A 200 mile trek where we had magnificent views and made some new friends along the way.
Backpackers: John Gundry, Carl Fisher and Ed Tucker
August 15, 2016 – Miles: 10 The three of us took the Greyhound bus to Steven Pass and started hiking at 12:30PM. The first 2 miles were easy, gentle trail and then a 1000 foot climb on good trail. Lake Janus, our campsite for the night, is a pretty lake but shallow and silty. We camped with a German couple and son and “Bonus Miles” and his friend.
August 16, 2016 – Miles:13 A tough day but Carl had more energy than the day before. There were two major up sections that wore us all out. We got to our campsite at 4:30PM-the first to arrive-so we picked our spots and set up. About the time we finished dinner (6:00PM) an old guy (75 years old) showed up. We told him to set up anywhere. Then a lady (40 or 50 years old) and a young girl found our camp and pressed in. The site was beginning to run out of space. Finally, around 7:30PM the German couple and son showed up and found a nearby spot. John’s 151 rum is pretty good.
August 17, 2016 – Miles: 12 Chilly at wake up (45 degrees) so we hit the trail at 7:00AM with an immediate uphill which wasn’t too bad. We had lunch at Lake Sally Ann where John and Carl decided to not to swim, planning to clean up at camp later in the day. The camp at Indian Pass had very limited water so there was no cleaning up. We are camped with the German couple and son and another couple from Portland OR. We learned that the German couple was actually a Dutch couple! We run into the Portland couple later in the trip. Overall a great day-not too tired, feet feel good and we had good views and weather was excellent.
August 18, 2016 – Miles:12 It was a long, hard uphill slog until 11:00AM, then lunch, and then a long, hard downhill slog. We hiked most of the day leapfrogging the Portland couple. Sunny all day long.
August 19, 2016 – Miles: 10 We woke up to smoke from a wildfire. Trail “telegraph” says it is far away from us with no chance of getting to us. Today’s hiking was a lot of up and then lots of down. We arrived to our destination for the day, Mica Lake, around 3:00PM and took a refreshing swim before setting up camp. The family from the Netherlands is here tonight and we met a lady from Belgium hiking solo who did 21 miles today. She wants to do less tomorrow so we may camp with her again. Our plan is for 14 miles tomorrow. Carl almost had a disaster while filtering water as he forgot to put the filter in his water line. Fortunately, he caught the error before drinking and now is using chemicals. Second disaster almost: Ed and Carl got off the PCT (not on purpose) and spent 20 minutes figuring out what happened-a dead fall tree right on a switchback. Carl followed an obvious trail over the dead fall, where others had gone, but the trail petered out on the middle of the mountain. We had to backtrack to find the trail. Carl had almost no issues with blisters on this sunny day.
August 20, 2016 – Miles: 15 Trail headed down to start the day 4 miles and 2000 feet and then 4 miles of up and 2000 feet. We got it all done by noon. The next 6 miles took us until 4:00PM. We camped right next to a river with “Speed” and Mary Ann, the lady from Belgium. We had lots of fun swapping stories. Mary Ann got all her gear at REI and food for 14 days! Her starting weight was 22 kilo’s (about 50 pounds)! There were lots of biting flies and horse flies.
August 21, 2016 – Miles: 14 Today’s profile map looked like a U which is much better than yesterday’s V. The first 5-6 miles were gentle downhill and then 8 miles of gentle up with the end result being very nice hiking. Along the way we stopped and talked to a trail boss/volunteer who is a big Packer fan who was wearing a Packer hat and had a Packer hard hat! It was sunny all day long with a very light, short rain at 7:00PM. Mary Ann (from Belgium) is staying with us again tonight. We have given her the trail name of “BB” which stands for the Bear Barrel she is carrying. The only person on the trail with one.
August 22, 2106 – Miles: 17 Today was interesting. We woke to clouds hanging low and looking like rain so we packed up as though it was going to pour. We had an immediate uphill (not too severe) for 3 miles. It was misty but not raining until noon and then the sun came out. We came into camp with BB (Mary Ann) again and had a good dinner and discussion. She is a physical therapist and gave Carl some tips. Most views were blocked by the clouds today.
August 23, 2016 – Miles: 10 It was 40 degrees at wake up on this last day of the trip for John and BB. We hit the nicely treaded, downhill trail early 6:00AM to make sure we made the High Bridge bus to Stehekin at 9:15AM. Ed and Carl had resupply boxes sent so after a lunch of burgers and beer, a shower, and laundry they picked up the boxes and repacked. They said good bye to John and BB before catching the shuttle bus back to High Bridge to start hiking at 2:45PM. The trail was mostly uphill on good tread. The campsite had picnic tables-a real luxury. Tomorrow looks to be demanding 14+ miles-all uphill. We met “Left Behind” from Germany whose boyfriend left her on the trail after only two weeks. That was about 4 months ago. We have been feasting on blueberries, huckleberries and blackberries which are found in abundance.
August 24, 2016 – Miles: 18 The hiking was all uphill and it was all day. The intended campsite was too small so we pushed on another 1.5 miles to a better camp and logged our biggest mileage day. Both Ed and Carl are beat and Carl developed a blister on his right little toe which he believes he caught early so it won’t cause major issues. We talked to a trial crew at Rainey Pass that used llamas.
August 25, 2016 – Miles: 15 Lots of good views today but not picture worthy. The trail took us through Granite Pass and Methow Pass. We arrived at our intended stopping point at 1:00PM and since we both felt good we continued on for 3 miles. We camped with the “French Girls” who are 25/26 years old and have been on the trail for 30 days. Our tent sites at Brush Creek are very dispersed so we invited the French Girls to have supper at Ed’s site. They agreed. Ooo la la. As we were finishing supper, about 7:15PM, 5 or 6 guys came into the area. There were no good spots remaining but they had NO tents so they found spots! They report no water from here to Harts Pass – our destination for tomorrow.
August 26, 2016 – Miles: 12 A great day hiking. It started with a 2000 foot climb (that was not the great part) that was well graded with lots of views. It then turned into a rolling up and down skinny trail until we hit camp at 2:45PM. We ran into BB 2 miles from camp with her parents who were visiting from Belgium. After she left us in Stehkin, she met her parents and then decided to hike from Harts Pass to Rainy Pass. Her parents were day hiking with her. The campsite at Harts Pass cost $8 but we got a pit toilet and picnic table but, unfortunately, no water. We talked with our neighbors (there was a total of five sites) and got invited over for Sangria, cheese and crackers. Nan (our neighbor) invited other folks over who brought more wine, more cheese, and chips. They were all car camping. It was fun trading stories and getting some trail magic. Carl has minor right foot blister issues. It was sunny all day.
August 27, 2016 – Miles: 14 We woke to very foreboding, angry looking skies. It was overcast and windy with dark clouds. We packed as though it was going to rain which, IMO, prevented it from raining. The sun broke through and clouds lifted around noon. We has easy trail and easy hiking all day so we did an extra 3 miles to set up for a shorter last day. Our camp is dry so we were not able to clean up. We camped with Dennis and Leslie, the couple from Portland whom we camped with 10 days earlier. We enjoyed their company and so decided to hike together tomorrow.
August 28, 2016 – Miles: 17 Our plan was to stop 4 miles short of the monument (US and Canada border). However, around noon dark clouds started rolling in so we decided (4 of us now) to do the extra miles and hit the monument. We arrived at 4:30PM with no rain. Our campsite in Canada was ¼ mile further and a light rain started as we set up our tents. It stopped shortly so we had supper and into our tents at 6:30PM as a light rain started again. Also camped with us tonight is “Left Behind” who finished the entire PCT today.
August 29, 2016 – Miles: 8 Easy walk into Manning Park. We met two ladies on the trail and one had a sprained ankle. Ed carried her pack 3 miles to the lodge office, giving back some trail magic. We spent most of the day with Dennis and Leslie – lunch, dinner and wine. They got a room and were picked up the next day by their daughter. Ed and Carl caught a 1:50AM bus to Vancouver BC (which was an hour late) where they caught another bus to Seattle and then another to the Lewis’.