Saturday, 1st October 2016
Camp on side of trail near Stevens Pass - campsite in frosty valley near Wenatchee Pass
Mile 2462 - 2484
Total 22 miles
I woke up on a gray morning and looked outside, glad that the expected rain had not started yet. The location of my tent was not the best one: very close to the trail and only a half mile away from the main road at Stevens Pass. I stayed at this location on purpose because the heavy weight of my backpack was too heavy to continue hiking. The best solution to the heavy weight is simple: go back to Stevens Pass for breakfast and donate more food and equipment to the hiker box. The short walk back gave me more opportunity to test the new Cascadia shoes from the hiker box. The shoes appeared to fit very well and they should last at least for the next 111 miles, and if everything goes well, all the way to Canada (190 miles). With my backpack lighter, I headed out of Stevens Pass at around nine AM. It is 107 miles to the High Bridge in Stehekin River valley. My splan is to walk this distance in five days, get good rest in a log cabin at Stehekin Valley ranch on Wednesday evening, and have four more days to reach Canada if the weather remains mild and dry. If it turns very wet and wintery, then the little village of Stehekin, on the shore of the long and deelake Chelan, would be a good place to end my journey.
My footsteps felt light and very soon the first lake could be seen from the trail: Lake Walhalla. It was Saturday and a few hikers passed me, most of them going out for an afternoon trip, some going out for whole weekend. Two friendly hikers ask me if i'm headed to Canada. I answered: "in that direction". They are a father and daughter, and they have walked many parts of the PCT including the whole wild section between here and Canada. They give me a precious gift: two slices of bread with jam! and wish me a safe journey.
Soon after we parted first raindrops started on my head. The rain could only be felt in places where trees were sparse. In most places the rain was intercepted by thick tree canopy. The trail started climbing uphill towards a hill named "Grizzly mountain". As I reached close to it's summit, there was a short pause in the rain and a colorful rainbow appeared.
More views from the ridge:
After a heavy but short rain shower, I saw a flat spot protected from wind. There I cooked a late lunch: the Spanish rice and noodles, received as a surprise from my friends from Utah in the package that i picked up at Stevens Pass yesterday. The rice and noodles were very delicious and I finished them just in time before the next rain shower started.
After the rain shower a little bit of blue sky could be seen. Lots of huckleberries we're growing along the narrow path. The huckleberry leaves after rain are a guarantee that hiker shoes will get very wet very soon; but the berries were sweet and delicious as always during my PCT journey. The best way of coping with wet shoes seems to be walking faster to warm up. Also the "Nature Valley" trail bars were providing me with extra energy.
The path traversed a slope with piles of huge rocks that had been transported by glaciers. From the slope another rainbow could be seen.
After the rock pile, the trail lead me uphill and than again downhill to a meadow close to a stream. There I saw three tents of my hiker friends. It was already getting dark and so I found a bare ground spot and quickly built a tent and crawled inside. When I later looked outside, stars were brightly shining.
Camp on side of trail near Stevens Pass - campsite in frosty valley near Wenatchee Pass
Mile 2462 - 2484
Total 22 miles
I woke up on a gray morning and looked outside, glad that the expected rain had not started yet. The location of my tent was not the best one: very close to the trail and only a half mile away from the main road at Stevens Pass. I stayed at this location on purpose because the heavy weight of my backpack was too heavy to continue hiking. The best solution to the heavy weight is simple: go back to Stevens Pass for breakfast and donate more food and equipment to the hiker box. The short walk back gave me more opportunity to test the new Cascadia shoes from the hiker box. The shoes appeared to fit very well and they should last at least for the next 111 miles, and if everything goes well, all the way to Canada (190 miles). With my backpack lighter, I headed out of Stevens Pass at around nine AM. It is 107 miles to the High Bridge in Stehekin River valley. My splan is to walk this distance in five days, get good rest in a log cabin at Stehekin Valley ranch on Wednesday evening, and have four more days to reach Canada if the weather remains mild and dry. If it turns very wet and wintery, then the little village of Stehekin, on the shore of the long and deelake Chelan, would be a good place to end my journey.
My footsteps felt light and very soon the first lake could be seen from the trail: Lake Walhalla. It was Saturday and a few hikers passed me, most of them going out for an afternoon trip, some going out for whole weekend. Two friendly hikers ask me if i'm headed to Canada. I answered: "in that direction". They are a father and daughter, and they have walked many parts of the PCT including the whole wild section between here and Canada. They give me a precious gift: two slices of bread with jam! and wish me a safe journey.
Soon after we parted first raindrops started on my head. The rain could only be felt in places where trees were sparse. In most places the rain was intercepted by thick tree canopy. The trail started climbing uphill towards a hill named "Grizzly mountain". As I reached close to it's summit, there was a short pause in the rain and a colorful rainbow appeared.
More views from the ridge:
After a heavy but short rain shower, I saw a flat spot protected from wind. There I cooked a late lunch: the Spanish rice and noodles, received as a surprise from my friends from Utah in the package that i picked up at Stevens Pass yesterday. The rice and noodles were very delicious and I finished them just in time before the next rain shower started.
After the rain shower a little bit of blue sky could be seen. Lots of huckleberries we're growing along the narrow path. The huckleberry leaves after rain are a guarantee that hiker shoes will get very wet very soon; but the berries were sweet and delicious as always during my PCT journey. The best way of coping with wet shoes seems to be walking faster to warm up. Also the "Nature Valley" trail bars were providing me with extra energy.
The path traversed a slope with piles of huge rocks that had been transported by glaciers. From the slope another rainbow could be seen.
After the rock pile, the trail lead me uphill and than again downhill to a meadow close to a stream. There I saw three tents of my hiker friends. It was already getting dark and so I found a bare ground spot and quickly built a tent and crawled inside. When I later looked outside, stars were brightly shining.
Heavy backpack... Maybe it wasn't such good luck that both packages arrived to Stevens Pass. Whatever the luck, you will make the best of it.~R
ReplyDeleteIt was only heavy for one mile because when I realized it, I returned to Stevens Pass and donated all the excess weight food to the hiker box. I am sure that the hikers who went through Stevens Pass after me we're happy to find good food in the hiker box. So definitely it was a good thing that both packages arrived! -- now writing from Istanbul on my way back from Iran. In the next few days I'll catch up and post the remaining days of my PCT 2016 journey :-)
DeleteI would like your permission to re-post some of your autumn photos from the Cascades on a website I maintain about the PCT (www.pcttrailsidereader.com). I would give you full credit and link to your website. Were you able to finish before the weather made the trail impassable?
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question: no, I was not able to finish. My walk ended on October 6th at Rainy Pass just before the heavy rain and snow started... I had to be in Vancouver on October 10th and I was not prepared for snowy conditions. I'm thankful to the mountains that they let me get this far north - it was much closer to Canada than I expected. I hope to come back to the North Cascades in future and finish the last 61 miles in warmer and drier weather.
DeleteYou can contact me at hughes@humboldt.edu
ReplyDeleteJirka, I plan to post some of your photos on November 15th on www.pcttrailsidereader.com . . .
ReplyDelete