I slept sound all night, not waking until day break, pure exhaustion.
I woke up rejuvenated and refreshed, a new day, a new attitude. I knew where we we going and had a general idea of what lay ahead. My decaying squirrel stinky clothing had dried out over night, hanging like Christmas ornaments from my tent. I made my morning dash. Thankfully the other two lady hikers, had already packed up for the day. Magic Man and Jupiter were already waking up in their chairs with coffee and breakfast. When I returned I went back into my tent, I made coffee in my vestibule, sitting on the floor of my tent. I had already pulled the valve on my Nemo Astro, now nicknamed “the cloud” There were no rocks or logs to sit on, so I spent my morning time, with a little alone time. After yesterday’s mental wall, I needed some solo time, to make sure that didn’t happen again. I mentally prepared myself, for our end of the day climb. I was strong, I had trained for days exactly like this. Nothing else mattered, but today and the trail, being in the moment, and the uphill challenge ahead. I would take on that challenge head on!
I did my morning yoga and stretches and packed up quietly, there was no real morning chatting and goofing, poking jabs at each other. The morning was quiet. I told Magic Man which camp site we were going for, so he could log it to memory and look at the Half Mile App. I slug the pack. “Let’s go! Let’s do this!” And we were off! I didn’t make it far, before the camera came out and focused on a real non decaying squirrel in a tree, yelling at Jupiter that he had come to close! I focused and took an ok shot, the squirrel didn’t want to sit still for me. But I was back to enjoying my surroundings and being in that moment. I looked up and of course the guys were gone. Kicking up trail dust, already out of sight. I was once again alone on the trail. Alone with my thoughts and the scenery, well, and the squirrel. I closed my eyes, took a long deep inhale…. slowly, exhale. Open my eyes, you got this girl! Let’s move!
It was to be a down hill day, for the most part. I was enjoying the surroundings. The sights, the smells… well, wait… I still smelled like a decaying squirrel… I was determined today, to use my bandanna and take a creek bath today when we stopped. Today’s goal for lunch was 6 miles in, where we were supposed to camp originally on this night. Instead it would be our lunch stop. Rock Creek. I would take my creek bath in Rock Creek. My version of a creek bath was really nothing but a water rinse off. Take the bandanna and just rinse off the funk and the sweat, and the dust, get some good fresh water on the body. I think it would do me some good, even though I knew today would end with an even steeper, shorter uphill climb. We did have an earlier start on the day, leaving camp at 8:00 AM.
As I made my way down the trail, I again passed numerous thru-hikers. Today’s mood was lighter and more focused. I was back to fist bumping and have a great hike to the thru-hikers. Still every time one passed, I would quicken my step a little. Such inspiration. I wished with everything that I could take the time required to do a thru-hike. But until that happened, if ever, I would section hike, when I could.
On the down hill, I would frequently catch Jupiter. We would take a short breather and chat before moving onward. Today there was something different in the air. I was energized. I was moving along on strong trail legs. This is what I had spent all the time at the gym and with my trainer for. I had now traveled further then I had on any trail previously. Today I had already gone 61.5 miles, and by the end of the day, I will have traveled 71.5 miles. Previously my longest trip was 54.34 miles. That was my first section hike ever. Now I am so grateful to have done that section, since it included the Eagle Creek Alternate route, which has now become engulfed in heart breaking fires. The memories and photos from this trip, I will cherish for the rest of my days. To read about that trip, check out my other blogs. Backpacking Trips I was so excited to be pushing myself. I now fully believed that I was capable of completing this trek. This put a skip in my step. I was bouncing down the trail. I felt alive and strong. I came around a bend in the trail and directly across from me was Jupiter! I hollered out, What are you doing over there? Hiking! What are you doing? Was his reply. It was strange to see him directly across from me, on the same trail as me, but with a deep ravine separating us.
We passed by several small springs, this section of the hike was very lush and green. It had all been green, but this was lush and moist with springs and ferns, flowers and slugs. This whole time I hadn’t seen a slug on this trip. Maybe I would see a salamander! I loved salamanders. I passed a fungus on a tree that was huge, It had to have been the size of a sheet cake! The things that you miss when you move to the desert!
I had caught up with Jupiter, and it had been awhile since we had seen Magic Man, he’s so fast on the down hill. We came around a bend in the trail, we heard tumbling water. The refreshing sound of bubbling, gurgling water cascading down and bouncing off of rocks. There was Magic Man, pack already off. I guess this was our lunch spot, it was only 10:30 AM and we were already a little more then half way through. Also at the creek, was the lady hiker we had met the day before. I dropped pack and took off the shoes… ahhhh sweet release… into the icy cold water my feet go! This has become one of my favorite parts of the trail. After the initial soaking, I head back to where my pack is. The guys are making lunches that require cooking. I’ll have plenty of time for lunch and a creek bath! I bring down my camera, lunch, phone and bandanna. I take off my flippys and put my feet back into the water and take up residence on a perfect rock. I chat for a moment with the lady hiker, she asks where we are planning to camp tonight. Looking at her maps, she was planing to complete the section tomorrow, so she was planning on going two miles further then us to camp. That was ok with me, since the description of the camp that we were going for was listed as a “small campsite” I was hoping there would be enough room for the three of us. She tossed her pack on her back and headed down the trail. I made my lunch and watched a Dipper bird playing in the water and on the rocks. I was so in the moment watching it and eating my tortilla peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I didn’t even think to get a photo until he was gone. When I finished my lunch I took my creek bath. I had kept on my Ice Breaker hiking dress, so that I could still rinse everything off discreetly. Jupiter came down and faced the opposite way on a lower rock and soaked his feet as well. Soon it was time to fill up water bottles and hit the trail, we still had about 5 miles to go, with the last two being an uphill climb. Today I felt prepared for it.
Sling the packs, lets go!! And just like that we were off. I was feeling rested and refreshed. Trail dust off of my legs for a moment. But it was so rejuvenating having the cold fresh water, rinsed all over. The day was not as warm as yesterday. Soon my legs were covered in trail dust again. We came to Rock Creek Camp, where we were supposed to camp tonight in the original plan, there were several small campsites on the creek, only one of which would have worked out for us with trees for Jupiter to dangle from. Crossing the bridge though, I almost gagged from the overwhelming tar smell of the bridge.
Shortly after the bridge the trail began its upward climb. It was gentle at first. I was prepared. When the trail got steep, I would repeat in my head, left, right left, repeat. It was my mantra. My uphill mantra. It helped to keep me in a rhythm. No stabbing the ground and moving to the poles. My feet and the poles moving in unison, my mind focused on the goal ahead. Left, right, left repeat. Just keep on walking. It’s only two miles. Two miles. Magic Man was in my sights, he would stop, I would catch him, left, right, left, repeat I said. That is how I am getting through this! He paused, we took a sip of water. I knew I needed water, for this uphill climb, I knew I needed water for dinner, we were having the bacon cheese pasta for dinner again. YUMMY! I started focusing on dinner, as well. Jupiter would stop and wait, checking in on how I was doing. Today I am great, I am focused on the trail and moving on strong legs. What would camp be like, what would we see, would there be enough room or would we have to push on and camp with the hiker lady, two miles down the trail.
I was pushing myself forward, and also taking the time to look up and enjoy the sights. Soon I saw a mountain popping it’s vista in and out of the trees. I thought it was the elusive Mt. St. Helens. The top looked a bit flat to me and I had been trying the entire trip to get a good photo of Mt. St. Helens. But she was hiding from me. Hiding behind the marine layer of clouds that frequently effected this area of Washington state. Come on pretty lady show yourself! I was actually enjoying the hard work I was putting in today. There was no frustration, I felt the strength in my legs propelling me forward. Gabby’s voice in my head, “you got this girl!”
Jupiter appeared on the trail his pack was off. I thought, are we already at camp? He said, I found our camp for the night, but it might be a little cold. I thought, OH NO, we are going to have to move on to the next camp, two miles away. I was feeling strong, but did I have another two miles in me? I guess I would have to push on anyway, nothing to be done about that. Then he chuckled. No this isn’t camp, but the view is worth it. Magic Man said that camp was a little over half a mile away. He didn’t feel the urge to go down the trail and see the view, he moved onward to find camp. My legs were a little rubbery, but if Jupiter said the view was worth it, I knew I had to go. I carefully worked my way down the short spur trail and the world opened up below me. Jupiter was standing on the edge of a cliff, with Mt. Adams in the far off distance, ridgelines and trees filled the space between us and the mountain. There was a slight wind and droplets of rain. Nothing major, just a couple of spitting sprinkles. The view took my breath away. I immediately snapped a photo of Jupiter out on the edge, taking in the view. I got up as close as I felt comfortable to take it all in.
We were almost to camp. Jupiter stayed right with me for that last little climb up to camp. We arrived in camp at 3:30 PM, making the 10 miles in 6.5 hours, not including the hour lunch break! I was happy with that, since the last two miles were a steep uphill climb! As soon as we saw Magic Man on the right side, I saw the camp was tiny. There was a set of trees for Jupiter to dangle from. I scouted around, there were really two other spots left, one was right next to the trail and a little bit skewed, not fully level. The other spot was off to the side and bigger, and flatter. I suggested Magic Man take that spot, my tent was smaller, and Magic Man liked to be a little bit off by himself. Although that wasn’t going to happen in this camp. I dropped my pack and turned around. And sucked my breath in again. The view from our small campsite was breathtakingly stunning! You could see Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainer, and Mt. Adams! Then we walked over to the other side and there playing hide and seek with the clouds was Mt. Hood! Our small campsite was on a ridge where we could see several of the Cascade range peaks! I pulled my Tennessee Fire out of my pack and drank a toast to the mountains. Cheers you beautiful mountain range! I snap a couple of shots while I have a shot. After the hard work climbing up to this camp, it was well worth the swig or two. Not getting drunk, just a cheers, I was still working on the same small plastic bottle I started with.
We set up camp and just as we were done and settling in, a small cloud came over and pitter-patted rain down on us. We retreated to the cover of our tents and hammock. I took this opportunity to take the tape and mole skin off my heel blisters and air them out. They weren’t looking too pretty after the steep climb, even with the 3 layers of duct tape and 1 layer of mole skin. Oh well, the rest of the trek would be mostly down hill, there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I took a baby wipe bath and got some of the fresh stink off of me. Even though it was raining, it was still warm, so I left on my sports bra and but the dude shorts on. I lay there and listen to the pitter-pat of the rain on my tent. I riffled through my food sack and located dinner. I set up my Jetboil in the vestibule and started dinner. We were hungry after the day of trekking and the steep uphill climb. Just as the water was starting to boil, the rain came to a halt. I tossed my rain jacket over my sports bra and dude shorts and went out to the log to join the guys and finish dinner. While we ate our dinners, we chatted about the day. The guys joked about only having 14.5 miles left to go, I shot a glare in their direction…
NOT…GOING…TO…HAPPEN!
Some thru-hikers pass us and we chat with them for a while, before they move on, they are getting ready to start their descent into Rock Creek where they planned to stay for the night. Jupiter told them about the awesome vista on the trail half mile down. They trekked off to see it before heading on to camp. I was thinking to myself, had we stayed at Rock Creek camp, it would have been a busy night. I also wondered how many thru-hikers we would have met and what their stories would have been. It would have been fun to hear about their trek so far, what had been their favorite part and what they were looking forward to the most.
We had good service on the ridge, so I took a couple photos on my phone and sent them to Mike, chatted with him for a little bit, then chatted with a co-worker, posted a photo to Facebook and did a check in. I know the Spot was checking us in every day, but I wanted to share my “current view” Magic Man wandered off to bed and I was standing on the edge of camp overlooking the PCT, with the magnificent mountain vista view. I looked at Jupiter and pointed at Mt. Adams, DUDE, we started all the way over there! Look at that! Look at how far we traveled! This is what it’s all about! The view, the hard work to get here, the sense of accomplishment. I looked at him, gesturing to the view and said this is our second to the last night on the trail. And it sank in, our trip was almost done. Jupiter got a text and said he needed to call his girlfriend. He offered up his chair. I flipped it around, put my feet up on the log I had been sitting on and just took it all in. I was in the moment, thinking about Mt. Adam’s and how far we had traveled. I was reveling in it all! This, this is what it is all about!
This view, this moment! From someplace that sounded distant and far off came a voice. A voice that said “WOW! Thank you” I reeled myself back in and standing directly in from of me was a thru-hiker. He said again, “Thank you” I looked at him bewildered. “Thank you for what?” I asked. His reply was something I never would have expected. “I have been on the trail since Mexico, I have seen many sights, many views, many beautiful places, but what I just witnessed, was probably the best sight yet. I just witnessed someone in the moment. Completely immersed in the moment. And that is what this trail is all about. That is why I started in Mexico to end in Canada. To be in the moment of each day. I am thanking you, because even though you didn’t mean to, you shared your “in the moment” with me. And that so far has been my favorite moment on this whole journey. This will be a moment that I will treasure forever. Thank you again!” We locked eyes, and just like that he was off. I was so stunned, I didn’t have a chance to respond, was it even real? I hopped down to the trail and there he was, that thru-hiker gait. I hollered after him. “Thank you and you are welcome!” He turned and waved back at me. I told him to look for a trail to the right about a half a mile up, it will take your breath away! He nodded and turned, back towards his north bound goal, Canada. Until this very moment, I spoke of it to only a few.
That moment. That very moment summed it all up, why I do this. Why I push myself to the limits. Why I challenge myself and trek miles and miles on foot down a dusty trail. Getting stinky, and eating out of a bag, blisters on my heels, climbing up mountainsides, sore muscles, sleeping on a pad, miles away from anything, most of the times unplugged with no contact to the outside world, but a life line called Spot, sitting on logs, rocks and having a sore butt and sore feet. That moment is why I do this!
I sat there watching the sun go down on the evening. Jupiter got off of his phone call and I pointed out the Washington state sunset. Check it out! That is probably as good as it is going to get. The sunsets in the desert are amazing. We may have miles and miles of desolate landscape, browns and grays. But our sunsets are spectacular! I took a photo before heading off to bed.
I lay in my tent all snuggly, thinking about the moment. My moment with the thru-hiker. I wondered where he would be sleeping tonight. What things that he would see. I thought about what he had said, how far we had traveled, what tomorrow would bring. We where almost done. This would be the second to the last night on the PCT until when? Which section would we do next? I was just drifting off to sleep, when Jupiter called out… it just got pretty out here, you better come look! This sunset, the alpine glow on Mt. Adams was spectacular, and the elusive Mt. St. Helens treated me for the long wait of seeing her. Mt Rainer and Hood were both shrouded in clouds, but Mt. St. Helens made up for that!
Thank you Jupiter for getting me out of my tent! Thank you!! I have never seen a sunset as beautiful as that in Washington state before! a reward for the hard work. And I looked at Jupiter. If you guys had not pushed me the day before, I would have never seen this view! Thank you! And thank you for helping me yesterday, in case I forgot to say that. I went to my tent and Jupiter to his hammock as the sun faded off of the mountains. What a great day this had been! So far my favorite day on the trail!
As I drifted off to sleep, I thought one more night… just one more…
Journeys of Snake Jumper 