I leave the Inn at 6:30AM with Early Bird the SOBOer. It’s a mile road walk to the street then 12 miles of street to where the trail head is. We say we’ll grab a hitch together.
A guy pulls over around 6:45AM says he is heading that way anyways. He asks us about what’s going on and where we are from. She was from NC and me from MA, the driver says he was also from MA. He grew up in Salem. Wtf I laugh. He was 37 we probably played each other in sports leagues.
He moved to Seattle a few years ago when he got married and was now road tripping and doing some day hiking. We thanked him for the ride and then jumped out after the 12 miles to the trail head.
We say good bye, swap contact infos and then im moving. Plan is 20 miles even. I walk the first 5 and it’s rather uneventful. Deep thick forest, I laugh to my self that this is definitely big foot country. Another 5 miles go by and I stop for breakfast. As I’m getting back up I meet another NOBO hiking Bear Trap from PA. I hike with him for the next 18 miles.
We walk along beautiful forest, exposed ridge and have beautiful views of Mt Adam’s. As we get close to 30 miles I see a campsite and say hey man I’m pulling up here. He’s shooting for 8 more miles. Savage.
My thought is now I have 39 miles left to town. I can do two 20 mile days from here to Packwood or one 25 and one light day. I plan to find a nice camp site in goat rocks so I’m not sure. But tonight my feet are hurting and the bugs are bad. I pitch my tent, cook my food, go pre dig my AM hole and then retire to my tent. I rewatch the Tetris movie and then head off to bed.
Day 2
I wake up at 5 and my ankle is killing me. What did I possibly do to injure my ankle without knowing it? Maybe I’m just at the point that I have walked too much this year. Luckily for me today is a short day. I am going to meet my buddy Dylan at Whites Pass and we’re going to chill for the day. He’s working this week like most normal people so Friday’s the best day. I think today’s Wednesday.
I leave camp at 5:45AM and get moving quickly, the mosquitos are out with a vengeance and they can’t fly 3MPH allegedly. It’s roughly 4 miles of up to start off and the trail is cruisey. It’s a little steep, definitely not SoCal grade but definitely not NH grade. I pass what FarOut tells me is the last water source for 13 miles. Granted I expect to see snowmelt and some run off but this is reliable water sources.
As I’m filling water I hear voices, a couple was camped 75 feet away and were packing up for the day. They were heading NOBO also but were just out for the week section hiking. We talk about our trips and plans and then say goodbye. I tell them I’ll save them a campsite, honestly though I prob won’t see them again.
I blaze on up the trail and reach the peak of this climb. Wow views of Mt Adam’s and it looks huge from down here. I soak it in for 90 seconds and then continue on for 5 miles of downhill until it turns back to uphill. This is where I make up my time. 3.5 mph on the downhill, what’s the rush? No rush at all just want to be up and over the pass before the mid day sun. I don’t do well in the heat. I sweat, I start to chafe, I then complain and my day go from enjoyment to constant “work of addressing it.”
I get to Ciphus pass and it’s absolutely beautiful. I get some cell service and call my buddy. We coordinate our meeting time and details and then I keep it moving. I come over the top of the pass and see the trail heading down for the next 3 miles. It’s beautiful looking, light grade down, ridge line looking.
I see a spot on FarOut that says it has great views of both Rainier and Adam’s. That’s my jam. It’s 2.5 miles away and I’ll be there in an hour. I fill water at the next stream and see a day hiker complaining about the bugs. I tell him he picked a great campsite though. He said he was thinking about leaving. I actually thought they weren’t bad there. I guess I’m numb to it now.
I pull up to the camp spot after passing a beautiful waterfall just at it hits noon. 17.5 miles done. I stood in that waterfall for a few minutes to soak in the mist. Then it was time to set my tent up in the shade and enjoy the next couple of hours of relaxing. I will say the bugs are bad, it’s mainly flies and bees mixed with some mosquitos.
Day 3
I leave camp again at 5:45AM. I actually had some trouble digging my cat hole, the ground was solid in like 4 different places. But hey, still got it done. I leave camp and start straight up hill. I always set my self up to do climbs in the early AM before the suns beating on you.
I have 4.5ish miles to the top of Goat Rocks and the knifes edge. A big debate on far out is whether or not people should take the PCT route or the alternate up old snowy.
I continue on another 2 1/2 miles and I filter water. This is the last water source for 11 miles today. I grabbed 2 L and start drinking. I know once the sun comes up it will be hot. I continue on up the trail and I finally see my first sites of actual goat rocks.
I continue on halfway up and hit a snow traverse, everybody online said there was no snow. Well apparently they were wrong. The snow is a sheet of ice and I can’t kick in any boot pack. I’m happy I had my sister give me back my micro spikes and I said to myself they’re light enough to carry. I toss on my spikes real quick and cover maybe 1000 feet of traverse.
After the traverse, I see the PCT route, it looks fucking sketchy. I still don’t know how they consider everything on this trail horse grade. I don’t see how a horse would take those switch backs and then over those lava rocks and then down that sketchy ridge that looks to be a foot wide at most.
I take the right up the PCT alternate to old snowy and it’s a vicious climb. As I reach the top I can see forever, what I don’t see is any goats. But beauty as far as the eye can see, I continue on and start down the knife’s edge. Wow. Absolutely awesome to see and experience, especially solo. I’m a little uncomfortable but fully in control if that makes sense.
I scramble down the knife’s edge and continue along a skinny ridge line. I start my second climb and run into a group of camp kids. I’d argue highschool age on a 18 day trip. Today was day 5 they said. I commented it gets easier after day 5. You get your rhythm, find your groove and all that jazz. They take my picture and I head on. Hope that photo ends up famous.
As I continue to the top of my second climb I see some more weekend and section hikers. One couple actually from Somerville MA. I laugh, tell them I’m from Medford and we swap phone numbers. This guy says he’s looking for a fishing partner and someone to hike with back home. He’s originally from Cali, and she was from Texas.
All I can say when I walk away for the next mile is “what a small fucking world.” I’ve been given rides by women from Andover, a guy from Salem, and now these two from Somerville. I could walk to their house for beers in under a half hour and I run into them here of all places.
Anyways, I keep on and say I’m only going to do 5 more miles. Today’s suppose to be a Nero day, my watch says 11AM. I pitch my tent and do lunch and a siesta, I set my timer for an hour and just chill. I listen to the wind blow and the wood peckers hammering away.
I eat up, get up and get moving again, I’m eyeballing a possible campsite from FarOut at mile 2291. I finish up those last few miles of pure uphill to find 4 people’s bags already there. No tents, just bags. Hmm what’s the move here, shock them when they come back and I’m here pitched. Or just continue on? I pitch around the corner on the edge and FaceTime my dad. I have cell service for a moment. Nice. After a half hour my tents covered in bees, time to pack up and split. I can’t stay in this.
I move on, oof, a Nero day turns into an easy 17 miles, I get up and over the pass and get a great view of Shoe Lake. As I hit the top I see a small sliver of ground I can make work overlooking the Lake.
I make my decision, this is home tonight. I position my tent close to the trees knowing the bugs will be worse but the shade will be on me earlier. Pros/cons. I don’t want to sweat all afternoon in the tent. I cook dinner, toss on a 2.5 movies and rest up for the night. Short day tomorrow as it’s only 6 miles of downhill to Whites Pass where I’ll grab some food.
Day 4
I wake up at 5AM naturally and just sit snd enjoy a beautiful sunrise for a half hour. It’s the perfect temperature out, almost no breeze so the mosquitos are out. I pack up camp quickly in my full bug suit and try to forget about them in the moment.
I head off down trail and my task is to complete a 5.6 mile leisure walk into White Pass. I plan to resupply at the Cracker Barrel and get moving again, what a beautiful morning.
I walk down the trail and see some beautiful views, the trail is full of cob webs. I laugh as I see a SOBO day hiker and I tell him “don’t worry but I’ve cleaned em all up for you.” I skip each water source I see as I know I’m getting to town today. A cold Gatorade and Sprite are always purchased in town.
I get to White Pass around 7:30AM, the store opens at 8AM and I grab a breakfast sandwich to start my day actually off. Skittles arnt the best breakfast but they’ve definitely been my favorite this year.
The Pacific Crest Trail 