The Unpolished Princess

Start: 17

Stop: 36.2

Today’s miles: 19.2

Total PCT miles: 224

I went much farther today than I thought I would, especially after yesterday being a long day, too. I didn’t even get on trail until 8:15, thanks to being cold, damp, and slow to pack up and eat breakfast. My lighter wouldn’t work this morning, which would be a big problem if my jetboil “starter” button didn’t eventually catch to start the flame to heat my food. It’s always been finicky, which is why I have the lighter. Shit.

It was damp outside but not actively raining. The morning went by fast and I started to pass new hikers coming in from Hart’s Pass. I asked a few if the road was open, as in-for me to walk 10 miles down, to get a lighter.. and then take a hot shower at the Lions Den to warm up for the first time all week, but they all said no, not yet. I wasn’t about to hike an extra 20 miles over a lighter, I’d just have to pray the starter thingy kept working I guess, at least til I hit the next town.

The views were different, simply because there weren’t any in the white cloud I hiked in. Which was sad, because this scenery was stunning on the way in. I hope all of those hikers passing me in the opposite direction have better weather on their return. I started (and finished) an audiobook (Same Time tomorrow) and it was phenomenal. I never saw any of my friends. I guess they had stopped before me or were never in front of me to begin with.. which also makes me wonder if those footprints and arrows were really from FoodTruck and not Marquis afterall.

I passed one couple and we chatted a bit. They asked about conditions, I was honest. I asked about the road, they shot down my hopes. I told them about my lighter situation and the girl of the couple dropped her pack and dugout hers to give me! WHAT?! She’s like, “why not? We have two” wow the kindness of strangers!

I made it to Hart’s Pass and got my food for the next 3 days out of the bear box. I verified that my friend’s food was all still there. I talked to the big group of hikers at one of the picnic tables that were just getting up from the 10 mile road walk. I used the pit toilet, I laid on another picnic table with my socks and shoes off-letting my toes air out.. and then I got cold.

It was only 3:30pm. I could set up camp here somewhere, or I could hike 5-6 more miles into the unknown and camp there, closer to 6pm and be warmer longer by moving. If I waited, I bet my friends would camp here.. ah, I was too cold. So I put my socks and shoes back on, loaded in my new food, and set off.

The clouds lifted a bit and man was I glad! The views are simply breathtaking.. the climb was too.. haha but it did make me warm up. I had to cross a bit of snow, one section that I put my microspikes on to be safe.. the others weren’t bad at all. Every turn I kept saying, “WOW,” out loud. I wish I could describe it better for you.. being able to see the tiny trail sketched into the side of this massive mountain that I’m just walking along.. besides magical I’m at a loss for words.

When I got to where I wanted to camp, I set my stuff down and ventured down the side trail to the tiny snowmelt stream to get water. There were more campsites down this way, too.. but all of them, minus one, was lumpy or slanted-and the one good one had FoodTruck’s tent at it already. He was inside, I whispered a hello just incase he could hear me, but I got no response.

On the way back from getting water, there was a deer just standing beside his tent! I snapped a pic. It was pretty neat. I set up my camp, dried my tent out with my already damp sleeping bag liner, which now I can’t use tonight to help keep warm. Fudge. But it had to be done, and it was either that or a layer of clothing, and in the cold weather, those are too precious to give up.

As I ate dinner, I walked around with my bowl, eating and moving to attempt to keep warm. It wasn’t working but the rocks were colder to sit on. The deer came and visited me, without a care or scare in the world. It kept its distance but circled the area, checked everything out. I pray it, or the nosey chipmunks I also saw around, don’t try to chew on my tent strings-or tent at all for that matter.

It’s 9:20pm and the sky is still light. It’s so crazy to me. I think I may have some snow to traverse tomorrow, but it shouldn’t be anything sketchy as all the people I saw leaving harts pass have already gone up and over everything ahead of me anyway. So it should be ok 🙂 I guess I’ll find out tomorrow either way, huh? I haven’t had service since the start of this new journey, I’m itching to call my mom and hear her voice. Some of the comments mention service at one of the passes tomorrow, I sure hope they’re right.

Otherwise I won’t get into town for 3-4 more days.. really hoping on the 3 and then I can zero there Sunday since I can’t get my resupply box mom mailed to me until Monday anyway. The comments say all kinds of stuff-like other places to stay that aren’t listed on the app we use. I don’t have service to find out for myself, so I also hope I don’t bust ass to get there a day early, just to have to set up my tent another 2 nights at a campground. Although I would get a hot shower and be able to do laundry. There’s something about a hotel/motel/shack with a bed and a private bathroom that’s calling my name. And God let them have an available room with a heater!

Ok, I’m shivering pretty hard now. Time to figure out how to get warm over here. Sweet dreams. Pray for warmer weather to come my way! Like-50-60s would be great. These 30s and high 20s at night (only 28 the one night, don’t let me be that dramatic) are quite colder than I thought it would be. Goodnight!

Start: 36.2

Stop: 51.6

Today’s miles: 15.4

Total PCT miles: 239.4

I got cold off and on last night, and kept waking up to a very damp sleeping bag.. although it was hard to tell if it was actually wet or just also very cold. I slept in until close to 7 and then started packing up.

It was BEAUTIFUL today! The sun came out mid morning and stayed out mostly all day! I got warm enough to hike without my rain jacket for the first time in days! And y’all, the views! My goodness these mountain ranges just go on forever. Some are still slightly terrifying when I think I might have to go over them when I see snow involved.. maybe snow is a new trigger for me lol

I did have some patches of snow, but they were all fine-nothing that required microspikes. I purposely stopped short today just in case this next mountain pass has some on it-I can do it in the morning and not be so tired. Because this 15 miles definitely wore me out. Once I got to the top of one mountain, I spent most of the morning going downhill on switchbacks which were great.

Then, in the valley, it was overgrown and had fallen trees everywhere. Maybe I’m just tired from the last two big days that I couldn’t muster the energy to move any faster.. because I took it S L O W. And then, when I crossed a bigger river or creek on a little bridge and realized the sun was on it completely-I pulled out my wet tent, my bandanas, my sleeping bag liner! I laid everything out to dry, then took my socks and shoes off to let me layout to dry, too. Glorious, I tell ya.

FoodTruck passed me at this point, and asked if I was going to hike into Mazama tomorrow. Seeing my confused look he explained it to me. From where I’m camping now, in just under 10 miles I can hitch back down to Mazama and the Lions Den.. which means hot shower, clean clothes, but I’ll have to set my tent up still and sleep outside. Then, the following day, get a ride back to the trail, and it’s less than 20 miles to Stehekin.

My package is supposed to arrive in Stehekin on Monday. Going to the lions den would mean getting to Stehekin on Sunday, my current plan has me getting there on Saturday. If I can get lodging on Saturday and Sunday in a bed and also have a private bathroom, I feel like I want to take it. Bleh, so much to think about, all while not having service. Makes things a bit tricky. What if I get to Stehekin and they don’t have any rooms left and I’m still camping?!

Ok-so-these are all the thoughts that kept my mind busier than my legs today. After I repacked everything and started walking again, I was no faster, but my stuff was dry.. so I’m happy. I finally made it to a campsite I was looking for by 5pm. I could have walked the 2 more miles to the next site, but the switchbacks I can see from over here look like they end in snow over there, and I’m just not equipped to deal with that anymore today.

I have a gorgeous view, and the sun is out. I accidentally ate dinner before 6 after I set up camp. Ooops. As I was just sitting and admiring my situation, listening to a new Audiobook (I hope I remember to download more when i get to service), non other than MARGOOOO appears!! She never went back to town, she just backtracked to a safer place to wait out the storm! And she was able to fix her sleeping pad! I am so happy she’s here tonight, and I have someone I “know” around. Not to mention, she keeps me laughing.

We talked while she set up her camp. She hasn’t seen the rest of our shuttle ride crew either. Im hoping I run into them soon. When she started making her dinner, I decided to come lay down. Knock this post out-get warm-hopefully fall asleep before 9 haha! I really do feel very worn out, maybe some extra sleep is just what I need. Goodnight y’all.

Start: 51.6

Stop: 69.4

Today’s miles: 17.8

Total PCT miles: 257.2

I think I went through every single emotion today. Ok, maybe not every single one, but quite a few.. quite a few..

I slept fantastic, and refused to get up before 7. I finally did and packed everything but my tent. Y’all. The SUN WAS SHINING! The skies were blue and I ate my breakfast watching one side of my tent dry out like magic, while the other side still had condensation dripping down it. When I finally did pack it, it made no difference that the sun dried half, because it was all wet again now.

I said bye to Margot and we agreed if we came upon anything sketchy we’d wait for the other one before continuing on. Most of the morning I was happy as could be, sing songing to myself, loving the massive views from every angle, and seeing the little gap in those huge mountains where we slept last night as I got farther and farther away from it.

I started hitting little patches of snow once I got to some switchbacks, but they were manageable and some I went around completely. I didn’t even break a sweat! As I was coming around this one “circus” (I think this is the term Margot used for it), I got to some snow crossing the trail and it was decently steep.. I got nervous so I put on my microspikes, and then just went for it.

I got 5 or 6 steps across when I slid. First I slid on snow. Then I continued to slide into the loose rock scree that makes up this mountainside. The only reason I stopped was because I dug my heels into the rocks and dirt-and laid back into my pack. I was so scared that my leg would snap or I’d pick up more speed and slam into one of the huge boulders below.

When I did stop, my pack was up around my neck. One pole was still in the snow above me where I fell. The other one was maybe 15-20 feet below me, along with a water bottle that sailed out during the descent. Oh. My. God. I was petrified to move. As I was waiting for my breathing to slow down and my heartbeat to stop pounding in my ears, I watched the small rocks continue to slide and bounce down.. past my pole, and my water bottle..

Even though my whole body was still shaking, like my limbs were being controlled by someone else entirely, I unhooked my pack. I slowly pulled it to the side of me, and as I did, it and I both slid down a little more. I dug my heels in deeper. I was going to just sit there until Margot appeared. And then, for some reason I decided that might make her panic or something and maybe cause her to make a wrong choice attempting to help me and then get herself hurt, too.

Before I moved, I took my Garmin Inreach (my SOS if I got hurt and needed an evacuation) off my pack and zipped it into my pants pocket with my phone, which now has a cracked screen cover). Then, I slowly and very shakily moved to a crouched position, rocks still sliding with each move, and decided to try to quickly climb my way back up to the trail. Once I did, I felt relief and terror simultaneously. I had to get my pole. Which meant I had to step in the snow steps up to it, without falling again. I did, and then I slowly inched backwards in those same steps, praying the entire time that I stayed on my feet.

Then, I had to butt slide back to my pack, but try to do it slowly enough that the ground underneath me didn’t break away like an avalanche and take my pack with it. As I got to my pack, the rocks continued to slide and pushed my other pole farther and farther down. That was ok, I was wanting get down to the big boulders below, maybe 50-100ft down from the trail? I’m horrible with guesstimations like that..

I slid and crept down this very steep very loose and so scary mountainside to the more stable looking rocks. When I touched them I held my breath hoping they wouldn’t move, too. I was able to get my other pole and my water bottle, and I stood in front of the largest boulder while waiting for Margot.

When she got there, she didn’t realize at first why I was down there.. like maybe I was choosing to go around the snow.. then I told her and she saw my slide marks. We talked a few minutes, she got her microspikes on, and decided to slowly slide her way to where I was, too, but from more of an angle than my directly down route went thanks to the fall. While making this plan, we start to hear and somewhat feel a crashing rumble.. we panic, eyes darting, looking for the source of the noise-just knowing something was coming down on us and there was no way to get away from it. Pure terror on both of our faces that was palpable. Thankfully, it had to have been on the other side of the peak we were at, because a rock avalanche never came crashing down on us.

She carefully made her way down towards me.. scared surely but still laughing and smiling and making my nerves calm. My shaking hadn’t left, but it wasn’t as intense. About half way to me, she goes “you know what? We’re brave.” And you know what? She’s damn right. If I could have avoided all of this I would have in a heartbeat, but now faced with this scary situation I was happy she was here with me, and happy that she was being so positive and reminding me that we can do hard things.

Once she got to me, we took a breather, and then we slowly worked farther down and around these massive boulders the size of trucks, watching as some steps caused a cascade of rocks to go sliding down past them to a beyond I was scared to think of. When we started coming up the other side, parts of it felt like vertical climbing. The microspikes would grasp on to these tiny green plants between the loose rocks and we were able to eventually climb our way back up to the trail.
Relieved as hell we just stood there a while. Took off our spikes and cleaned out our pebble filled shoes.. she started walking first and I was grateful, because I was still shaking. I eventually got back into my grove once the adrenaline quit pumping through me like the only drug keeping me alive.

Not 20-30 minutes afterwards, we started walking into day hikers. There were coming in off different trails to get to “Cutthroat Pass” but just not the part of what we just did. They were all quick moving and had little backpacks.. I was a little in shock at how quickly everything changed. It took me a few minutes to get a grip but then I was fine the rest of the day.

It was basically all downhill elevation was from there. And we were now in North Cascades National Park, so the entire way down from Cutthroat Pass to the Rainy Pass parking lot there wasn’t a single blowdown to climb over. There were, however, many streams and creek crossings. I attempted to keep my feet dry, until one failure-then I just walked through them all without trying to keep them dry. What difference would it make now?

There was a girl with a dog and a man doing a trail run, and so many other day hikers. Once I got to the parking lot, I dropped my stuff and used the bathroom there. It was getting close to 3pm, and this is the road to hitch to Mazama.. or I’d have another 8+ miles to get to the next campground. Before I made a decision, I decided I’d dry out my tent, socks, and shoes and sit to eat some snacks.

Margo wasn’t long after me and we were discussing just hiking the 8 miles to camp, since there wasn’t any lodging available in Stehekin anyway-whatever we did would be camping, and why move camp twice when you can keep it up for 2 days and have a legitimate zero day?
While we were talking, none other than Marquis appeared! It WAS him making the arrows and digging his trekking poles through the snow that day I was in a panic! He said he stopped at the campground just on the other side of the pass, the one I swear I walked through and yelled through and saw no one. He saw me coming up the switchbacks and waved to me, but I never saw him! We all got good laughs over where we each were during all of that snowy mess! No one has seen A-Train and Drake since then though. I wonder if they went back to Mazama when they got to Hart’s Pass?

Once we got up and ready to go again, Margot and I left Marquis at the road, hitching to Mazama, while we hiked on to get to six mile camp in the National park. We weren’t hiking but maybe a mile into our 8 miles, and it started to rain. Like the skies opened up out of no where! Rain jackets and pack covers and umbrellas. Oh my.

I was cruising right along when I realized I turned the wrong way and had to walk a good 15-20 minutes back to a trail junction to go the right way. The trail was flooded and overgrown. I was trying to not let myself get frustrated.. but the weather had been so beautiful all day, even when I was terrified. Ugh.

When I made it to camp, Margot already had her tent up and met 2 of the 3 other people camping here. I quickly set mine up too and the 4 of us spent the next couple hours talking and eating dinner. These two hikers are from Australia, so many of the places they were talking about Margot knew about too, since she recently lived there. It was entertaining for sure.

Now, now I’m in bed, it’s sprinkling off and on and it’s chilly, but I’m warm in my sleeping quilt-with only normal sleeping layers on, no down booties needed tonight! Tomorrow we have an 11 mile hike to get to this campground that a bus comes by and will take us into Stehekin. It only comes at certain times, so we’re going to try to make the 12:30 one. That way we have more time in town to get to the campground, set up shop, get quarters and detergent from the lodge (that’s fully booked-boo), shower, do laundry and eat all the things. Yep. That sounds perfect. Goodnight y’all. Let’s all pray you get to read these soon-which would mean I’d have service or WiFi! What a thought 😉