A Real Pacific Northwest Experience

We stayed in Stehekin, WA until sunday the 24th when we took the ferry to civilization and met a good friend David who agreed to shuttle us a little further south in the hopes of finding less threatening conditions.  After talking with a "Trail Angel" (a person who volunteers their time taking care of hikers on the PCT and a great resource for current trail conditions) we decided to try and start at Snoqualmie Pass.  Tuesday came quickly and we were dropped off at the pass, the weather was a bone chilling 40 degrees and rainy at 2 in the afternoon.  The clouds were swirling around the craggy mountains and visibility was minimal, the night would be freezing for sure.  I sat there studying my map, looked up at the foreboding scene before us, and realized I was in over my head.  There was just no way for us to do this and not be dancing with very real danger.  With our heads hung low with disappointment we checked into an Inn that is at the pass and emotion was running wild.  We had come so far with determination and excitement while mother nature has other plans.  A few sunny days have shone upon us but as a whole, the Pacific Northwest has been a true test.  This weather is notoriously high risk for hypothermia, which is notorious for causing a person to become disoriented and unaware of the eminent danger upon them.  Not an ideal situation for a solo hiker

Summer doesn't really start here until the beginning of july but this spring has been particularly cold and damp as well.  I had certainly anticipated the Pacific Northwest to be true to it's reputation but also had hopes of maybe getting lucky and summer starting a little early, this has not been the case.

In contrast, the High Sierra Mountains in the southern part of the trail have had record low snowfalls and warm spring so the northbounders are making excellent time and are weeks ahead of most years.  It turns out this is an ideal year for northbounders while the few crazies attempting a southbound have not even been able to start as yet.  As awesome as it would be to complete the entire trail in one year, it is increasingly obvious that this is simply not feasible for us.  Some years the weather works out and some years it doesn't, and we happen to draw the short straw.  There is simply not enough time to make it all the way south before the snow flies in the High Sierras. So we have planned to skip a bit here in Washington in the hopes of returning at a more ideal time next year, perhaps even catch the landscape in full bloom and all its grandeur.  When the window of opportunity opens for us to continue our trek south, our goal is to give ourselves enough time to reasonably make it through to Mexico so that we only have one chunk to return to.

Meanwhile, while in Stehekin I had the pleasure of getting to know a Wildlife Biologist who works for the National Park Service and was there working on Barred Owls at the time, Roger.  He had given me his number if I needed any help in WA.  Little did he know I'd be calling him 2 days after parting ways looking for a place to hold up for a week and wait for this supposed summer weather to arrive.  A day of hitch-hiking into Seattle and onward north brought us to our secret hide-away, ironically near to the start of our adventure 15 days ago.

So far it has been a long story with not a whole lot of hiking to speak of, at the moment mother nature has other ideas and the best we can do is be thankful for the time we have together and the incredible friends we've made so far.  We have been truly blessed in many ways, other than the weather, and in the end it is all part of the adventure.

"Nothing big ever happens if you don't plan big"

Peace and Love,
"Beads" & "Roxstar"

Rocky Start

The moment when the boat shoved off from the dock to take me up north to Lightning Creek on Ross Lake was full of so much emotion.  It was a stunning sunny day with shining white peaks all around and my dad stood on the dock waving goodbye for now.  Leaving all things familiar behind and a huge adventure ahead of us with so many uncertainties.  The eastern mountains are familiar to us but the western landscape is HUGE: bigger mountains, steeper slopes, sharper everything.  The weather said clear for a few days so we started with eager legs.  The moment we stepped onto Pasayten Wilderness land we entered a wild land for sure, on a trail that would lead us up to the PCT just south of the border.  SO many down trees and unrecognizable trail that it took us 3 hours to go a single mile.  We set up camp, exhausted, and turned back the next morning with our spirits a tad broken and clouds rolling in to envelope the mountains above, glad we were not at 6000 feet.  We were so close to Canada we had to at least touch it so we walked north along the lake and touched the border.  Our northern terminus happens to be obelisk #72, and there is an actual line at the border.  A 50 foot wide swath of no trees cuts a straight line through the wild mountains, a strange site indeed.

Having finally started our adventure we headed south, started hiking too much, and promptly injured a muscle in my leg, oops.  So we slowed down and kept moving, we dont sit still very well.  Making our way up to Rainy Pass we hit snow at about 3500', a bit lower than normal and the steep slopes made me glad I bothered to bring my ice axe.  Heading down Rainy Pass of course no adventure is complete without a sketchy raging rive crossing, Roxi was not thrilled but came through and was very proud of herself when safe on the other side.  On the way down we saw absolutely no sign of other humans, are we the first crazies trying to southbound this year?  No trail signs and no trail markers. We found a deer trail that seemed to be heading in the right direction and within an hour we were standing on the trail where it began to poke through the deep snow. Tah-dah!! It kept leading us on the trail until the snow disappeared and we were safe at last, heading down the valley to the wonderful town of Stehekin, WA.

It turns out I am the first crazy southbounder into town and I decide to take a few days to get my leg back to 100%.  The next section is 100 miles through more high steep snow with not many lower options and I am seriously considering skipping it for now.  The Glacier Peak section is one of the most incredible parts of the trail and it would be lovely to come back and do it at a more appropriate time next year.

So it's been a rocky start and we are excited for the snow to melt... but that means raging rivers too so we will just have to take our time and do our best to stay safe, no heroic efforts here!!!

Peace & love,
"Beads" (my trail name) and "Roxtar"

as we walk, into the wild......

Through all of our tireless preparation and sleepless nights, we head off into the great northern cascades tomorrow.  The snow this year has been slightly above average, but more importantly the spring has been cold and wet so the resulting conditions are not the warm inviting snowfields of most years at this time.  Instead, Hart's Pass (the northern-most road that crosses the PCT) is snowed in with 60 inches of snowpack still on the road.  The temperature has stayed unseasonably cold so snow is actually still falling, which is a totally different beast from the lovely hard pack of spring.  But, if we wait for the snow to melt, it would be near impossible to make it south through the high sierras in time to beat the coming snow in the fall... so onward we go.  We are literally taking a water taxi on Ross Lake north to near the Canadian border and hiking over 20 miles east up into the heart of the  Northern Cascades to reach the northern terminus of the PCT.  We will be carrying a full 8 days of food and praying to the weather gods we don't get hit by a storm.  Many of the exposed high elevation traverses will be on inclines of 30 degrees or more.  An ice axe, and knowing how to use it, is a necessity.  We are starting with one of the most remote and technically challenging parts of the entire trail.  Roxi and I are very much looking forward to our next resupply point in Stehekin, WA when the most difficult and nerve-wracking part is over, at least for the short term. 
Happy Trails!!!!
Laura & Roxi

Time flies when......

As they say, time flies when you're having fun!!! Or at least when preparing for a big adventure and there aren't enough hours in the day.  Roxi and I are training with our pack so that our trusty legs can carry us over the Northern Cascades in 2 weeks.  She caries her pack like it doesn't exist while sweat drips from my brow.  We have been frequenting Prompton State Park and Elk Mountain Ski Resort as our main training grounds.  Yesterday we did 12 miles on roads and that actually proved very difficult on the feet (paws).  We would rather have blisters and sore legs now when we have time to recover and a cold beer waiting at home!

Bringing Roxi introduces the need for "drop-boxes".  Roxi requires very high performance dog food with higher protein, fat, and calories than found in any normal commercial dog food and so I actually need to prepare daily rations and set up a schedule to have them sent to us along the way.  The trail is fairly remote and the opportunity to purchase good/nutritious/cheap trail food for myself is not as common as I would like and so these boxes are also a great opportunity to send myself food and various supplies like batteries and bug goop that I will likely need.  So in total there are actually 26 boxes to be prepared, addressed, and sent in a timely fashion.  Many go to post offices marked 'general delivery'.  And others are sent to hostels or vacation resorts that are near the trail and will kindly be held until our arrival.  I will send the first bunch before we head across the country but a very good friend of mine (Rita Dibble) will be taking care of the daunting task of making sure the rest make it into the mail in time for us to receive them in the remote mountains out west.  We are truly at the mercy of the mail system!!!

So we will be carefully preparing until june 10th when we will need to cross our fingers that we thought of everything and head into the wilderness.  While we focus on our trip, you can focus on the mission!  The donations have started to trickle in and we are SO excited to help  an amazing animal shelter reach their goals.  There is no better time to donate than now and there is no donation too small.  Please, if everyone who reads this blog donated just $5 we can make a huge difference in the future of COUNTLESS helpless dogs and cats in need, in one of the most dire places in the country.  Pet overpopulation is not a shelter problem, it is a community problem.  So please help this awesome shelter support and educate their community and make a better future for the animals that find their way into their care.  Don't put it off, donate today!!!

Happy Trails!
~laura & roxi