The end

The journey is over, the adjustment back to the other side of life has begun. But for a moment I wanted to think back on the amazing journey that I got to experience this summer. First off the story of how my dad and I got back to the states is one worth sharing:

After waking up at the border, we had 9 miles to hike in order to get to the remote ski resort of manning park in order to get to society. The walk was mediocre at best with very few good views and the constant knowledge that the miles that I was hiking did not even count. I was already done. Even so we completed our journey around 11. This was too late to catch the greyhound that leaves at 11am every day from the park, so we focused on cleaning up (shower/laundry) and then getting some food in us. Luckily the resort had a hot tub that they let us use and it felt amazing. Then we settled for an above average meal at the only restaurant in the area. Now that all our chores were done we decided to make a run at trying to get back in an area with either internet, phone service, hotels, or real civilization. Being a thru hiker, the only real option I knew was to hitchhike. We walked to the highway and thumbed it. We were greeted by no one and shown no sympathy. After over an hour in the hot sun we took a break before our next attempt at getting a ride. In round two of our hitchhiking it took over an hour but we ended up finally getting a ride from a couple on their way to the beach. It may have been the fact that I had not been in a car in a while, but it seemed the whole way that they were driving way too fast and looking at the scenery way more than they were looking at the road. Sure enough 30 miles into the drive, they were pulled over by the police along with the car behind us. The car behind us got a DUI and our driver got a speeding ticket. This unraveled her and the next 2 miles were nothing short of terrifying. Between the chain smoking, constant eating and her lack of attention to the road, sitting helplessly in the back seat seemed like the last place I wanted to be. Luckily we made it to Chilliwack alive. From here we were hoping to get to Abbotsford before too late and then walk across the border the next day. But first, still having the thru hiker hunger I was ready for dinner. We walked over a mile looking for a place to eat and asked multiple people until we finally found a nice restaurant with some very pretty waitresses called Earls. My dad and I had some drinks, good food, and a nice chat with a couple of the waitresses. It turned out that the power of my adventure and the stories I could pull from it and share landed us a ride to Abbotsford with one of the waitresses. The catch was we had to wait an hour until ten when she was off. It was a no-brainer. We got a dessert and a couple more drinks and the waiting began. It was a bit longer of a wait than we had expected but it was well worth it once we finally were able to get to the hotel. The desk clerk at the hotel ended up getting a watered down version of my story and it convinced him to leave the pool open for a while longer. After hearing my story though, he asked me if I was in hurricane Irene. It was one of the situations where it was not even worth it to try to explain to him that the hurricane was 2000 miles away and that I had been unaffected. 6 hours of sleep, a quick trip to the canadian coffee place 'Tim hortons' and we were off across the border. Since technically your not supposed to hike across the border as we did, we told border patrol we just had been hiking in British Columbia for a few days. They bought it and we were through. Into the town of Sumas we walked and began our next leg of hitch hiking. This time it was to bellingham. We were picked up quickly by a guy named Toby. He talked in third person, told us he was psychic and could read tarot cards. Toby was nice and liked to talk but I'm not sure he was still playing with a full deck. Either way he took us all the way from sumas to bellingham. from here we took the bus to the airport, rented a car and drove home. All in all the trip home cost us $44 total compared to a greyhound that would have cost us at least $65 each just to get to Vancouver BC. Hitch hiking is truly the most economical way to travel.

The pacific crest trail was a life changing journey. It taught me things like there is so much out there, I dont need much to be happy, and most of all I can do anything that I set my mind to. The desert in southern california was truly the most influential part of the trail. Getting dropped off with just my backpack and a plan to get 2700 miles north to canada was a very unique feeling. Nervousness mixed with excitement. But over the 650 miles of the southern california dessert, that dream to make it the whole way began to turn to a reality and instilled a confidence in me that I would be able to make it. After all once I was done with by far the ugliest section of trail, it would be a constant joy and eye opening experience to hike the rest. Central california brought some of the best times on the trail. For the time I hiked with escalator, hot cheese, and Dr, Chonzies I had the most fun, was surrounded by the best views and terrain, and was challenged with obstacles I had never dreamed of. The streams were giant, and sometimes had the power to take a person away, the hills were covered in snow and had to ability to humble even the most experienced climbers, but I made it through them all and lived up to the trail name I had been given as legend. It was not something others had not done and wouldn't continue to do, it was something that I had never known I could do. From here anything was possible. Northern California went by so fast, as I increased my mileage to average over 30 miles a day. Then once I entered Oregon I was greeted by family and friends at every place I wanted to stop. The absence of some of the wonder that california had, was fulfilled by the kindness of the people I knew. The walk across the bridge of the gods foreshadowed what washington would bring. Epicness. Everything in washington was bigger, harder, and more amazing. It was not the sierras of central california but it came close to rivaling it in a totally different way. The giant mountains of Adams, St helens, Rainier, and glacier peak rose out of the jagged peaks that made up one of the most desolate mountain ranges on the trail. The constant ascent and descent of these peaks made it a very trying section especially at over 30 miles a day, but the views were so amazing that it was worth it to push that extra mile at the end of the day and witness a great sunset. But I could not have asked for a better way to end the trail than having my dad at my side. He was a trooper and held up a lot better than I did my first week on the trail. We had an amazing time and finished in style a day earlier than we expected.

119 days 2700 miles and a frame of mind that will never be the same. Anyone can do it and everyone should. A video of the trip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIzSN9_aF-I

This journey has been brought to you by Legend. Anything is possible

Pct party

This Saturday (9/17) we are having an open house from 4 to 7 pm and it would
be great if you could come by so I can catch up with you after four months
on the PCT, show off some pictures and share my stories of the trail.   No
need to bring anything but maybe some lawn chairs to sit on if you have
them.



Email: jgar15@comcast.net

Picture showing party

This coming Saturday the 17th I will be showing a slideshow of the pictures of my trip and more than willing to talk to everyone about it. It will be at my parents house. Contact me if you need the address an just let me know if you are going to make it: jgar15@comcast.net

I swear that shirt fit 2600 miles ago.

Day 119-Canada

It's over! I'm done! I completed the 2654 mile hike from Mexico to Canada at 542 pm PST with my dad at my side! It brings the total to 3 months and 27 days. It's amazing to get to the end. It hasn't sunk in yet I guess. Well we began 20 miles out with an outside shot at making it mostly depending on my dad's feet. He powered through it. We walked through many passes including windy, rock, and castle passes. Then we climbed down the devils backbone and past Hopkins lake. All were with amazing views of the extremely snowy northern cascades. There were a few patches of snow along the way but we successfully navigated them. At one point we were taking our lunch break and all of a sudden I saw a machine gun come around the corner in the hands of a border patrol agent. There were two of them and they turned out to be nice, just a little intimidating with the gun. They were not much older than me but seemed to have some kind of status due to their border patrol hats. They passed and then a while later we met two other agents walking the trail. It was also nice to meet one lady who will finish the trail tomorrow. She has section hiked it over 9 years and doing every section in order. Well with it all over this means my blog will be coming to an end soon. I am thinking I will do 2 more posts and maybe a few pictures. I will post one summary of the trip once I get to a computer to write it, and then finally I will post a link to the video I will make of the pictures and videos I took along this epic journey! Both should be up within the week.

Day 118- on the verge

Today was one of my favorite on the trail. Even with his extremely sore feet, my dad and I made it through 22 miles. This puts us right on the doorstep of Canada and on the cusp of finishing the trail. With 20 miles tomorrow I will be on the Canadian border and be officially done with the trail. Today we started around 730 in the morning from the bottom of glacier pass. We made a short climb to the pass and then began the 2800 foot climb to the top of the ridge. It was an endless amount of switchbacks, but the views were amazing of the needles and the golden horn. Once at the top we began the second phase of our day made up of mostly ridge walking. Through harts pass, jims pass and a couple others. We walked through amazing meadows full of wildflowers, ridges with patchy snow, and dense forest. The variation was incredible. Just past Harts pass a guy walked by us, out of breath and a bit scared saying he had seen a grizzly. I highly doubt it, but it's possible. Either way we continued to talk during the section and did not let it phase us. To conclude the day we walked around the devils backbone and down into a small valley. The last mile of rocky downhill trail seemed to do a number on my dad's feet. Even so we made it to saw creek where we camped and made some blue cheese puff potatoes. They were great and I made some extra mashed potatoes to satisfy my hunger. In the 20 miles tomorrow we will have only a couple small climbs, including the last one of the whole trail up to over 7000 feet and from there it is a 7 mile gradual downhill to the Canadian border! On a side note my dad earned his trail name (at least for this year). He is the terminator because he is here to get me to the terminus and make sure I terminate the trail.

Day 117- a surprise

I don't know what it was, but my dad and I cranked out a 23 mile day. We began with the pretty level 5.5 miles to rainy pass (highway 20). Along the way when I was about 100 yards ahead and saw our second bear in two days. Unlike the first one this one took off down the hill as soon as it saw me. 2 bears in two day, my dad must be good luck! At rainy pass we took our first break and had a cinnamon roll each. Between the sugar and calories it must have powered us up cutthroat pass which was a 2500 climb. Along the way we met many day hikers who loved hearing about my trip and that I was finishing with my dad. He also could have been motivated to get up the hill by the 7 year old girl we saw hiking down the hill with her dad saying they had camped at the top. A good break, a lunch of jalapeño hummus and we were off to conquer two more passes. We both survived the climbs over granite and methow passes and my dad said he was good to keep going. Before we knew it we were at the bottom of the canyon and crossing the methow river. It was 430 and we had already gone 20 miles! Once again he said he was solid to keep going. We were shooting for a campsite near the river at an old horse camp. Sadly we never found it and ended up walking a couple more miles to brush creek. Along the way we saw some of the largest piles of bear scat i have ever seen. I wasn't afraid though, after all I'm a through hiker. We settled into camp and cooked up an amazing dehydrated shepherds pie. The one excellent thing about having my dad hike with me is he is more than happy to do dishes, something I was never very good or reliable at doing most of the trail. With this giant day, my dad and I are set up perfectly to complete the 51 miles to manning park in the 3 days we planned.

Day 116-fireweed camp

Waking up on grass was nice, until the bees began to buzz on the flowers and the Mosquitos came out. It happened to be 630, but even on a day I could sleep in, it was time to get up. My dad and sister soon followed and we got our fix of hit chocolate and coffee from the stehekin restaurant. After My mom joined us and got her necessary first cup of coffee we headed to the amazing stehekin bakery and all had a cinnamon roll. The nice thing with a little sister is you also get her left overs. From here we walked the 2 miles back to the main landing at stehekin. I still can't believe they made me walk 2 non trail miles. Either way from here I was business. My dad and I packed up our things. I went through the food and managed to fit it all in my pack (giving him a light pack). We said our goodbyes, caught the shuttle to high bridge (the pct 11 miles away) and were off. We had an unbelievable day. I knew my dad had done some walking, but I could not believe how strong a hiker he was. We made it 6 miles before the first break. I ate some food and he rested and we moved on. Shortly thereafter when we began to follow bridge creek, we walked up on a large black bear 10 yards from us. It was pretty awesome that my dad got to see one only 8 miles into the trail when it took me 800 miles. We snapped some pictures and moved on. The bear did not seem to mind us. At maple creek there was a rickety wooden bridge over it, that swung in the air. It was the ones that often fail in movies, making it all the more thrilling to go over. We finished out our day by making it to fireweed camp. A total of 15 miles for the day and we started at noon. A big dinner and it was time for bed. I have to say today was one of my most fun days. The scenery was average but the animals and the company was amazing. This will be an excellent 4 more days. My only complaint is that this is the first time all trail I have treated water. I guess it's for the better since I don't want to have to drag along a sick dad.

Day 115- stehekin

I slept in a ditch last night with my tent draped over a branch to account for any condensation. I can't say it was the most comfortable spot but I ended up sleeping pretty good. So good that I slept longer than I was planning on. I didn't even wake up until 7. This left me scrambling to get on the trail by at least 730 and made getting to stehekin by lunch a lost cause. Either way I packed up and began the all downhill day. My only food until stehekin was a few candies walnuts. I rationed them carefully and supplemented them with huckleberries. Still I was extremely hungry by the time I had dropped 4000 feet in 17 miles to the stehekin river. At least after I crossed high bridge I ran into two section hikers who were going in to stehekin and had way too much food. I got some dried fruit, nuts, and beef jerky from them until I could get in to town. We waited for the 11 mile shuttle up at the campground while getting destroyed by flies. The shuttle arrived and we all hoped on. It made many stops in the 11 miles causing it to take over an hour to get into the town. But the driver was nice enough to stop at the bakery for me and fellow hiker blister to get some good food. I got a giant cinnamon roll, a piece of strawberry rhubarb pie, giant bowl of ice cream, and a root beer. It would tide me over. At one of the stops a man, a woman, and a little girl resembling my family came up to the bus. Turns out it was them and they asked me in front of the full bus if I wanted to to go fishing with them. I said no due to the dirty tired state I was in after a 14 day grind through washington that has nearly destroyed my body. Only 88.8 miles left to complete the journey. I got all my town chores done and got my blog all updated. I'll try to put up a couple pictures tomorrow. Then as a family we ate a wonderful but very spendy meal at the only restaurant in stehekin and followed that by sleeping under the stars at my ten year old sister's request. Tomorrow I will organize the food they brought me and hopefully hike out mid day with my dad. He is going to hike this last section with me and I'm very excited to get to do a little lower mileage. But don't worry he took his training very seriously and I'm sure will be cranking out near 20 mile days. I told him what ever he wants to do mile wise as long as I don't run out of food again.

Day 114- the wall

For the first time in a long while there was no fog around me when I woke up. What was there was condensation all over the ground, tent, and me. It was especially terrible since on the edges of the tent it was frozen. Even so I had to endure this and packed up the tent and began the trek towards milk creek. I finished the climb over fire creek pass and got a good view of glacier peak and the frozen over mica lake. From here it was all down hill until milk creek which I completed easily. At the bottom of the canyon I took a break and opened up my food bag and realized how low I was on food. Basically all I have left is a little bit of mashed potatoes and a few candied walnuts. It's going to rough getting to stehekin tomorrow. I made the first of two large climbs and hit the wall. I was so tired I couldnt go more than a couple miles without needing a break. I finally just gave in and took a long break until I thought i could make it down the hill and to the suattle river. I made it, but it was a constant battle against wanting to stop. The crossing on the suattle was interesting in itself. It was a large waste deep river with one log starting 10 feet high and pointed down at around 30 degrees and this connected to one that pointed totally the opposite way. After the crossing I began the tough climb to suattle pass. Half way up I met blister who said he is really ready to be done. I wish I would have met him earlier because he seemed like someone I would have hiked with for a while. I got in 29 miles and have 17 more to get to stehekin.

Day 113- glacier peak

Once again I woke up in the middle of a cloud. It was real foggy until sometime between 8 and 9 and then it was a beautiful day. I guess when they say it's nice weather in northern Washington that means it's nice between 8 and 8. Anyways, the day was full of climbing up and down ridges with spectacular 360 degree views of the northern cascades. After going over reds pass I sadly had to lose all of the elevation that I had gained to go over the pass, knowing I would gain it all again soon. On the way down there was so much snow that I could cut some of the switchbacks by sliding down the snow. I wound through an old growth forest and then just before Kennedy creek the trail became overgrown with blackberry bushes and mud. But after trekking through the mud I found some of the biggest huckleberries I have ever seen. They could have been mistaken as cherries. From here I was rock bottom and had to climb substantially to get to a series of creeks. This is when I lost all energy and will to walk. I still had time on my side to make it a big day but my body did just not want to walk. I pushed through it and still ended up with a 32 mile day. If I can get in one last 30 mile day then I can hopefully make it to stehekin for lunch on Sunday.

Day 112- the real north cascades

It was freezing when I woke up this morning. It was so cold that I started out with my hat and gloves on until it warmed up. It may have been cold, but there were not so many clouds in the sky and it looked like I may actually get some sun today! Sure enough after my first climb to a pass the sun was shining right in my face. I completed the tough up and down section of snoqualmie pass to Stevens pass. I walked through the Stevens pass ski area and across highway 2 to begin the next section to stehekin. Immediately I was greeted with a slow gentle graded trail to walk on for over three miles. It was the first flat trail I have had in days. Soon enough the trail got to business climbing past Janus lake into the true north cascades. Walking on sharp ridges that give way to passes at 6000 feet made up of meadows full of wildflowers. It's so amazing. Factor in the snow and it is truly beautiful. I finished out the day walking past pear lake where I grabbed some water to camp with. On my walk down to the lake off the trail I began to get chased by a dog. It scared me a bit but I recovered. The owner came after him soon. It wasn't a problem, the real problem was that the guy had the best camp site at the lake so I had to climb the next pass and found an even better spot in a big green meadow. It could be another cold night. All the day hikers I passed today said that it would be nice the next three days, but I didn't see anything but clouds for the last few hours of the day.

Day 111- where is mr sun

Another sunless day on the pct. In fact there were so many clouds I could not even find my own shadow. With no sun, there was lots of moisture and just walking made it feel like rain. My body is extremely tired. I think I am at the nearing the end of my 30 mile days. For sure after stehekin I will be dropping my mileage significantly. I met many section hikers today and they were very intrigued, and always asked if I needed food. I didnt want to take there food so I declined that but gladly answered all of their questions. I have decided that of the people I have met on the trail, Washingtonians are the nicest. The huckleberries are giant and a constant distraction but they are too sweet to pass up. Overall even though the weather was freezing, the clouds ruined the view, and I had to sport the long johns under my shorts look, it was still a decent 30 mile day.

Day 110- roller coaster

Breakfast at Snoqualmie Pass!

At 2 in the morning it started raining and I had to put my tent up. To do this I had to find my trekking poles which I thought I left by the power outlet. I walked the 100 yards over there and did not find them. They ended up being right by where I was sleeping. I put the tent up and slept the rest of the night. In the morning I was waiting outside of the summit pancake house when it opened. I got the biggest thing on the menu with every breakfast food imaginable. From here I got some snacks and a couple meals from the chevron and hit the trail. It began with a couple thousand foot climb. There was fog and clouds everywhere so I did not get to see any of the great views until almost 2 when it began to burn off. The trail was never flat always up or down. Over a pass then down to a valley. For the first time in a long time my legs are fatigued. I think it is due to walking at a fast pace to make up for my mid morning start. By ridge lake I met beacon. We didnt talk much as there were a couple day hikers there too. I walked with the day hikers for a while and was just happy to talk with people my age. They may not have been my best friend and we didnt even have lots in common, I just liked answering all their questions. At lunch time they turned back and I cranked on. Through lots of deadfalls and the challenging up and down of the trail I met many section hikers and crossed many streams. One of the larger creeks even had a washed out bridge and I had to cross on a branchy log. I finished out the day and am camped out on a windy ridge. It's going to be a cold night.

Day 109- snoqualmie pass

When I woke up this morning I was just too comfortable in my sleeping bag. This meant I didn't get up and moving until after 7. But even so I wanted to get to snoqualmie pass today. It would be my last giant day of 42 miles. Even with the late start I was set on my goal. Almost all day was filled with logging land, a checkerboard of clear-cuts. In the morning the fog had settled into some of the lower valleys and made it half beautiful. I passed Tibetan a few miles in. He is an interesting guy and it was strange to see him after passing him over 1500 miles ago. He must have skipped up. The rest of the day was non eventful. Then about 8 miles before snoqualmie pass is where all the down trees started. Every other minute was spent climbing up and over some gigantic trees that laid across the trail. It got dark and I brought out the head lamp and cranked out the last few miles in the dark before arriving at highway 90 and the pass. To my dismay the chevron had closed a half hour early causing nothing to be open. I did find a power outlet to charge my phone and a spot right next to a ski lift to sleep. I will find a place for breakfast in the morning, buy a little food (mostly snacks) and head out.

Day 108- into the clearcuts

Last night was the first night in a long time that I was actually cold. This just made me get up and get going quicker. The Mosquitos were somewhat bad until I was up by chinook pass and highway 410. From here I had to climb to sheep lake and then up even higher over yet another pass. Sheep lake had so many backpackers out for the weekend for such a small lake. From here we got to wind around some high hills with little water compared to the rest of washington. Because of how the hill were situated, there were great views of what's in front and what was behind. Eventually I got to government meadow where there is the best of the three shelters that I have seen built on the trail. Here there was a family spending the last of their Sunday. I could just tell they would love to give me food so I went up and started talking to them. I ended up talking and snacking with them for an hour. They gave me a hot dogs, soda, and chips and when I said I was going they gave me marshmallows, Graham crackers, chips, and a candy bar. I only got in 6 more miles because of the time I spent at urich cabin. But I did get six miles into the dreaded logging section of the trail. In that time I had to climb up under and around multiple fallen logs. Tomorrow I may do the big day I had planned for today.

Day 107- the last resupply

I woke up and was on the trail around 630. I snaked up and around white pass ski area before dropping down to highway 12 and white pass. From here I made the half mile walk down the road to the kracker barrel and picked up the last of my resupply packages. It had about 6 days of food and other than that I will be just getting food out of gas stations the rest of the way. I bought ice cream, coffee, pastries, burritos, and a pizza pocket from this store and waited for some of my depleted electronics to charge. After I could not sit still any longer I made my way back to the trail. I was a bit too full, but it's so hard to pass up real food. On the trail it was a winding path through beautiful lakes and wildflowers. Then as if that was not good enough, we climbed to the top of the ridges, yielding wonderful views of rainier. I would around these ridges with many gorgeous meadows and alpine lakes. Then I hears some thundering footsteps and looked into the meadow and saw over a hundred running elk into the trees. The next stream I came to had hundreds of frogs in it too. This section is full of wildlife. This trail is amazing in that if you have a couple bad days out here, it will take you high into the mountains and give you spectacular views and help you remember why you are out here. I passed the 30 mile mark for the day and was planning on 4 more to highway 410 but shortly thereafter I hit Dewey lake which was pretty amazing and something I decided was not worth passing up. It was the question of camping by a lake or a highway. I don't know why I was so stuck on doing more miles. So I settled on a 31 mile day and am just fine with it (trail mile 2329) . Tomorrow I supposedly enter into one of the worst sections of trail through clear-cuts with many down logs. Thank you logging industry.

Day 106-people watching

Today was a good day... After my morning meltdown. I packed up my stuff and got going close to 7, but only about a mile into the hike I began to get attacked by hundreds of Mosquitos. I was swatting them left and right but more just kept coming so I began to run down the trail to get away. It didn't work and for a good five miles I was swatting them and yelling some choice words at the irritating insects.finally as I began to climb the goat rocks I got away from them. Early in the climb I saw a dad with his kid. Pretty normal except the dad was carrying two guns on his shoulder and neither of them had packs or even water. That set the tone for the day. I would see as interesting people as I would on a trip to Walmart. Down the trail I saw a large group of teenagers with the parents straggling behind. In that group alone there must have been 8 wife beaters and as many trucker hats. Then around noon i saw a guy in a dress shirt and jeans getting water and then his pack fell in the stream. He sprinted down the mountain and dove in and got his pack and waved to me like nothing happen. The strange assortment of people continued the whole day. I probably saw 150 people total. The goat rocks were pretty amazing. Definitely the best Oregon or Washington has offered so far, but it did not even compare to the sierras. Even so, the views of Adams, and St Helens were great and the view of rainier only got better as we walked on 6000 foot ridges towards it. In the last 2 miles of the day I even got to see the goats of the rocks. There were between 5 and ten and as soon as they saw me they bolted up the rocks. They move a little quicker than me. I had forgotten how tough it is to walk on snow. I am tired out from the 32 mile trek through the snowy goat rocks. There is 5 miles to white pass (trail mile 2303) tomorrow and then it's 279 miles in 9 days to stehekin where I will meet up with my special guest who will finish the trail with me.

Goat Rocks

Day 105- caching in

Waking up I could tell it was going to be a tough day. My body was tired, my mind was tired, and I was unmotivated to get up. Since I knew it could be a slow day, I forced myself out of bed and onto the trail at 7. Only 2 miles in I was dead tired and needed a break. I pushed on and made it to forest service road 34 where there was the most wonderful food cache in the world from the trout lake abbey. It contained apples, oranges, snack bars, complete meals, vitamin water, and even Starbucks frapachinos! It gave me the energy I needed to power up the long hill to the base of mt Adams. The views were spectacular. It was really one of the first good views of Washington. St Helens, rainier, and of course Adams were all visible and I snapped off plenty of pictures. On the descent down from mt adams i finally saw some elk. They took off as soon as they saw me, breaking branches and trampling bushes and scaring me a bit. As i left the mt Adams wilderness, the Mosquitos became unbearable around the lakes just before goat rocks wilderness. After 45 minutes and tons of bites, they began to lighten and I finally found a place I could set up my tent before I was eaten alive. I entered goat rocks wilderness just before setting up camp and tomorrow I will get to go through it. Some say it is one of the best on the whole trail. Even with being tired all day and very fatigued I still managed 33 miles.

Day 104-everythings bigger in Washington

The fallen trees are huge, the Mosquitos are huge, the snowdrifts are huge and the miles are longer here. Even at a low elevation and not the most difficult terrain, I am getting tired earlier than I did in Oregon and northern california. I think all factors of the long trip may be wearing on me. I woke up in a damp tent on a ridge looking back at mt hood. It wouldn't have been a problem but all day I was so busy fighting off the exotic Mosquitos that I had no time to dry it out. Even though I seemed to be going at a slow pace, the miles still crept by and before I knew it I was walking through Indian Heaven wilderness where my family has backpacked since I was a baby, during our last trip there in 2009 we ran into several thru hikers, inlcuding a retired guy named  "peanut eater" who completed the PCT that year and this year is taking a shot at the continental divide trail (CDT). The Mosquitoes were pretty bad here just as they have always been. This was the lone highlight of a day filled with walking through thick green forests with lots of  deadfalls and offering very few views of the area. I made it to trout lake creek, just past Steamboat Lake where I am camped at the best campsite I have had in a while. The only trouble is I still have a damp sleeping bag from 2 nights ago and a damp tent from yesterday.

Day 103- the clothesline

Today I woke up with everything soaked. My sleeping bag was wet, I was wet, my tent was wet, and my pack was wet due to a tent collapse in the middle of the night. I did the best I could to not get too frustrated. Luckily my family was spending their time to camp out on the trail with me for a night and they had some great food for breakfast including eggs, bacon, frosting, bagel French toast, and coffee, all topped off with some trail made huckleberry syrup made by my sister. Once the great meal was over it was time to hit the trail. It was just one of those days I didn't feel like walking. It was lots of climbing in the morning, only to have a 2000 foot climb all go to waste by descending down the other side of the hill. From here we just climbed even higher up into the hills east of stabler. I used my pack as a clothesline all day to dry all my gear out. At one point I had it so covered in things drying out, it concealed my pack. Day hikers were even giving me strange look. Even with the long time my bag had to dry, the sleeping bag is still very damp tonight. Luckily i am newly resupplied and got to have my favorite dehydrated food for dinner: gnocchi.

Day 102-huckleberrys

Washington welcomed me with some of the largest huckleberries I have ever seen. They large blue and very sweet. After getting dropped off and walking across the the bridge of the gods, I had to climb up from only 140 feet to 4000. Around 3 I met up with my parents and sister where they would camp with me on the trail. We had good food and even a cake and s'mores for dessert. The trouble came when we went to bed and it began to pour. Then about 1 in the morning my tent collapsed and made a puddle in my tent and soaking everything. I got as warm as I could and decided to figure it out in the morning.

Day 101- the gorge

It was a warm night in the eagle creek canyon and I didn't sleep too well. It seemed much cooler in the morning so I got a couple hours of sleep in then before setting out on the ten miles to cascade locks. Going down the canyon was pretty amazing and the most beautiful trail I have seen in miles. The forest was green, the water was pure, and there were water falls everywhere. One waterfall called tunnel fall, you actually have to walk under the falls through a tunnel. When I got about a mile from the end of the trail I began to see tons of day hikers and many of them had dogs. Then the unexpected happen, after believing I would be hanging out in cascade locks until around 12 when my friend Tyler, I had 3 messages from my parents saying they were in town to meet me for breakfast. This motivated me and I ran the last 3 miles to where they were parked. I was greeted with the usual hug and comment on how skinny I looked. From here we crossed the river and had a wonderful breakfast buffet at skamania lodge. I stuffed myself completely. I packed up the food they brought me and before I knew it my friend Tyler was in town. We went to the hood river beach and swam around while avoiding parasailors. From here yet another friend Courtney picked me up and took me to a BBQ where her family and some neighbors were waiting to ask me lots of questions. I filled myself with hot dogs hamburgers and even pie for dessert. I chatted for a long while and even got my laundry done. It was great. Tomorrow they will give me a ride back to the trail and I will hike 20ish miles to camp with my parents.

Day 100-bye Oregon

I am camped about 10 miles from the end of Oregon. This means I will be sleeping on Washington soil until I am done with the trail. Waking up, I was tired and fatigued from my massive day yesterday, so I slept In a bit even so I made it 31 miles today. The first part of the day around mt hood consisted of climbing a ridge, then dropping down the other side to a river. This was repeated a few times and was somewhat annoying. But eventually I began to see some day hikers mostly on their way to either the muddy fork or Ramona falls. I even had to teach some how to read signs. From here we walked north and left mount hood in the dust. After clearing a couple hills and passing lost lake, we came to a ridge where hood was visible behind and st Helens, rainier, and Adams were visible ahead. It was pretty amazing. Soon after I departed the pct to take the eagle creek alternate route which I had been told by many past hikers was a must take. It was steep at the beginning and really put some pressure on my knees and legs to slowly descend. After two miles it became more gradual and was Just casual walking through a green northwest forest. Tomorrow I will complete the 10 miles of Oregon and take the rest of the day off.

Day 99- 52 miles

Today was the day I did over 50 miles for the second time. It began a little ways past Jude lake and ended past timberline lodge. It was really not a bad section, with a few lakes along the way including Timothy lake. The only thing that seemed to spoil some of it was the views were very infrequent, with all the walking in green forests. As I approached mt hood and began the walk around it, I was already around mile 45 for the day and the trail went up a sandy hill. It was pretty rough and was one of those climbs that 2 steps forward meant one back. Once up the hill, views of mt hood were amazing with the peak looking down upon us hikers. To add to the beauty, the trail was bordered with amazing wildflowers. As I went by timberline lodge there were many day hikers snapping lots of pictures of hood. It was strange to be walking under some of the ski lifts that I have snowboarded on, only this time the snow was gone. After crossing highway 26 at waipiti pass and highway 35 at Barlow pass today, the only section left is the 40 some miles I have to get to cascade locks. 52 miles was a giant day for me and I can tell I am exhausted and may not be so fast tomorrow. The key today was my pace was close to 4 miles an hour. Even though cascade locks is within a long day of where I am camped, i am thinking I will do it in a day and a half due to the anticipation of being pretty tired tomorrow.

Day 98- the tag along

Last night was cold and windy and I did not want to get out of bed. Finally around 615 I forced myself out and did a quick pack job of my stuff and was walking soon afterwords with the sole purpose of getting warmed up. Luckily we got to walk right around mt Jefferson on the west side offering some pretty stunning views. We walked around a horseshoe type ridge near woodpecker peak and climbed over a north facing ridge and came to a beautiful meadow, that is where the tone for the rest of the day was set - I met dreamlaugher. He is a 65 hear old man hiking the Oregon section of the PCT. He never stopped talking and most of his stories seemed far fetched. After a while I felt more like some peace and "quiet" and just enjoy the views along the trail so I put in my headphones but he still wanted to tell me more stories.   I tried to out walk him, walking 12 miles in 3 hours and took a break, but who should appear, dreamlaugher running down the trail, looking like he was going to drop. I started walking again and made it to olallie lake where he caught up once again. From here it was a lost cause and he continued walking behind me talking my ear off with more stories. Around 8 I made camp and he camped with me and said he would keep hiking with me. Today he was with me for 30 miles of the 38 I did, got to give him credit for putting in big miles.! I suspect he will not be up when I leave tomorrow morning, we'll see..... The day ended on a good note - I had some blue cheese mashed potatoes for dinner that were great. I am 39 miles from timberline lodge and should get at least close to there tomorrow.

Day 97- mt Jefferson

It was strange walking today. Even though I only took a half a day off, it felt like it was much longer. I got a ride to the trail around 11 and didn't start walking until close to 12. It was a bit sad to leave my family once again, but I will see them in cascade locks in a couple days. The majority of walking today was through a burn area around three finger jack. It was supposed to be mostly waterless, but with all the snow still around, I had no issues and did not need to carry much water. After we walked around the base of three finger jack, we had some amazing views of mt Jefferson. I am camped on a ridge with Jefferson straight to the north looking like a giant mountain. The views to the north east and west are amazing, while when you look south it is ruined by bare, burned trees. Mac and cheese is on the menu tonight and the goal for tomorrow will be to eat enough food to lighten my pack a bit. I was feeling pretty tired today as well due to two nights in a row of being up past eleven which is way past my usual bedtime and not being able to sleep any longer than 630. But I cannot complain about two real beds in a row. It's the first time that has happen on the whole trip. Not much wildlife existed in the burn area. I saw only one deer and a ton of very small frogs that hung out by the snow. Tomorrow I will pass by pamelia lake area where my family has done quite a bit of backpacking.

Day 96-family

Today I finally got to see my family. It's been over 3 months and it has seemed to fly by. The day started with me waking up in a real bed at my friends house in Sisters. After charging up all my electronics, his mom made me a wonderful breakfast of sausage eggs French toast coffee and orange juice. Then I was taken to the trail and had 18 miles to go to make it santiam pass where my parents would be meeting me. I walked by the nice mt Washington and only encountered one small patch of snow. From there it was steady walking through a dry forest. I passed by big lake youth camp and crossed a few forest service roads before finally making it to highway 20 near santiam pass. A few minutes later my dad sister mom and grandma arrived to pick me up and we headed back to our cabin. Before leaving they left some trail magic  (brownies, and beverages)  for thru hikers passing through. The feeding began on the way back to the cabin. I was given sandwiches brownies and pop by my family who like everyone else I have seen commented on how skinny I was. At the cabin we took a dip in the river, ate steak and potatoes for dinner, chocolate pie and homemade ice cream for dessert, and also got my chores done. Later in the evening I got some stories and pictures of the trail in. It was the perfect day that I needed. I got to relax, eat and see my family. In the end it seemed like the 18 mile walk was a minor part of the day.

Sunrise

Flowers

Day 95- more familiar trail angels

It was one of those mornings. I woke up early but did not want to get out of my sleeping bag. Time went by and I finally found the motivation to get started. With everything packed up and ready to go, I began my 31 mile push to mckenzie pass. I was going to do it by 5 as well. Little did I know there would be quite a bit of snow. On the bright side the Mosquitos were much more tolerable today as well. I walked past elk lake in the morning and met chemical burn. He got his name from putting on too much deet and it created a burn on his leg. He was still packing up so I moved on. I passed a few more day and section hikers throughout the day. The scenery today was fantastic, starting with the huge meadows we walked through with views of bachelor, and the three sisters mountains. We actually walked right by the south sister. This was cool because I have climbed the south sister a couple times. The whole day was made up of these spectacular views and even though clouds were in the sky, rain was avoided. I got to mckenzie pass around 5 and my friend Lucas picked me up and brought me back to his place where his mom made me a huge dinner of beans, enchiladas,rice, corn, and fruit. I even got a shower and some pictures uploaded. Later in the evening she pulled out strawberry shortcake and huckleberry ice cream and said they had a real bed for me to sleep in. It was amazing. Thru hiker heaven. Let's see if my parents can match them in hospitality when I see them tomorrow.

Fitting that its called mirror lake

Mirror lake. I see why

Day 94- late start

Well I stayed around for breakfast with the redneck hippies from Eugene. When I told them that that is what they are, they loved it. They also enjoyed my stories. I waited for breakfast and then ate as much as possible. Sadly it took me until noon to get my fill leaving me very little time to get closer to mckenzie pass. I still got in 27 miles, the most possible with the daylight I had. Tomorrow I need to do 30 by 430 so my old roommate lucas's family can pick me up. I am not feeling great today, and I am nearly positive it is due to all the junk the Eugene party crew fed me. I can't imagine 3 hot dogs for breakfast is a very smart idea. Well I packed out an orange and a sandwich and not far down the trail when I was setting up my solar charger, the mophie external battery for my phone broke and is a bit useless. I have no way to charge my phone. I had an amazing shepherd pie for dinner. I was almost too tired to cook, I was up late last night and I have to get up early again. The Mosquitos are a bit better, but their bites hurt and itch more now it seems. I believe I have killed more Mosquitos than the miles I have walked. as a result of the large number of Mosquitos, my legs feel like lego pieces with bumps over every square inch if them (all bites). It's not the most fun hiking with all the mozzys, but its pretty flat and easy.

Charlton lake

Day 93- giving blood

A quick 14 miles into shelter cove was only quick because of the large number of Mosquitos around that were constantly biting and harassing me. So many bit me that they probably got the equivalent amount of blood as if I had donated. Shelter cove was solid and I got a hot dog for lunch as well as some AAA batteries for my radio and use of the terrible Internet. I met boots and David two section hikers here. Yogi the bear would be jealous of the rest of my day. At lower rosary lake some people gave me a bagel and cream cheese. Then after 12 miles of the worst Mosquitos so far I got to charlton lake where there was a group of family and friends camping from Eugene and they gave me access to everything. They were great and cooked me steak tacos hot dogs and marshmallows. I was going to walk further but they convinced me to camp there and said they would make me breakfast!

Trapper creek by odell lake an willamette pass

Day 92- the midday swim

Waking up I had no idea I would have a relapse of the sierras. But in the year of snow, i should have known I would be seeing more snow. I had a couple miles of snow walking around the pct highpoint for Oregon and washington. I really had to search for the trail in some spots, but after coming this far I know I just have to fight through it. For some reason, all of today I was really tired. I think I need to start snacking more. Around 24 miles in i really hit the wall, I had to take a long break and just relax. But even when I started out again I was dragging. Luckily at this point there was a lake that I jumped in real quick despite the heavy clouds of hovering Mosquitos and that did the trick. I am camped 12 or so miles from willamette pass. Oregon is really flying by. Sadly the Mosquitos have really put a damper on the beautiful scenery.

Nothing better than a nice afternoon swim

Day 91- the crater sunrise

Since I have been to crater lake before, I had to do something to make it special this time. I decided to night hike out to the rim and watch the sunrise. I awoke at some number that started with a 4 giving me under five hours of sleep. But the sunrise was absolutely worth it! It came up right over the rim on the other side of the lake. I knew I would need some kind of sugar to kickstart my day so I went with nutella on tortillas. This boosted me a few miles through some patchy snow walking but I could already tell I would be dragging all day from lack if sleep. It's hard enough to go to work or even class on very little sleep, but walking for over twelve hours in a day makes it really tough. But I battled. When I sat down for my first break there was a small dust devil that I saw start up and continue for about a minute. It was about the size of a trashcan and not 5 feet from me. I continued on and needed some help from listening to the radio after we left the crater lake rim. This is also when the walking got really monotonous due to all the trees and no good views. The Mosquitos were out in force to make it even more enjoyable. Now I have a system of limiting the bites I end up getting. I am constantly wiping my neck, face, legs, and arms. I had a big day kills wise, raising my mosquito kills per day significantly. A few miles before the highway i saw a trail crew working on the trail and they offered me some water which I should have taken but I thought I had enough. And I would have, had there not been a significant amount of snow. After I crossed highway 138 I saw acorn again who seemed to have skipped up to crater lake. From here it was more snow than not, with most of it in large drifts that were pretty steep and hard to traverse. I actually ended up bending both of my trekking poles on the same steep snow field. I made it through that and to thielson creek where I was so thirsty I drank a whole liter within a minute and got an unpleasant brain-freeze from the snow cold water. From here I put in a few more miles bringing me to about 30 for the day and the ability to stop walking at 7 in order to catch up on some sleep.

Day 90-the breakfast break

All night there was a bear growling about 100 feet from camp. He never came into camp which was fine with me. He sounded like he was in pain which may explain him being there all night and not even coming into my camp. Due to the bear interrupting my sleep, I slept in and didn't even start in the trail until 7. I walked 29 miles through snow and millions of Mosquitos and made it to mazama village where I destroyed their buffet. I had six plates of turkey, mashed potatoes, lasagna, and apple cobbler. While sitting their I saw there were 32 mosquito bites on my right arm alone. I hate those things. At the buffet I met alienwalker. She is a through hiker who has done some skipping, but she was nice. After dinner I headed out and planned on walking 7 miles to a good viewpoint where I would watch the sunrise. It ended up I went down the wrong trail for 4 miles costing me time and energy. I had to back track and then still do the 7 miles. I had to walk until midnight but I did end up making it. It was strange to night hike because I would see lots of deer, but only their eyes reflected light. It was like a cartoon. I am glad to get to the beautiful crater lake. It only took 37 miles and it feels like a windstorm on the rim.

Crater lake sunrise

Day 89- back to the trail

After a wonderful 24 hour break from the trail, I had to get back on the trail. My grandparents didn't give in easily though. With a large breakfast of eggs, hash-browns, bacon, orange juice, coffee, and biscotti they did make me consider staying another day. But I had made my choice and began packing up my stuff. I had enough food to get all the way through Oregon there, so I packed up some and am still looking at where I want to mail it. I got some more pictures up on the blog as well today. Then finally around 1230 I hit the trail. I have no complaints about the time. I had such a wonderful time with some of the extended family in southern Oregon. It was apparent everyone had done a good job feeding me when I went to buckle my hip belt. I had to loosen it to get it on but I'm not complaining. I was so rested and in such a good mood that the miles just flew by today. Before I new it I had passed by four lakes trail and began getting eaten alive by Mosquitos. I have a net but I didn't want to dig for it, so I just walked as fast as I could for a few miles. I could not take any breaks without having hundreds on me. At one point I stopped to tie a shoe and by the time my poles were down there were three on top of my hand. I probably killed 400 mozzis (mosquitos) while hiking. The day ended a bit early as I had done 21 miles in 7 hours with breaks included and was plenty satisfied and also hungry. I made some dehydrated mushroom spaghetti that was about average for my meals, but did fill me up. I will be passing out to the tune of the thousands of buzzing Mosquitos around my tent.