The Unpolished Princess

Start: 2632.8

Stop: 2648.9

Today’s miles: 16.1, but zero

Total PCT miles: 187.8

The three of us finally got on trail around 7:30. I kept pushing snooze, even though the sky was getting light around 4:45. It was cold! I was snuggled up and warm in my sleeping bag, but I could see the frost on my tent from the snow overnight. I did not want to get out of my perfectly warm bubble.

Alas, I did. I didn’t have enough water for oatmeal and coffee, plus I didn’t take my synthroid early enough, so I put belvita breakfast cookies in my side pocket of my pack and kept it moving. Once I crossed water, I filtered a liter and then ate my cookies while walking.

The trail, even in this white cloud we were walking through, was stunning. It was foggy but the green of the fir trees popped out. There were a few blow downs to go under or around, but nothing too terrible. I was happy and the views that I could see were still quite lovely.

I saw a couple deer and walked through a burn scar. This had to be the fire from last year.. the one that closed the border, so hikers that had literally hiked all the way from Mexico had to turn around as Hart’s Pass and miss the border by only 30 miles. Heartbreaking really. And the scorched zone I walked through was sad, too. These big majestic giants charred and broken. I know I’ll have a lot more burned areas to walk through, and potentially even fires to detour, but this one felt significant.

Once I got up to Rock Pass, the scenery was unreal. These huge peaks jutting out of the ground, many surrounded in snow, and the trail just wormed its way up and around them, switchbacks and steep slides, views, even in clouds, for days. I wish I could see it without the clouds and snow/hail/sleet/rain.. but even still, incredible.

The temperature steady dropped and the snow didn’t let up-neither did the wind. I caught up to A-Train (Steffi) and Drake (Thomas) several times to chat, and we also ate lunch together. It got so cold sitting there eating my hot oatmeal and coffee that I didn’t have for breakfast that I was back on trail the second I cleaned up. I was visibly shaking.

The trail from here was stunning though. I was singing Christmas songs because of all of the trees covered in fresh snow. The good thing about this snow now is that it’s not enough to accumulate to anything, but the cold weather also makes the current patches of snow we have to cross hard instead of slushy. This is great for me because the footprints that have previously stepped in and sank a little bit have refrozen and I can step right into them like steps and not slide. So far anyway.

I met A-train and Drake at the junction to a beautiful alpine lake. They found a perfect spot for their 3 man tent and were willing to let me set up practically on top of them to get me out of the wind and a lot of the snow. The problem was the spot for me was a bit more slanted than I thought I’d handle. As I’m laying here now, in a different spot I found-I should have taken the slanted spot.

I walked to the lake to see it: gorgeous minus the winds from Satan himself blowing snow in every direction. I walked around and scouted out spots.. soooo many would be perfect if it wasn’t in the current weather conditions. I found 3 decently flat spots, 2 covered by big trees, one with a small tree and a big rock I could get up next to for wind protection. One of the 2 with big trees also had big dead trees hanging. Not for long in this wind. The one with the rock I decided didn’t have enough protection. So, the third choice: I stood there shivering for 10 minutes.. watching the wind. Seeing where the snow landed.

I even went and checked out other sites after I saw Marcus (Gio’s real name) walk through. There was a good one, almost completely dry ground, but it was in a bit of a hole and my tent is too big to fit. I walked back to option three. Watched the wind again and then set up shop. I shit you not, not 5 minutes later the wind blew in different directions, swirling around-and my tent was getting pounded with snow and sleet.

I was committed, and too cold to pack it all back in and move-so I quickly finished the set up, climbed inside with a bandana and wiped out the water from this morning and then dragged my pack in. I was shivering the whole time I was setting up my bed, putting on extra layers, climbing under my covers. Shivering so hard that after 30 minutes of not getting warm, I pulled out my emergency bivvy and put it around my sleeping pad and quilt, and pulled it up to my hips.

Immediately I started to warm up. I did a big no-no and ate my dinner sitting right here. I’m so cold the idea of going to pee seems unreasonable. But I know I’ll have to hear shortly. Hopefully if there are any bears around they’re hunkered down out of this cold, too, and if not-maybe they want to snuggle. Once I go pee, and get back in here for the night, I’m going to pull that bivvy up higher. I just don’t want the condensation to get my down quilt wet, which I know it will. I think I’ll leave my liner between the quilt and the bivvy-maybe as a middle man.. it just doesn’t dry out fast. So much to think about, and hypothermia is a real scare out here.

Tomorrow, I’ll get up and leave my tent and sleeping stuff here and walk to the Canadian border and back. It’s just over 6 miles one way. I’m hoping I’ll do it quick enough to then pack up my left gear and hike out of this cold hole.. maybe 8 miles to a beautiful tent site I saw today. The good thing with having to turn around at the border is I know I can safely do everything for at least the 30 miles back to Hart’s Pass. Because I’ve already done it once!

I would go on chatting about all the stuff in my head, because there’s a lot, but I’m cold as hell and my fingers are starting to go numb. So, maybe tomorrow. My miles officially start counting once I hit the border! I think at the top of these posts where I put the milage, I’ll stick to SOBO numbers.. so tomorrow starts at 0 and Mexico will be 2655.

Alright. Goodnight! I bet y’all are much warmer than me right now!

Start: 2624.7 + 10mi road walk to harts pass

Stop: 2632.8

Today’s miles: 18, but zero count

Total PCT miles: 187.8

I snoozed through two alarms before finally getting up at 6:07. I had to be packed and ready to go by 7am, and I really just wanted to sleep in. I still made it happen, and ended up being on the first shuttle to trail, with Thomas and Steffi, Margo, and an another guy I don’t know the name of.. I do know he’s a geologist though. Some others were coming too, but they’d be on the next shuttle. I felt a little guilty being the last one up and moving and still getting the first ride, but I consoled my guilty conscious with the fact that the majority of the ones staying have already hiked 700 miles before now.. so it’s going to take me longer.

Raven, the caretaker and official shuttler, drove us to sign our names in a PCT register and then up to the road to Hart’s Pass. Because of a big wash out, the road is closed at a certain point, so we had to walk an extra 10 miles before we ever got to trail. And then, we’d have to hike another 30 miles to get to the Canadian border before turning around and hiking back 30 miles to Hart’s Pass and then onward southbound. 40 more miles that don’t count towards the 2655 of this trail! Sheesh!

The road walk was beautiful. It was dirt and gravel and overall seemed to be in great shape. The 5 of us all spread out pretty quick, getting to our own paces. Margo and I joked that they’d reopen the road tomorrow.. you know, after we shlepped up the dang thing. Ten miles, all up hill. Talk about breaking back in!

Steffi and Thomas beat me to the campground at Hart’s Pass, but only barely. I point this out because Thomas made the comment that I was quick and kept up.. BUT that’s just him being kind. They’re fast, as hell, but it got cold as could be, so they stopped to put on jackets. He also has a YouTube channel, so they’d stop for awesome video footage. I walked the entire 4 hours, with my only breaks being to stand still for 10-30 seconds and to drink some water. If they didn’t stop for stuff, I’d probably never see them!

When we first arrived at the pass, I kid you not it started to snow. Just light little flakes, disappearing when they hit the ground, or us. I ended up putting on my rain jacket to try to stay warm. I was cold, but I’m not complaining.. rain would be worse and-with it being so cold: NO BUGS! Honestly, I prefer it. At least, right now. We’ll see how I feel on the matter when ive been shivering for days on end.

We ate our lunches on a picnic table at the pass, Geo (geology guy until I learn his name, super nice) and Margo both caught up with us and ate with us too. Margo is French but has been living in Australia before recently moving back home.. she is hysterical. Her one liners and little quips make me laugh-dare I say it?-out loud, and often! Today is day one for both of them, they aren’t here together though.. so they’re the first real SOBO hikers I’ve met. Pretty neat.

We all put our extra food that will get us to Stehekin once we hike this 70 miles to the border and back in a bear box at the campground. This is typical, and everyone has their names and dates on their stuff, some even with notes that say, “PCT hiker, a poor one, so please don’t steal, I’ll starve to death.” Haha-while I can relate to the starving, I also know I’d be able to walk that stupid 10+ miles down, hitch a ride to town (hopefully) and buy more food-but I really don’t want to. People also left their really expensive ice axes and extra gear in there, too. I think this community is a safe one, hikers that is, so fingers crossed everyone gets their own stuff back when they get there.

The trail from there was just simply magical. Like so magical I’m actually excited to hike it twice. The mountains, some grey and sharp and spotted with snow, others rounded and covered in rich shades of green, had me mesmerized. I was audibly giddy. I didn’t listen to music or audiobooks.. I just soaked it all in. Even if it was cold as hell and snowing off and on, I was all smiles!

Tons of other hikers passed me going south, all of the ones I asked were SNOWBOs like us, besides Geo and Margo of course. I lost count after 8 or 9, but it was probably in the low teens. I was passed by Wolf, a SNOWBO that stayed at lions den last night and was on the second shuttle-she’s real fast, and to my delight was just as excited about the views as me! Before she completely smoked me, I could hear her cheers and “wahoos” and knew whatever corner I was about to round would be stunning.

There were some patches of snow to cross.. but it was all easy stuff like my last day before Ashland. Nothing tricky or scary, and it hardly slowed me down any. If anything, my only trouble was keeping my focus on the trail because everything around me was gorgeous, and for the most part included very steep drop offs, my head stayed on a constant swivel. Footing matters, even if the inclines were mostly kind, and included switchbacks.

I caught up to Steffi and Thomas and decided to camp with them instead of hiking on two more miles. Thomas found a campsite/area with zero wind! It’s surrounded by trees but a big embankment keeps the wind we can all hear howling on the other side.. and thank goodness, because I’m pretty sure it’s in the 30s right now. We set up our tents, put on warm layers, ate dinner together chatting the whole time, and then almost in unison, Steffi and I were like, “ok, tent time.” It was only 6pm but it’s cold so we wanted to snuggle up in our beds and get cozy warm before night fall. It worked out beautifully for me, I finished a book that will be returned once I have service and I got to write this out, too.

My only problem now: I need to pee again but I’m so warm in my cocoon that I don’t want to get out. However: needing to pee in cold weather actually uses up a lot of energy and is bad for you to do, so, it looks like I’ll have to suck it up and get out there. Hopefully my noise doesn’t wake them up any. Ok, sweet dreams!

Thomas messaged me that our ride would be at their hotel at 10:30.. sweet! I rolled back over after making sure all of my electronics charged. That meant 25 more minutes of sleep!

I checked out and walked to their hotel just as Dennis was driving up. Good timing! Dennis is a trail Angel that lives in Tacoma. He loaded us up and we piled into his car for the 4+ hour drive to Mazama. I’m real tired of cars. Haha, the 3 of us hikers were in the backseat and Dennis’ roommate had shotgun. He wanted to come along for the ride, and who could blame Dennis for wanting company on the 4 hour ride back?

He stopped at the post office for Thomas and Steffi, then again at the North Cascades National Park sign. The views up here just keep getting better! He pulled in to two different overlooks and while ready to be out of the car for good, I was very thankful he took the time to show us the stunning beauty of this place. Simply unimaginable!

He dropped us off at The Lion’s Den, a hiker haven created by a previous PCT hiker. The place was awesome. I set up my tent and recharged some electronics for good measure.. then me and my 2 new friends rode bicycles into town. We looked at all of the options and they decided to bike back after not being impressed with the food options. I got a large glass of red wine and had a French dip sandwich for dinner. The wine was awesome, the food was just ok, it didn’t matter.. I made it up here-I’m happy!

I rode the bike back to camp and then hung out with the other hikers around. There were plenty. Some starting SOBO tomorrow, most SNOBO/flip floppers. I enjoyed sitting around a fire and talking and sharing experiences. Right now I’m still so tired though. I’ll be starting in the morning, I have to be up, packed and ready to leave by 7am. I’ll have a 10 mile road walk before reaching the trail and that 10 plus the other 30 miles to get to the Canadian border don’t count until I turn around and hike back. Yep. I’m tired.