PCT Days 126-138: Cascade Locks to Snoqualmie Pass
Washington Part 1: PCT Miles 2148.0 – 2394.1
The first half of Washington was full of lush green dense forest as well as dramatic mountain scenery of Mount Adams, Goat Rocks Wilderness, and Mount Rainier. Hiking the Knife’s Edge in Goat Rocks was my favorite day on the PCT!
There were a few days of glorious PNW summer sunshine but also several days of cold, wet, windy weather which were challenging. My body is complaining daily about various ailments but I’m staying focused on the eventual goal.
Day 126: August 18, 2021, 13.8 miles
Today’s highlight was crossing the Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia River and entering my home state of Washington! I hung out in Cascade Locks all morning and stayed for lunch. Started hiking at 1pm excited about what Washington has in store. The hike largely consisted of a huge climb through the forest, not surprising as Cascade Locks is the lowest point on the entire PCT at 120ft and nowhere else to go but up.
Day 127: August 19, 2021, 22.4 miles
I decided to try and slow down and enjoy Washington and saunter, instead of feeling constant urgency to hustle and make certain number of miles each day. Today was mostly in lush green forest today. I took long leisurely breaks and even encountered some trail magic! I stopped at Panther Creek Camp and met 4 SOBO (southbound) hikers including Half Pint, who I met in the desert months ago! We all camped together and had a nice evening. A couple of nice ladies who were car camping came by and brought us a bunch of treats. More trail magic! Overall, a great day!
Day 128: August 20, 2021, 25.3 miles
Washington is so lush and green! Today involved a lot of climbing (6k ft total). As I climbed higher, it got misty, windy, wet, and cold and remained that way the rest of the day. Felt like a typical fall day in Washington. Hope there’s still a lot more sun and warmth to come these next few weeks. Today I realized that the rest week in Seattle served my body well. The first couple of days back my body was like “wait we’re doing this all day hiking thing again?!” Today I felt relaxed yet strong all day, even with the long distance and lots of climbing. The cool temps helped too. Camped right next to a pack of llamas. That was cool! And I crossed 2200 mile mark!
Day 129: August 21, 2021, 21.6 miles
Come on Washington! We had a deal. We put up with 6-9 months of gray wet weather to get perfect summer sunshine for 3 months. Today was another cold, wet, windy day but still beautiful through old growth forest. But I still love Washington. Came across some awesome trail magic with lots of food and drinks. Hiked to the trailhead and quickly caught a hitch into Trout Lake. What a wonderful small community that really looks after hikers and has everything hikers need (good food, resupply, showers, laundry, camping, and super friendly people). Met some new hikers and saw some hikers I met long ago. We camped together in the county park and had a great evening.
Day 130: August 22, 2021, 20.8 miles
At camp this morning, Jake and Sam made us all an amazing breakfast of waffles, eggs, and coffee. What a treat! I caught the 10am shuttle from Trout Lake back to trail. It was cold and wet for most of the day and had to wear almost all the clothes I had. We entered the Mount Adams Wilderness where even the burn area was strangely beautiful. Had to cross Adams Creek which was flowing quite strongly. Required walking across 3 sets of logs which had me nervous at first. Late afternoon, the weather started to settle and we even got a brief glimpse of Mount Adams, the 2nd highest mountain in Washington.
Day 131: August 23, 2021, 23.9 miles
Now this is the Washington I have been looking forward to. One of my favorite days on trail! The day started off quite cold but finally sunny after a few wet days. I encountered trail magic first thing in the morning provided by a fellow hiker’s parents. A cheeseburger, donuts, and coffee never tasted better at 9am! Then I entered the Goat Rocks Wilderness, which I’ve been looking forward to for years. So many amazing views in the afternoon. Crazy thing is that the main highlight of Goat Rocks is tomorrow. Can’t wait! At camp, I bumped into Smiley, a hiker I hadn’t seen since day 16! It was great to catch up.
Day 132: August 24, 2021, 22.1 miles
Today was another of my most favorite days on the entire trail! For years I’ve been wanting to hike the Knife’s Edge in the Goat Rocks Wilderness but was saving it for a PCT thru-hike. And I was really hoping to catch it on a bluebird day. My wish came true! In short, it was spectacular! Mount Rainier was showing off all day! Seeing my ‘home’ mountain for the first time on this hike felt so comforting. And behind me, Mount Adams was also on full display bidding me farewell. It was slow going because I kept stopping to take pictures and videos all day. I finished the day at White Pass where I picked up my resupply box and hung out with a bunch of hikers.
Day 133: August 25, 2021, 17.3 miles
Got a late start from the White Pass hiker vortex. It was fun hanging out with hikers and was in no rush to get back to trail. Relatively uneventful hike through the forest. At 4:30am, I was awoken by a very loud strange howling noise nearby. I had no idea what was making this noise. I was too sleepy to bother so managed to go back to sleep. The next morning a hiker said it was most likely an elk bugling very close to camp.
Day 134: August 26, 2021, 17.1 miles
Another cold wet day in Washington. Entered Mount Rainier National Park. Got a double dose of trail magic at Chinook Pass! I was on no hurry so I hung out for a couple of hours. Then the rain came and I decided to setup camp early, a second short day in a row. On one hand, I am enjoying the relaxed pace lately but anxious about possible inclement weather the rest of the way and want to get done before it really gets cold and snowy in the North Cascades.
Day 135: August 27, 2021, 23.1 miles
So hard to get out of the sleeping bag when it’s wet and cold outside. And I wasn’t feeling great overall. I managed to finally get going and had a hard time warming up all day, even wearing all my clothes. In the late afternoon, the weather slightly improved and the forecast is for better weather tomorrow. Really hoping for that as today my motivation was lacking. Alas, I camped early, ate a double dinner, and slept well.
Day 136: August 28, 2021, 23.2 miles
Sunshine returned today thankfully and most of my woes from previous days evaporated (except my left foot is still giving me issues, solved by steady supply of vitamin I). Today was trail magic galore all day! Hiker Abba Zabba and his wife were setup at a dirt road crossing and brought all sorts of treats for hikers! I hadn’t seen him since the desert many months ago. The Cascade Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run was happening along the PCT today and there were lots of runners passing in both directions. There were also several aid stations, all of which were more than happy to provide snacks and drinks to hikers as well as their runners. I was constantly eating all day today. At the end of the day where I was planning to camp, we came across another aid station that was getting ready to wrap up. They gave tons of food including quesadillas, soup, chips, sweets, drinks, and more. We stuffed ourselves silly and then relaxed and relished in our bounty while they packed up.
Day 137: August 29, 2021, 18.2 miles
Upon reaching Snoqualmie Pass today, I have officially walked home from Mexico as this is the closest point on the PCT to my home city of Seattle. The rest of the way to Canada is all bonus! I have been to Snoqualmie Pass many times as there is tons of great hiking nearby and I always stop here to eat a slice of pizza at Pie for the People. I went straight there when I arrived and celebrated with a slice. My friend Ben, who also met me in Yosemite, picked me up from the pass and drove me down to his home in Bellevue where I ate large quantities of Szechuan food and finally cleaned up after 8 days. Planning to take a zero day tomorrow to pickup my resupply box for the next section, organize logistics of the rest of the way, and let the body rest as it has started to complain daily about one ailment after another. It’s a race between my body and remaining miles (& my supply of ibuprofen). 260 miles to Canada!
Day 138: August 30, 2021, ZERO Day
Took a day off to wrap up resupply & logistics for the rest of the hike and give my body a break. Stayed with friends Ben & Rebecca, who were wonderful hosts. Mailed off a final resupply box to Stehekin, picked up new shoes and warmer clothes for the final push, and made a requisite trip to REI. Ben was so patient in driving me around for half the day. All that’s left now is to start walking tomorrow and keep going north until I run out of trail.
