Recorded this rap in the rain when we were 5 miles from Snoqualmie Pass. It took me 2 weeks to put the lyrics together. Nothing else to do on the trail but walk and let your mind wander.
Monday, September 7, 2009
September 6th – Twilight Lake to Snoqualmie Pass
Couldn’t sleep last night. Lost a lot of sleep because I kept thinking about the fact that we no longer have to hike after today and my hip muscles were aching all night. Rain clouds unloaded all they had on us this morning around 4:00. Two hours of heavy rain tempted Tori and I to sit and wait it out but it all ended around 6:30. Thank God! We were not looking forward to walking home in a downpour. Well, rain or shine, we only had to walk ten miles and it would all be over with.
As we arrived at the top of the Snoqualmie ski area and looked down at the pass below us….I began to feel a little weird. I couldn’t believe that we were really home – really ending our trip. The peaks surrounding the pass looked very foreign to me though I had seen them all many times before. Thick rain clouds broke up around the peaks and floated eerily through the pass. It was so hard to believe that we were really here. Even more….it was tough to believe that we actually walked here from the Mexican border.
Tori and I took a couple of pictures, yodeled a bunch, and kissed a bunch more before walking down to the Family Pancake House to stuff ourselves one last time.
~Tom
As we arrived at the top of the Snoqualmie ski area and looked down at the pass below us….I began to feel a little weird. I couldn’t believe that we were really home – really ending our trip. The peaks surrounding the pass looked very foreign to me though I had seen them all many times before. Thick rain clouds broke up around the peaks and floated eerily through the pass. It was so hard to believe that we were really here. Even more….it was tough to believe that we actually walked here from the Mexican border.
Tori and I took a couple of pictures, yodeled a bunch, and kissed a bunch more before walking down to the Family Pancake House to stuff ourselves one last time.
~Tom
September 5th – Road Laced Crest Saddle to Twilight Lake
Yep, we have bad rain. This sucks ass. Everything was wet today. Everything! I don’t handle cold and wet conditions very well. I turn into a snot-nosed little punk – full of moans, groans, aches, pains, and complaints. After four hours of hiking, we stopped at a road for lunch. Decided we needed a hot meal in our bellies so I sparked up the stove. While the water boiled, I got a little campfire going so that we could get a bit of warmth and hopefully dry our shirts.
Train Wreck and Moneyshot arrived just as we were getting ready to leave. They experienced the same wet and cold conditions so we left the fire with them to enjoy.
Was tough to keep going today. I just wanted to stop. Tori didn’t complain at all and that encouraged me to shut my mouth and suck up the misery. I knew that it would all be over eventually.
Arrived at Twilight Lake around 8:30 this evening. No Trace and Unbreakable we occupying the only campsite in the marshy terrain surrounding the lake. Thankfully, they invited us to squeeze our little tent into a small patch of open ground next to theirs. They also had a nice little fire blazing when we arrived so we were able to dry out a bit before heading to bed.
~Tom
Train Wreck and Moneyshot arrived just as we were getting ready to leave. They experienced the same wet and cold conditions so we left the fire with them to enjoy.
Was tough to keep going today. I just wanted to stop. Tori didn’t complain at all and that encouraged me to shut my mouth and suck up the misery. I knew that it would all be over eventually.
Arrived at Twilight Lake around 8:30 this evening. No Trace and Unbreakable we occupying the only campsite in the marshy terrain surrounding the lake. Thankfully, they invited us to squeeze our little tent into a small patch of open ground next to theirs. They also had a nice little fire blazing when we arrived so we were able to dry out a bit before heading to bed.
~Tom
September 4th – Chinook Pass to Road Laced Crest Saddle
Woke up to fairly clear skies. Dawn greeted us with a dream-like sky filled with orange tinted clouds surrounded by bits of blue. Couldn’t tell if the color of the sky meant we were in for good weather, bad weather, or if we were still asleep.
As luck would have it, the skies cleared and we hiked until noon with beautiful blue skies. Great views of Rainier as we hiked along a ridge just east of Crystal Mountain ski resort. I love seeing that glaciated peak. Forgot how grand it is.
I’m getting sick of eating tuna wrapped in a tortilla shell. After this trip, I will not eat tuna for a very long time. Four months of tuna for lunch has ruined my taste for the chicken of the sea.
Sometime around 4:30, we arrived at Government Meadows and found a group of thru-hikers resting on the porch of a large cabin/shelter. We chatted with them for a bit and found out that our friends Sarbar and Hoosierdaddy were visiting the shelter just hours earlier. They came by to drop off snacks, beer, sodas and other random trail magic. Dang! Running into them would’ve been fun. Thanks for the trail magic though! All of us thru-hikers really appreciated it!
Cooked dinner at the shelter then moved on 7.5 more miles to our home for the evening. Drizzle started as we got the tent set up. I hope we don’t have bad rain tomorrow.
~Tom
As luck would have it, the skies cleared and we hiked until noon with beautiful blue skies. Great views of Rainier as we hiked along a ridge just east of Crystal Mountain ski resort. I love seeing that glaciated peak. Forgot how grand it is.
I’m getting sick of eating tuna wrapped in a tortilla shell. After this trip, I will not eat tuna for a very long time. Four months of tuna for lunch has ruined my taste for the chicken of the sea.
Sometime around 4:30, we arrived at Government Meadows and found a group of thru-hikers resting on the porch of a large cabin/shelter. We chatted with them for a bit and found out that our friends Sarbar and Hoosierdaddy were visiting the shelter just hours earlier. They came by to drop off snacks, beer, sodas and other random trail magic. Dang! Running into them would’ve been fun. Thanks for the trail magic though! All of us thru-hikers really appreciated it!
Cooked dinner at the shelter then moved on 7.5 more miles to our home for the evening. Drizzle started as we got the tent set up. I hope we don’t have bad rain tomorrow.
~Tom
September 3rd – White Pass to Chinook Pass
Fell asleep quickly last night after our Lasagna party. Two big plates of pasta & garlic bread combined with five Alaskan Ambers did me in. Sleep went well until thunder and lightning woke me up sometime around 1:00. Never really managed to get back to sleep after that mess.
Managed to check out of the ski lodge and hit the trail with Peter Shaw (Peanut Eater) by 7:30. We sort of hiked with him throughout the day. Our speed was a bit quicker than his so we eventually separated. We hoped to complete 27 miles today so we needed to push it faster than he did.
Saw a few elk. Man, those are some magnificent animals. I always thought they looked like the spawn of an accidental mating between a horse and a deer. Not the most graceful animals when they go crashing through the brush. Sound a bit like a fat kid tumbling in a thicket.
The weather cleared up a bit for us later in the day. Hiked down to Chinook Pass during the rise of a full moon. My left pinky toe hurt like hell today. I hope it can handle 3 more days of this.
~Tom
Managed to check out of the ski lodge and hit the trail with Peter Shaw (Peanut Eater) by 7:30. We sort of hiked with him throughout the day. Our speed was a bit quicker than his so we eventually separated. We hoped to complete 27 miles today so we needed to push it faster than he did.
Saw a few elk. Man, those are some magnificent animals. I always thought they looked like the spawn of an accidental mating between a horse and a deer. Not the most graceful animals when they go crashing through the brush. Sound a bit like a fat kid tumbling in a thicket.
The weather cleared up a bit for us later in the day. Hiked down to Chinook Pass during the rise of a full moon. My left pinky toe hurt like hell today. I hope it can handle 3 more days of this.
~Tom
September 2nd – Trail 96 Junction to White Pass
Woke up to perfectly clear skies today. Yes! I was so excited because today was the day we were going to be going through the heart of Goat Rocks Wilderness – an area I had always wanted to visit, but had never got around to it. We were also going to be on some very rugged, exposed tread, so good weather would allow more ease with travel. We were surprised to still find snow on Old Snowy (I guess I should have figured by the name!). Since we hit the snow traverse first thing in the morning, it was quite hard packed and icy. The snow brought back memories of the High Sierra passes, only this time we didn’t have ice axes or crampons. Lucikly, the snowfield wasn’t too steep and there was a wide boot path across the snow – we just had to take it slowly. Next we came to the infamous “Knife Edge” – a 1 mile section of trail that runs along the top of a very narrow ridge. Not only was the trail VERY exposed, but it was also steep with loose gravel (my least favorite kind of terrain). I was scared to death – especially looking forward and seeing where the trail was going. Tom somehow managed to talk me through the trail and we made it across the Knife Edge without any incidents. I was very thankful to have survived and to have had good weather. I couldn’t imagine doing that section of trail during a storm. Eeek! The views from the Knife’s Edge were incredible – Mt. Rainier was in our face and there were lots of snow-capped mountains nearby. Probably one of the prettiest places I’ve been in Washington. Too bad I was so busy looking down at my feet.
After a tough day of hiking, we rolled into White Pass about an hour before the gas station/store was closing. We ran into our friend Peter Shaw (aka Peanut Eater) whom we hadn’t seen since Sisters. He’s probably the one hiker we have seen throughout the trail – first meeting him way back in Julian, CA, then again in Idyllwild, Mammoth Lakes, Sierra City, and lastly in Sisters. We picked up our package and filled in the missing food items with purchases from the store. Upon recommendation of Mike, we decided to get a room at the White Pass Inn next to the gas station. There were 3 bunk beds so we invited Peter to join us. Basically, the Inn was ski condos that are rented out on a nightly basis. Each room has a kitchenette, so we bought a frozen lasagna and garlic break and cooked up a feast in our little room. Mike and Naomi were staying in a room close by and they had also bought lasagna and garlic bread. After showers, we hosted a little party in our room feasting on lasagna and garlic bread. It was great to “host” people again – almost felt like we were having a dinner party at home.
-Tori
After a tough day of hiking, we rolled into White Pass about an hour before the gas station/store was closing. We ran into our friend Peter Shaw (aka Peanut Eater) whom we hadn’t seen since Sisters. He’s probably the one hiker we have seen throughout the trail – first meeting him way back in Julian, CA, then again in Idyllwild, Mammoth Lakes, Sierra City, and lastly in Sisters. We picked up our package and filled in the missing food items with purchases from the store. Upon recommendation of Mike, we decided to get a room at the White Pass Inn next to the gas station. There were 3 bunk beds so we invited Peter to join us. Basically, the Inn was ski condos that are rented out on a nightly basis. Each room has a kitchenette, so we bought a frozen lasagna and garlic break and cooked up a feast in our little room. Mike and Naomi were staying in a room close by and they had also bought lasagna and garlic bread. After showers, we hosted a little party in our room feasting on lasagna and garlic bread. It was great to “host” people again – almost felt like we were having a dinner party at home.
-Tori
September 1st – Muddy Fork Camp to Trail 96 Junction
Had some light rain over night, but things seemed to be clearing up by the time we woke up. We were thankful since we were headed toward Goat Rocks Wilderness – an area known for beautiful scenery (at least when the weather is nice). The views kept getting better as the day went on – lots of jagged mountain peaks, alpine meadows, and charming creeks. We felt like we were back in the German/Austrian Alps. Ended the day at a fantastic campsite with a great view looking back at Mt. Adams. One of the best parts of thru-hiking is looking back from where you have come and seeing how far you walked in just one day. It was crazy to think we had camped just next to Mt. Adams the previous night and now it already looked quite a distance away.
-Tori
-Tori
August 31st – Spring near Big Mosquito Lake to Muddy Fork Camp
Met up with another thru-hiking couple, Mike and Naomi, today – leapfrogged with them on the trail most of the day. The trail took us near Mt. Adams which was cool to look at when the clouds weren’t blocking the view. Got hit with some light rain sprinkles toward the end of the day. Had a bit of a sketchy crossing of the river coming off the Adams glacier, but we survived - minus wet and cold feet. Found a great campsite near the Muddy Fork – right near the creek. Since it was the only campsite nearby, Mike and Naomi joined us as well.
-Tori
-Tori
August 30th – Cascade Locks to Spring near Big Mosquito Lake
We hated to give up the comfy bed and warm room at the Best Western, but the trail was calling our name – we only have 8 more days left of hiking (not that we are counting or anything ;-)). Due to needing to be to Snoqualmie Pass by September 6th, we asked Dicentra to give us a ride to Crest Campground, skipping a viewless, boring 51 mile section of trail. This ride allows us to be a little more relaxed on the trail and not have to pull out the mega miles the next 8 days. Thanks Di for the ride (and Sarbar for the navigating) – we really appreciate it!
The rest of the day was pretty boring hiking, but luckily went by fast. We saw our first elk of the trip – amazing how as soon as we cross into Washington, we see elk. Lucked out with some more trail magic – Water and Bucket (AT ’07) had come out to Road 24 for the day. We arrived about 6pm and they were just starting to clean up after a busy day of trail magic. We got there just in time - along with 4 other thru-hikers, so we cleaned Water and Bucket of all their remaining food – including hot dogs, bacon, breakfast sausages, yellow watermelon, Hostess cupcakes, donut holes, chips, and soda/beer. Managed to just spend just an hour at the trail magic and made it a couple more miles until dark. Found a spot in a meadow near Big Mosquito Lake. Luckily, the lake didn’t live up to it’s name – the bugs weren’t too bad.
-Tori
The rest of the day was pretty boring hiking, but luckily went by fast. We saw our first elk of the trip – amazing how as soon as we cross into Washington, we see elk. Lucked out with some more trail magic – Water and Bucket (AT ’07) had come out to Road 24 for the day. We arrived about 6pm and they were just starting to clean up after a busy day of trail magic. We got there just in time - along with 4 other thru-hikers, so we cleaned Water and Bucket of all their remaining food – including hot dogs, bacon, breakfast sausages, yellow watermelon, Hostess cupcakes, donut holes, chips, and soda/beer. Managed to just spend just an hour at the trail magic and made it a couple more miles until dark. Found a spot in a meadow near Big Mosquito Lake. Luckily, the lake didn’t live up to it’s name – the bugs weren’t too bad.
-Tori
August 29th – Cascade Locks
Today was PCT day at Cascade Locks. Hikers from ahead on the trail hitched back and hikers from behind on the trail hitched forward. Luckily, we hit the Locks just at the right time and didn’t have to hitch. PCT day is a celebration of the PCT – lots of time to catch up with fellow hikers, meet new people, and talk with vendors. Our friends Sarbar, Dicentra, and Jared came up for the day along with their kiddos Ford and Maddy. It was so good to see friend from back home – it has been a LONG time without seeing anybody from “home”. The day was perfectly chill – just hanging out with good friends and gabbing endlessly. The night ended with a movie showing by Squatch and a photography presentation by Nabor J.
-Tori
-Tori
August 28th - 7 1/2 Mile Camp to Cascade Locks
We were thrilled to once again be on familiar terrain along the Eagle Creek. This alternate PCT trail is very easy and scenic - passing by numerous beautiful waterfalls. My favorite is Tunnel Falls - a waterfall that you actually walk behind. We had an easy 10 mile walk into Cascade Locks. After filling our bellies at the PCT Pub and checking into our hotel, we finally got our much anticipated showers. Ahhh...it feels so good to be clean!
-Tori
-Tori
August 27th - Near Rushing Water Creek to 7 1/2 Mile Camp
Continued on the combined PCT/Timberline Trail. Forded Sandy River which looked a lot different from when I crossed it several years ago. Amazing how glacial rivers change so much. Enjoyed a snack by the beautiful Ramona Falls. Got our butts kicked climbing up to Bald Mountain. The rest of the day was spent on mostly viewless terrain. The miles seemed to go by slowly, so we passed the time by working on a rap song about our trip.
Toward the end of the day, we peaked out on a high ridge and got our first view of Mt. Rainier. We truly are getting closer to home...
-Tori
Toward the end of the day, we peaked out on a high ridge and got our first view of Mt. Rainier. We truly are getting closer to home...
-Tori
August 26th - Clackamas Lake to Near Rushing Water Creek
Managed to wake up before sunrise today. Were were looking forward to finally reaching Mt. Hood and getting a little closer to home.
Hiked over super easy terrain for the first half of the day. The 2nd half of the day made up for the easy 1st half though. As the trail got closer to Hood, the terrain got steeper. It was exciting to finally reach the Timberline Trail (the trail that circumnavigates Mt. Hood which I had hiked a few years ago). It was the first time on our trip that I was on trail that was familiar. We were going the opposite way though and I quickly found out why we had gone the other direction previously - the climb up to Timberline Lodge on sand was a butt kicker. We had already done 25 miles and we were hungry. But knowing food was at the end really helped.
Reached Timberline Lodge just in time for dinner. We were were bummed to not be able to get pizza, but each enjoyed a sandwich and beer and then shared a bowl of gourmet mac and cheese. It was difficult, but we managed to escape the Timberline vortex after just an hour or so and hiked another 5 miles to camp on the west side of Hood.
-Tori
Hiked over super easy terrain for the first half of the day. The 2nd half of the day made up for the easy 1st half though. As the trail got closer to Hood, the terrain got steeper. It was exciting to finally reach the Timberline Trail (the trail that circumnavigates Mt. Hood which I had hiked a few years ago). It was the first time on our trip that I was on trail that was familiar. We were going the opposite way though and I quickly found out why we had gone the other direction previously - the climb up to Timberline Lodge on sand was a butt kicker. We had already done 25 miles and we were hungry. But knowing food was at the end really helped.
Reached Timberline Lodge just in time for dinner. We were were bummed to not be able to get pizza, but each enjoyed a sandwich and beer and then shared a bowl of gourmet mac and cheese. It was difficult, but we managed to escape the Timberline vortex after just an hour or so and hiked another 5 miles to camp on the west side of Hood.
-Tori
August 25th - Ollalie Lake ot Clackamas Lake
Woke up to Andrew cooking pancakes and brewing coffee. What a greeat treat. After a leisurely breakfast, Jo drove us back to the trail. Didn't start hiking until a very late 9am. We were such slackers. But it felt great to have a night enjoying the company of others.
Sped through the easy terrain trying to make up for our missed miles due to stopping for trail magic. Reached the Clackamas Lake campground about 6:15pm. Toilets, water, and a garbage dumpster made us decide to call it an early night. Still managed 25 miles for the day though.
-Tori
Sped through the easy terrain trying to make up for our missed miles due to stopping for trail magic. Reached the Clackamas Lake campground about 6:15pm. Toilets, water, and a garbage dumpster made us decide to call it an early night. Still managed 25 miles for the day though.
-Tori
August 24th - Shale Lake to Ollalie Lake
Woke up an hour later than usual today. It was freezing cold and there was frost on the ground. Neither of us wanted to get out of our warm sleeping bags.
The first several miles were quite boring, but eventually the woods opened up and we came to beautiful meadows with views of Mt. Jefferson up close. We saw a ton of dayhikers - even with it being a weekday. There must be a trailhead close by. We could definitely see why the place was popular - the views were amazing!
We huffed and puffed our way up to a high ridge. Funny how we felt out of shape since we have recently been doing very little elevation gains/losses (compared to what we had done previousing in California). We were greeted at the top by our first views of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens. Were were thrilled to see both of those mountains - knowing that we were getting closer to home.
Met a section hiker, Dan, from Bellingham, WA who hiked with us several miles. We are always impressed when the section hikers can keep up with our pace.
Found a trail magic sign when we hit Ollalie Lake promising hot dogs, soda, beer, fruit, and smores if we walked 1 mile down to the campground. We couldn't resist the trail magic, so we walked the 1 mile. Met former 2008 PCT thru-hiker Andrew (aka Dandy)and his girlfriend Jo who were the lovely trail angels providing "magic". Dan arrived soon after us. We were talked into staying the night with promises of pancakes and Stumptown coffee in the morning. Had a great rest of the evening chatting about all kinds of random topics. Thanks Dandy and Jo for the wonderful trail magic. We are glad we stopped and stayed the night!
-Tori
The first several miles were quite boring, but eventually the woods opened up and we came to beautiful meadows with views of Mt. Jefferson up close. We saw a ton of dayhikers - even with it being a weekday. There must be a trailhead close by. We could definitely see why the place was popular - the views were amazing!
We huffed and puffed our way up to a high ridge. Funny how we felt out of shape since we have recently been doing very little elevation gains/losses (compared to what we had done previousing in California). We were greeted at the top by our first views of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens. Were were thrilled to see both of those mountains - knowing that we were getting closer to home.
Met a section hiker, Dan, from Bellingham, WA who hiked with us several miles. We are always impressed when the section hikers can keep up with our pace.
Found a trail magic sign when we hit Ollalie Lake promising hot dogs, soda, beer, fruit, and smores if we walked 1 mile down to the campground. We couldn't resist the trail magic, so we walked the 1 mile. Met former 2008 PCT thru-hiker Andrew (aka Dandy)and his girlfriend Jo who were the lovely trail angels providing "magic". Dan arrived soon after us. We were talked into staying the night with promises of pancakes and Stumptown coffee in the morning. Had a great rest of the evening chatting about all kinds of random topics. Thanks Dandy and Jo for the wonderful trail magic. We are glad we stopped and stayed the night!
-Tori
August 23rd - Sisters, OR to Shale Lake
As much as we enjoyed our time in Sisters, we knew we must move on. After several good nights' rest, we were feeling re-energized.
It took us 2 hitches to make it up to Santiam Pass - the first from a high school girl on the way to her summer job as a lifeguard and the 2nd ride from a state trooper. It was my first time in the back of a cop car - quite the experience. Who knew the back seats were made of hard plastic???
We both enjoyed the scenery immensly today. Our hike took us past Three Fingered Jack as well as seeing Mt. Jefferson smack dab in front of us for most of the day. The beautiful scenery, blue skies, and cooler temperatures made the day fly by fast.
We found a great little campsite at Shale Lake with a great view of Mt. Jefferson. I love when we can find a flat spot with water AND a view!
-Tori
It took us 2 hitches to make it up to Santiam Pass - the first from a high school girl on the way to her summer job as a lifeguard and the 2nd ride from a state trooper. It was my first time in the back of a cop car - quite the experience. Who knew the back seats were made of hard plastic???
We both enjoyed the scenery immensly today. Our hike took us past Three Fingered Jack as well as seeing Mt. Jefferson smack dab in front of us for most of the day. The beautiful scenery, blue skies, and cooler temperatures made the day fly by fast.
We found a great little campsite at Shale Lake with a great view of Mt. Jefferson. I love when we can find a flat spot with water AND a view!
-Tori
August 22nd - Another Day in Sisters, OR
We enjoyed our day yesterday so much that we decided to do another zero. Spent the day doing absolutely nothing. It was great!
-Tori
-Tori
August 21st - Sisters, OR
Zero day! Yay! We were really in need of a rest day. Both of us are dealing with sore feet and I have a sore back.
We scored a great deat at the Sisters Inn. They are currently rennovating so they gave us a great price ($60) on a room. The room is huge, has a porch with a sliding glass door, 2 sinks, fridge, microwave, computer with internet in the lobby, and a continental breakfast. Probably the best room and best price we have had on the trail. We feel like we are living in luxury.
Spent the day leisurely doing town chores - laundry, library, post office, etc. Sisters is a nice town - more touristy and bigger than we expected, but still easy to get around.
-Tori
We scored a great deat at the Sisters Inn. They are currently rennovating so they gave us a great price ($60) on a room. The room is huge, has a porch with a sliding glass door, 2 sinks, fridge, microwave, computer with internet in the lobby, and a continental breakfast. Probably the best room and best price we have had on the trail. We feel like we are living in luxury.
Spent the day leisurely doing town chores - laundry, library, post office, etc. Sisters is a nice town - more touristy and bigger than we expected, but still easy to get around.
-Tori
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Fun Video
Howdy! Tori and I are in Sisters, OR for a zero day. Below is a little video from the trail. Also, I added a few more pics to our photo album (check the link on right of the page). Enjoy!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Quick Photo Update
Howdy Folks!
We're in Etna, CA. Spending a day relaxing and taking care of other town chores. Have new photos posted on Tori's facebook page. See the link to the right of this web page. Should be a link directly to our PCT Photo Album.
We're doing well. Thanks for keeping tabs on us and thanks for the comments. We apologize for not being able to respond to them because our internet time is very limited.
God Bless,
Tom & Tori
We're in Etna, CA. Spending a day relaxing and taking care of other town chores. Have new photos posted on Tori's facebook page. See the link to the right of this web page. Should be a link directly to our PCT Photo Album.
We're doing well. Thanks for keeping tabs on us and thanks for the comments. We apologize for not being able to respond to them because our internet time is very limited.
God Bless,
Tom & Tori
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