Date: August 22 & 23, 2017
Miles: 2447.4 – 2465.2
“I’ll have the Train Wreck and a side breakfast sandwich. Will that be an insane amount of food?” ~ Donkey
It was another beautiful morning for us to make our way from Glacier Lake to Stevens Pass.
Continue reading “Days 135 & 136: Skykomish And The Dinsmore’s”
Date: August 21, 2017
Miles: 2425.4 – 2447.4
“Every now and again take a good look at something not made with hands – a mountain, a star, the turn of a stream. There will come to you a wisdom and patience and solace and, above all, the assurance that you are not alone in the world.” ~ Sidney Lovett
Today was met by all of us with some excitement because we knew we were about to experience the solar eclipse in all its glory from the backcountry. We hiked to a large meadow with a lake, got our snacks out and watched the moon make its way across the sun. Don’t worry mom, I didn’t look directly at it. Continue reading “Day 134: Partying With The Sun”
Date: August 20, 2017
Miles: 2397.8 – 2425.4
“As I walk, As I walk, The universe is walking with me.” – Navajo rain dance ceremony
There’s a wild, ancient spirit in the Washington backcountry. I could feel it radiating from the giant spires rising high out of the valleys from which we climbed, the waterfalls tracing long, cascading paths down their faces, and the alpine lakes dotting the basins. For the first time since I started this journey, I felt absolutely capable of being in the wilderness and completely content to be in this body in this moment and to have my home on my back. That energy came from the powerful surroundings in which I found myself today. Continue reading “Day 133: The Forest Is An Old Soul”
Date: August 18 & 19, 2017
Miles: 2368.3 – 2397.8
Today was town day! We were up early and on our way into Snoqualmie Pass, where we had heard we could get some amazing curry from a food cart. Food is never not an exciting prospect. Continue reading “Days 131 & 132: Snoqualmie Pass”
Date: August 17, 2017
Miles: 2339.1 – 2368.3
It was cold, dark and damp this morning – all things that ordinarily would make me hit the snooze button on the alarm clock at least eight times before getting up, but out here I don’t have a snooze button and I usually have to go to the bathroom pretty badly by 5:30 am so I get up. Thanks, bladder. Continue reading “Day 130: Climb That Hill…And The Next One…And The Next One…”
Date: August 16, 2017
Miles: 2312.1 – 2339.1
I woke up to cold and damp everything, which was an uncomfortable reminder of what Washington is all about. It’s August and it is cold. And wet. And I’m not inside a house with a mug of hot coffee. Continue reading “Day 129: Memories”
Date: August 14 & 15, 2017
Miles: 2282.2 – 2312.1
Since we only had about ten miles to go from camp to White Pass, we didn’t get up super early this morning. We packed up sometime after seven, and had a Mt. Rainier-filled hike in to town. I don’t think Tim was quite prepared for the accelerated pace that we push when we’re headed into a town. We were practically crawled up onto his pack as we were hiking in behind him, and he kept apologizing for his pace, which was fast by regular hiker standards. I probably should have relaxed a bit, but I was thinking about bacon cheeseburgers and my legs took off. There’s no slowing down a hungry thru-hiker. Continue reading “Day 127 & 128: Burgers On Our Minds”
Date: August 13, 2017
Miles: 2258.2 – 2282.2
“The adventure will not be in the witnessing of what’s around you, but in the doing of the day.” – Thunderfluff
Rain started around midnight and we woke up with soggy tents and packs. It felt like one of those days in which we would have to be content with being wet. And that’s how it turned out. Continue reading “Day 126: The Goat Rocks Rock”
Date: August 12, 2017
Miles: 2233.5 – 2258.2
Last night, lightning lit up the insides of our tents and jarring claps of thunder made us yell with abandon, but this morning was the type of damp quiet that a storm leaves behind. The sky was gray with a few widening blue patches and lazy rolls of thunder rumbled benignly in the distance. The heat and humidity had broken as well, much to this Washingtonian’s relief. Continue reading “Day 125: Beauty And The Heat”
Date: August 10 & 11, 2017
Miles: 2190.5 – 2233.5
This morning started in the lush green, quiet forest that reminds me of childhood camping trips, with a vintage glow from the rising sun through tree branches and the smell of dry evergreen incense.
