I Finished!!

I made it to Canada on October 6th...  I know this is a little late, however, the last section was incredible!  Northern Washington was really beautiful and really COLD!  I packed food for 11 days, enough to go the last 260 miles to Manning Park, which made my pack the heaviest it had been since the Sierras.  My mom dropped me off in the afternoon at Snoqualmie pass after having driven 10 hours.  I hit the trail and managed to get 15 miles in the first day, saw a mountain goat and a great sunset.  The next couple days were pretty tough, I pushed for 25 miles each day to get to Canada on time.  The highlights of the last stretch were ice covered lakes, wide rivers, equaling abundant water sources!  I also ran into Lush and ManParty near the end which was great, they were this awesome couple that I hadn't seen since the Station Fire area in Southern California.  I did finally get a little bit of rain but it really was very mild, one day and maybe 3 nights.  I really can't believe how lucky I was!  I eventually made it to the monument just as it was getting dark and camped right there on my own.  I woke up to quite cold weather the next morning, snapped a couple pictures then got going.  I walked the last couple miles to get to Manning Park and my mom was right there waiting for me.  It was around noon, my mom had checked out of her room at the hotel she had stayed at for a couple days waiting for me.  We went back and the hotel people were kind enough to let me take a shower since they hadn't cleaned the room yet... I was incredibly grateful (probably not as much as my mom who had to ride in a car with me the rest of the day).  So after I finished the trail, we headed home, I went to class for 2 days, then headed to to Santa Rosa for my sisters beautiful wedding.  I have been playing a bit of catch up in school the last couple months but have managed to pass both of the classes I was taking.  I am now sitting in a hotel room waiting to embark on my next adventure.  Tomorrow, I am headed to Mendoza, Argentina to attempt a climb of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America!  The PCT was one of the best experiences of my life.  I am so thankful to everyone that helped with the journey, especially my amazing parents!  It was so great to meet everyone on the trail and I hope to see some of them again on future trails...

White Pass to Snoqualamie Pass... Trail Magic!!

So this week I had all 5 days but I could only get 98 miles in because the next easy pickup was another 75 miles, which I did not feel like I could do.  Again, my mom, along with her friend Charlotte drove me up after my class last Tuesday, got me to the trailhead about 9 am on Wednesday.  The first day was a rough one, I was really tired, but I got through it and managed to get 23 miles in.  I ended up sleeping for a full 12 hours that first night, but once I was up and going I didn't stop for about 4 hours.  Late in the afternoon I ran into Bloodbank and Jubel and later discovered that they were heading to the Ulrich cabin that night, so I decided to go for it too.  It was a good 30 mile day, although a little smoky.  The night was great though, when I arrived at the cabin, Robert, a guy from Leavenworth was out for the night on his dirtbike and he had some extra food for hikers.  Robert made eggs with pepperjack cheese for the 4 of us there, it was me, the 2 I had run into earlier and another thru-hiker named Scooter, then later on he had a little peanut butter snickers bar for each of us as well, it was quite the treat!!  The 4 of us slept in the cabin and were woken  up intermittently in the night by the mice running around, but other then that it was a nice indoor sleep.  The next morning, I was up and out of there a little before the others, who were hanging around while Robert made them coffee, which I decided I didn't need, opting for my caffeinated crystal light instead.  Around 11 Jubel cruised past me, then a little while later, Scooter stopped and had a little snack with me and we chatted a little bit about how he hadn't gotten water at the last source and we still had about 10 miles to the next.  I had a little to spare and offered it to him but he wouldn't take it.  A couple minutes later we came upon a road, and while looking at the view a little jeep came cruising up and Scooter decided to ask them if they had water... It turned out the 2 guys were awesome, they gave us each a sandwich and a beer, along with plenty of water to get us the next 10 miles comfortably.  This day was not the greatest hiking, it was through the 'clear-cuts' which just aren't very pretty, and it was a little smoky, and it actually started to rain on me for the first time near the end of the day.  It was a very light drizzle though, and I managed to get my tent up and dinner cooked without getting to wet, and the tent kept me nice and dry throughout the night.  The next day (Saturday) I had 20 miles to go to get to Snoqualamie Pass, so I waited awhile in my tent, hoping the rain would let up a little.  I got going around 8:30, hiked for maybe 2 miles in a light rain before coming to more trail magic at Stampede Pass!!  I was treated to a seat under a tarp for an hour, not to mention a breakfast burrito, a brownie, and a cookie by the Stumbling Norweigian and Honeybee, it was amazing and I probably would have stuck around longer if I didn't have a friend meeting me at Snoqualamie pass.  The rest of this day proved to be a pretty nice hike, even though it was a little rainy and cold.  About halfway in I ran into Jangles, who I hadn't seen since early on in the hike in the desert, and I met her husband Mouse.  I hiked with them for a couple of hours and it really made the time fly by, it was so good to reconnect with Jangles and hear about their hike and to meet Mouse whom I had heard so much about while I was hiking with Jangles earlier.  Around 5:00 I got to the Pass and right as I walk up to figure out where to sit, my friend Christa shows up an hour early!!  Apparently my mom had tipped her off that I usually give myself plenty of time to get to the rendezvous... That night Christa and her husband Kyle put me up and treated me to a great dinner of shredded beef taco's with amazing homemade guacamole, along with their amazing company and I got to meet some of their friends, it was a really fun night... Even if I lost the game that we played:)  The next morning, my mom and Charlotte came and picked me up and we headed home, splitting the 10 hour drive up by stopping for a buffet, where I definitely got my money's worth!!  Sometimes I just can't get over how lucky I am with the trail angels and wonderful friends and family that are willing to help with this hike and feed me!!  Headed back out for the final 260 miles tomorrow, very excited.

Szydlo Road to White Pass... And the best mom award goes to...

My mom!!  After my class on Tuesday night from 6 to 9 pm, she picked me up and drove me straight up to where she had picked me up 8 days previous.  This was an 8 hour drive and she stopped a total of 3 times, letting me get as much sleep as I could, yeah, she is a champ!!  So after an all night drive, I was dropped off at the trail at 5:45 am while she went to drop my car off at the other end, where she was picked up by our good friend Ben and driven back to Portland so that she could catch a train home.  So I got an early start Wednesday morning and managed to put in a good day, made it 28 miles to Junction Lake.  It was a very windy, frustrating day and I was so exhausted that I ended up taking little naps every time that I would stop for a break.  Hiking tired has to be hilarious to watch though... I could feel myself swerving on the trail at times and my legs got all Jello-y.  So the first day out was pretty rough but I still managed to make a day of it, got myself in bed around 6:30 and fell asleep shortly after that, then slept straight until about 8 the next morning!  The next 4 days were much better, I was energized and very happy to be back out on the trail after being gone for so long.  For the first few days I did not see a single through hiker, then around 2 on Friday I ran into 4!  I walked up on Michigan Wolverine, Freestyle, Turtle, and Willlily having lunch.  I hiked back and forth with these 4 for the next couple of days and really enjoyed meeting some new people since I was completely behind everyone that I had gotten to know.  On Saturday the trail went by the Goat Rocks, which was absolutely amazing!!  We were hiking with views of Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helens, and these strange rock formations (the goat rocks) close up.  After you come down off of the rocky ledge you are treated with a great alpine-like meadow.  It was definitely the highlight of Washington for me so far.  So by Saturday night I had myself perched 2 miles from the trailhead where my car was parked.  On Sunday morning around 8:30 I get there, and there is trail magic, and they call me by name.  Lost and Found had been out there posted up for about a week and had talked to mom when she had dropped my car off.  They were just about to pack up camp, but she made me a cup of coffee and I sat there and talked with her and Mother Goose for a little bit, then she boxed me up a care package for my drive, complete with a poppyseed muffin for breakfast!  I didn't even have to tell her that I had eaten every last morsel of food in my pack the night before so I had gone without that morning, I felt like a very lucky girl!  Anyways, after hanging around for a little bit, I got in my car and drove back down to Etna, where I will be for the next 2 days for my classes, then go up and do the same thing again. 

By the numbers:  I passed by the 5/6 mark on day 2 of this journey, and the 6/7 on day 4, I have 360 miles left to get to Canada, and have gone 2303!!

Santiam Pass to Szydlo Road

This last week was a good one!!  Started off with my amazing mother driving back to the trail at Santiam Pass at 7:30 on Tuesday.  I managed to avoid a fire detour by taking the weekend off which was great.  The rest of Oregon I was blessed with views of the sisters to the south, and Jefferson and Hood as I headed north.  The second day I swung into Olallie Lake resort and ran into Oregon and Camshaft who had both been sidetracked with week long bouts of giardia.  At Olallie Lake I spent 1.50 on 2 otter pops... never thought I would see the day.  On day 3 of this stretch I did my first 40 mile day!!  It placed me about 4 miles from Timberline Lodge at the base of Mt. Hood.  There is a great breakfast buffet at the Lodge but I decided to let myself sleep as long as I wanted due to the fact that I had done a 40 which resulted in me not hitting the trail until 8:30.  When I finally strolled into Timberline at around 10 o'clock,  I was told that a hiker I hadn't met named Noodles had bought all of the hikers breakfast!  I was just a couple hours shy but I did manage to get a burger and fries and 5 candy bars from the ski lodge:)  For the rest of that day the views of Mt. Hood were absolutely amazing whenever the canopy opened up, and I managed to get myself 31 miles from Cascade Locks, the town right on the Oregon side of the Columbia river.  That night I camped with a couple of people I just met, Action and Minor, from San Diego.  They were an entertaining duo for sure, and they convinced me to go all the way to Cascade Locks the next day.  I ran into them in the early afternoon and they told me they were taking an alternate route by Tunnel Falls, which is a very popular alternate.  I, however, decided to stick to the PCT but told them as we parted ways that I would race them to town.  Their route was a bit shorter, but I went real fast for me and was very disappointed to see them sitting at a table with their drinks already served when I got to town.  However, I did make it in time to get dinner at the Pacific Crest Pub.  I had a pulled pork sandwich and enjoyed the company of my 2 new friends, who told me there was a trail angel, Shrek, in town.  After dinner, we went and got ice cream then headed up to Shrek's swamp.  There were probably 15 hikers staying there, most planning to hang out through labor day weekend.  I stayed up for awhile and hung out but hiker midnight hit and the party inevitably died down and we all went to sleep out on Shreks lawn.  The next morning I went out to breakfast with Action, Minor, Quest, and Rapunzel.  After buying a half pound of fudge for the trail I headed back to Shrek's, packed my stuff up, said my goodbyes and hit the trail.  Crossing the 'bridge of gods' into Washington was definitely a highlight!!  It is pretty exciting to be in the 3rd and final state!  The next 2 days went smoothly, I managed to get 32 miles into Washington, to mile 2187 before being picked up yesterday by my mom, who had driven up to Portland and stayed with friends the day before.  I am now off for 8 days in order to start school and head to southern California for a couples shower for my sister and her fiancee.  I will be hitting the trail again on September 12th.

Irish Lake to Santiam Pass- 70 miles with Jaclyn

So after a fun weekend of mushball, my friend Jaclyn decided that she would like to go with me for the next 4 day stretch before my sisters bridal shower.  So we made it up to Bend on Sunday night and made a plan to meet up with Matt, Dane, Lizzie, Adam, and Katie.  We holed up in a hotel and got one last good shower and filled ourselves on Taco Bell before getting to sleep.  In the morning we met up with the Eastlick/Christ/Kraus clan for coffee and made an even better plan.  Matt took us up to the trailhead in Adam's Jeep and Dane, Lizzie and Matt dropped my car off for me and Jaclyn at Santiam pass.  After a quick stop at REI for me to get my pack replaced we headed out.  We made it to the trailhead at around 3 in the afternoon and managed to get 13 miles in the first day.  Jaclyn felt good but could already feel some blisters forming.  That night we camped with 5 other hikers, had a nice campfire, and made some great buffalo chicken wraps from a mountain house I had been saving for about 1000 miles... it had been my extra dinner.  The next day we decided to do 25 so that we could line ourselves up to be out early on Thursday.  Jaclyn kept up the whole day, we went through some great meadows with really nice views, passed by Sisters Mirror Lake and I went for a swim.  We treated all of our water which was new for me but I really didn't want to give Jaclyn Giardia on her first backpacking trip!!  That night was incredibly cold, and the sleeping bag that we had dug up for Jaclyn didn't zip so she didn't get much sleep.  The next day we did a 20 miler, ran into one of the Indiana boys, Matt who I had met in the desert and his girlfriend Kerry and hung out with them for portions of the day, it was nice to see him again and meet his girlfriend.  We also ran into Oneton and Anchorman that day and ended up camping with them that night.  Anchorman is from Bend so he was knowledgeable about the burn area we were walking through and the lava field, so he was interesting to have around.  Jaclyn's feet really started to bug her this day, with blisters and walking on lava rock!  She did a really good job not complaining though, and keeping going even though she had to be hurting.  We got to camp early that night and settled in for a nice night chatting by the fire before heading off to bed, Jaclyn staying up to be by the fire longer than the rest of us since her sleeping bag wasn't the best.  Just for the record I did offer Jac my sleeping bag but she wouldn't take it, either because she is just to nice or it smelled to bad, not sure.  The next day, me and Jaclyn finished off the last 12 miles of our hike together, making it to Santiam Pass, going by the 2000 mile marker and going past the 3/4 mark of  my hike!!  At Santiam Pass Anchorman's dad had was waiting with fresh fruit and cold beer, which was a great reward for Jaclyn, and her first birthday present!!  It wasn't all that bad for the rest of us either.  This was a great section for me because I had a friend with me and it made the time go by much faster during the day and the camps were nice at night even though we had to squeeze into my little tent.  After getting off the trail we drove to the Zanotti's and they were nice enough to provide us with much needed showers and a place to stay and celebrate Jaclyn's birthday with Christa, Ben and Carly!!  The next day we all headed down to Etna for Kari's wedding celebrations.  I am planning to head back out to the trail on Tuesday, only 150 miles left in Oregon!!

Ashland to Bend

So I ended up taking a zero day in Ashland highlighted by a picnic in the park with about 12 other hikers put on by spuds parents (mr and mrs potato head).  The next morning snausage and I got a ride back out to the trailhead and we both managed a 23 mile day to make it to Hyatt lake, where they have a great campground with flush toilets and everything!!  The next couple days Oregon lived up to its reputation of being 'the green tunnel'.  The tread was great and I was shaded most of the day.  After 4 days of hiking we arrived at crater lake and had the treat of hiking along about 5 miles of the r with magnificent views of the lake the whole time, although it was a very populated part of the trail this was definitely a highlight for me!  After crater lake is a long dry stretch and my friend Chris wanted to come meet me somewhere, so I talked him into doing a little trail magic and he met me and 3 other hikers at a road crossing that night with 30 gallons of much appreciated water!!  It was great to see Chris again, he did the first 5 miles with me that morning then ran back to his truck.  We hiked by mt. Thielson and numerous lakes for the next couple days and were treated with great views and a lot of swimming!!  On Thursday afternoon I was picked up off of the trail outside of bend and made my way back to etna for the 1st annual Nick Gordon memorial mushball tournament, where I got to see a lot of old friends and play a little mushball:). Now I am going to head back to the trail with my friend Jaclyn who will be doing the next 3.5 day stretch with me!!

Made it to Oregon!!

Okay, so many things have happened since Etna!  First off I met up with a group of hikers Wednesday morning and about 10 of us decided to cook a communal dinner that night on the trail, so the first day we all went 11 miles to a camp in Shelly meadows.  A group of 15 ended up enjoying sausages with onions, sauerkraut, garlic, peppers, etc., some biscuits, potatoes, and a 5 liter bag carried out by honey bear!!  The next day was a 31 miler through the marbles, highlighted by a side trip to shadow lake and a midday swim I paradise lake, ending up at the first crossing of grider creek. With 14 miles to go to get to Seiad I got up early on Friday morning and made my way in, a nice hike crossing over grider creek multiple times followed by a 6 mile road walk, but I made it in time to do the pancake challenge... Which I am not so sure was a good thing!  I made it through 2.5 pounds of the 5 and that was all I could do!  Needless to say, no more hiking happened that day.  Saturday morning I was up early ready to tackle the climb out of Seiad.  It ended up not being to bad, a group of us actually managed to get 30 miles in.  Sunday was incredibly exciting due to the fact that we entered into Oregon!  I spent about an hour at the border celebrating with 18 others:). After that we all headed up the trail to investigate rumors of trail magic... About 10 minutes later we came upon balls, butterfly and sunshine handing out beer, soda, hotdogs and party hats to celebrate the border crossing!  We all spent another hour there then got goin again.  After those long breaks it is a wonder that we all managed to get 25 miles in that day, ending up at mt Ashland campground with incredible views of the north side of Shasta at sunset.  Then on monday(today) we only had 9 miles to go to get to Ashland, actually Callahans, where we showed up around ten and had some breakfast.  Then we hitched in to Ashland where I am sharing a hotel with 5 others