
I fell asleep to an almost full moon, excited to see friends again tomorrow at Rainy Pass.
Trip Miles: 442.83
I woke up today, had breakfast with Dude, wished him luck on his journey south and headed north towards Rainy Pass. Having previously hiked this section southbound with the gals from church, I looked forward to a day of familiarity.
Oh, this is where we saw ‘our’ bear. This is where Juanita fell over because she tried to walk and look at a view at the same time. This is where we camped the first night and shared salmon skin. I imagined my fellow hiking women were with me as I meandered north with my memories.
I stopped at Six Mile camp for lunch at 11:30am. Nice little spot down from the PCT a bit, along side a rambling creek.
I also realize today I can’t cinch my hip belt any tighter on my pack. Great, makes it harder to distribute it’s weight.
Wow Shannon, you look great! What’s your secret? Well, it’s called the PCT diet. You hike 20-25 miles a day for a month or so, eating only the food you can carry on your back. You will either be too tired to eat or you won’t be able to eat unmolested. You will know true hunger, true thirst. You will feel powerful, capable, agile, can do anything. Just the thought of seeing family or friends will bring you to tears. But I digress.
As I neared the trailhead at 4:15, I could see a case of trail magic left behind from the night before. Lint, Juice, and Breeze had hightailed it here to meet Anish for pizza and beer. I spotted a Dr. Pepper inside and well, it was delicious.
A few feet more and I came up to the road to see my friends Nancy, Laura, and Barb waiting for me. They had only been there about 10 minutes! We took some pictures and headed into the town of Mazama.
We stopped at the Mazama store, an adorable little country market that has expanded over the years to include fresh produce and organic items. I picked up some a few things, including a Coconut Bliss chocolate ice cream bar. Yum. Turned out there was reception as well, so I sent off a few messages.
We headed to Nancy’s cabin nearby where we enjoyed a salmon dinner on the river and they shared they are going to hike down from Hart’s Pass to Rainy and meet me along the way. Nancy’s neighbors, also, let me take a shower, which was nice because it had been another dusty day on the trail. I joked that I hope I hadn’t left a ring in the shower!
This was my final resupply, so I spent some time figuring out what I really needed for the last 4 days. I had another pair of shoes brought up, but couldn’t swap out as I could tell my feet had expanded and they would rub on the outside toe. Bummer, the ones I have a getting quite holey on top. Oh well, only 4 more days. Going to have to stick with the same shoes and I stitched them up a bit.
As I fall asleep in the cabin tonight, I can’t believe it’s almost done. The final leg. There are still times when I can’t believe I made it this far, when what I am experiencing was just a step I had planned. I am, also, appreciative of all the folks who helped me get this far, including the women I am here with now. God is good.
First post: Snuffy’s 2013 Pacific Crest Trail Journal July 20 &21, previous post: Snuffy’s 2013 Pacific Crest Trail Journal August 17 & 18. Look to next Thursday for more of my journey on the Pacific Crest Trail!
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