August 9, 2016

Dewey Lake (mile 2318.3) to Urich Cabin (mile 2344.5)

Miles: 26.2

Our total miles: 1938.2

We woke up to a gray sky. Luckily it was just foggy and not raining. 

We slept well with our new sleeping pads. In fact Andy woke up saying, “Laurie, I’ve found the one. I think I’m in love.” He was sold on the Thermarest NeoAir Xtherm.

We packed up a wet tent and headed uphill toward Chinook Pass. We watched steam rise off of Dewey Lake as we walked around it.

We passed more vibrant wildflowers and snow melt streams on our way to the pedestrian footbridge over the highway. 

And what a beautiful bridge it was! 

From here we climbed another 2.3 miles to Sheep Lake. The clouds lessened the dramatic views but occasionally we got glimpses of the beauty of the area.

From Sheep Lake it was up again to an unnamed pass. With the wet weather yesterday and this morning, the heels of Laurie’s shoes had shifted and were rubbing on her heels. All comfort was restored with a little shoe massage and leukotape.

We were rewarded with beautiful views from the top of the pass. Clouds rolled in and out partially obscuring then exposing jagged mountains and patches of snow. Once again we were amongst green mountains! We like green mountains. They remind Laurie of Colorado. 

The trail traversed the hillsides and we walked along and on top of ridges. Most of the time we were in the clouds and saw only whiteness but occasionally we caught a glimpse of our surroundings. There seemed to be more fog on the north side of the ridges. 

On one occasion as we were descending a southern face, Andy counted 46 mountain goats on the opposite ridge. 

We stopped and stared, watching them graze and confidently traverse the scree. We both wish we had the ability to walk on such rocks with that much ease and confidence.

The trail meandered through healthy looking evergreen forests. The valleys below were filled with what looked like big Christmas trees – the type you see in Union Square or Times Square – the perfect triangular cylinder ones.

We ran into Medicine Man, a southbound hiker, who said he had met some NOBOs, including Nemo who wasn’t feeling well. 

This provided extra motivation for us to get to the cabin to see him and make sure he was okay. We have a more extensive first aide kit than others and wanted to help if we could.

He hiked through the wet forest and got to the Urich cabin at 7 pm. Eight people were already there, including Nemo.

We sat on the porch and cooked dinner while chatting with Nemo and others. With all the distractions Andy’s knee got too close to the stove and he melted is new rain pants. 

Man! 

We patched the hole with duct tape and now they have character. Hopefully they still work!

We figured we would sleep better in our quiet tent than inside the hut with 8 potentially snoring people. We had planned on walking another mile to get away from the smell of the two outhouses, but we were tired, and there was hardly a smell. We set up the tent under the nearby trees. 

We fell asleep quickly to the sound of water dripping off the trees onto our tent.

Today was our second marathon in a row. We are amazed and impressed that our bodies feel great. After 1900 miles we can do anything!

Tonight we are grateful for our health and bodies that get stronger by the day!

August 8, 2016

Kracker Barrel Store (mile 2292.4) to Dewey Lake (mile 2318.3)

Miles: 26.5 (25.9 PCT miles + .6 along Hwy 12 to trailhead) 

Our total miles: 1912

We had planned on leaving at 7 am but then Laurie found the Olympics on TV and we stayed up until midnight last night. 

We were enamored by the swimming and gymnastics and couldn’t bring ourselves to go to bed.

The 6 hours of sleep that we did get was heavenly. The bed was super comfy and we could hear the rain outside. Neither of us could open our eyes when the alarm went off. So we decided to leave at 8, and then 9.

Our only hurry was to catch Nemo who had left the night before. But we both know he is a faster hiker than us so unless he slows down or takes an on trail zero we may not see him again. 

It was raining on and off and a low layer of fog covered the tops of the trees. This kind of weather does not encourage hiking. We would have preferred to stay cozy in bed with hot tea but we had already postponed our departure one day and had miles to cover and mountains to see.

We went to say goodbye to a Toaster and Smudge before walking to the Kracker Barrel store for toothpaste.

Once in the store we fell into the vortex. We exchanged stories from the Knife’s Edge and caught up with So Far and So Good, a couple we last saw in Northern California. Before we knew it it was 8:45. We really had to get going.  

But then Laurie discovered granola and banana chips in the hiker box while Andy took some olive oil from another hiker. 

There was decent looking food in the hiker box; at some point we will remember to look there first before buying food for dinner. (There was toothpaste in there too.)

At 9 we forced ourselves to leave the warmth of the store. We walked down the highway wearing our raincoats and pack covers, Andy quickly devouring two thirds of a bag of granola.

The trail was a wet and sandy mess. Plus this seems to be a very popular horse trail because there was horse poop everywhere!

We hiked through the dripping, foggy forest, carefully placing our feet to not slip. It was quiet and super peaceful. For the first 2 hours we saw no one. 

After a hour of mist it started to rain. We put on our rainpants and placed latex gloves on top of our glove liners to make them water proof.

We walked through a green and foggy enchanted forest. Periodically sunlight would illuminate lichen hanging off the trees and it glowed bright green. We listened to birds chirping and other than wet and soggy feet we were dry and comfortable. Our bodies felt great.

We met about 5 SOBOs today. We chatted with each group before continuing on. Because of the rain and surrounding sogginess we never took an actual break. We ate lunch on the move and stopped to put on and take off layers and go to the bathroom, but we never sat down. 

The trail was pretty mellow most of the day. Initially we climbed and then the trail flattened as we cruised past many lakes. Unfortunately we only caught glimpses of them through the fog.

We walked past green and yellow meadows with meandering streams, then descended to Bumping River which had no bridge.

We crossed on slippery moss coated rocks. Andy slipped causing him to step into the water. Since his right foot was now soaked, he just walked through the rest of the creek. Laurie, who learned from Andy’s mistake, choose a different path and managed to keep her feet dry.

Well, dry may not be the right word. Our feet were already soaked from the rain and wet bushes so she essentially avoided getting her pants wet.

From here we climbed up to the boundary of Mt Rainier National Park. It was a 6 mile climb and we gained 2200 feet. We were mostly in the trees which was nice since it poured. We waited out the heavy rain under the protection of one of the many evergreens.

Towards the top of the climb the trail emerged out of the forest. We traversed along the base of rocky cliffs and walked through wet meadows. 

The flowers looked particularly vibrant. Reds, yellows, purples and whites all mixed together amongst a sea of green and gray.

We stopped periodically to watch the fog roll in and out of the green mountains. We joked that the beauty was being obstructed by the beast (fog). But really, it was all beautiful – fog included.

As evening approached there was some clearing of the clouds and even a few patches of blue sky.

We got to Dewey Lake around 8 pm and started to look for campsites in the trees for protection from the rain and potential thunder and lightening.

The first one was taken, second one not big enough and by the third it had started to drizzle. We finally decided on a spot around 8:30pm and set up home. 

Laurie dug a moat around the tent to prevent the swimming pool effect we experienced in Oregon.

By time time we got to camp we had been on our feet for 11.5 hours. Surprisingly though, nothing hurt. We suppose the two 16 mile days followed by a very short nero were restful.

We ate dinner and quickly fell asleep. Tonight is our first night on new sleeping pads and we hope they are comfy! 

Tonight we are grateful for minimal rain when setting up our tent and dry sleeping bags.

August 7, 2016

Ginnette Lake (mile 2290.3) to Highway 12 (mile 2292.3)

Miles: 2

We woke up this morning at 5:15am and were on the trail by 6. Andy slept well on his right side most of the night, avoiding the mountain on his air pad. 

We hiked behind Rambo and her dog Sadie as we descended to the highway. Sadie is really sweet and loves to play fetch. Rambo would throw the dog frisbee and Sadie would disappear into the foggy trees and come back wagging her tail, ready for more. This continued all the way to the trailhead. 

Once at the trailhead we changed into our town clothes consisting of shorts, fleeces and flip flops, and piled into the car. 

We can’t thank Rambo enough for offering to drive us into Olympia and to the REI there. 

She’s a thru hiker and knows how bad it can be when you experience gear failure on the trail. 

Before we started this hike Andy had read and heard the phrase “The trail provides” over and over again. But he never fully grasped it’s full meaning until today.

The trail provides solitude, hardship, compassion, friendship, love, peace, joy, simplicity and truth. 

The trail also connects us with people that can help us achieve our goals. All we have to do is show up, be courageous enough to ask for help and accept it. 

Before we left White Pass and drove to Olympia we stopped by the Inn next to the store to see Nemo.

Women’s appearances don’t change much on the trail, but men can change drastically. 

Nemo was clean shaven and ‘well put together’ in the desert, but now he had a bushy beard and epic hair – long, curly, salt and pepper hair. 

He was also slimmer. And more raw. We’re not sure if he’s lost his mind or if his true self has no filter any more. 

The trail changes us, whether we realize these changes taking place while we hike or after. We believe Nemo’s experiences in the Sierras have broken him open. 

He mentioned to us how we made the right decision to leave the Sierras when we did. That the river crossings were scary and almost took his life 3 times. 

“Some rivers we had to swim across, there was no other way. And when you got out of the water your body was limp because the water was so cold. I think I have P.T.S.D. Many hikers probably do. Every time we turned a corner and heard the sound of gushing water we froze. It was really scary.”

We wanted to chat more but had to go. 

It was so good seeing Nemo. He is still a character and always smiling. It felt good making time to see him this morning given everything we had to do. 

The trail teaches us over and over to be like water – to be flexible. It’s perfectly ok to have a plan in place, but being able adapt to the twists and turns of the trail eventually makes for a more enjoyable hike. 

And so Rambo drove us 1.5 hours to Olympia. REI was still closed when we got to town so we went to Rambo’s home where we uploaded blog posts, sent postcards and responded to our readers’ comments. 

We love comments. Thank you to everyone who makes the time to read our posts and leave comments. Your encouragement helps us when things get tough. 

We also thank those who recently contributed to our town fund. We really appreciate it!

We got to the REI, picked the best air pads from their limited stock (along with a pillow and socks for Andy) and returned our defective ones.

Rambo and her partner John then drove us back to Randall, a small town 45 minutes west of White Pass, enroute to their day hike destination.

We ate at the cafe, charged our phones, camera batteries and external battery, and made a hitch hiking sign. 

We stood at the side of the highway with our thumbs up smiling. At first no one stopped. Fifteen minutes later and still no ride, we decided to make a bigger sign (a passing motorists signaled ours was too small) and moved to a better location.

As it happened on Highway 62 near mile 220, Laurie managed to get a car to stop while Andy was working on making a bigger sign. 

A nice family from Yakima drove us to White Pass and dropped us off at the store. We thanked the generous family for the lift and headed in to pick up our resupply boxes.

Sitting inside the store were Toaster and Smudge. A southbounder had warned them of the potential storms we received today, prompting them to speed up and hike through the Goat Rocks in good weather. 

It was great seeing them again and catching up! They are wonderful people. 

We also met Gilligan and a few others. 

It was now 4pm and we still had to sort through our food, do laundry and ideally shower. We figured we could do it all and hike out by 6, but it would be rushed. 

Even if we hiked only 5 miles we wouldn’t get to camp til 8pm. Then we would need to set up the tent, eat and blog…It would be another late night. 

So we decided to get a room and chill. 

We bought snacks at the store, ate an extra trail dinner and watched the Olympics. 

Time really does fly in towns. Before we knew it it was 9pm. We packed our bags and blogged until midnight.

Tomorrow morning is going to hurt. But we suppose it’s all part of the adventure. 

Goodnight. 

Tonight we are grateful for our ability to be flexible and generous motorists.