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.
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.
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