D U N spells Finished!!!!!

Yeah I said it! I am FINISHED with the PCT. I am Thru Hiking, if you will. I arrived at the US Canadian Border in Friday the 17th of September 2010.  I got there with 7 other hiker friends; Psyco and Apricots, Shroomer, Wolf Taffy, Jonny Law, Missing link and Mike and we were all greeted by my loving and supportive partner Isaac, who flew out to see me. We all took pictures and drank many different alcoholic beverages that we had been carrying. Hooting and hollering and celebrating our accomplishment.

I just walked 2,650 MILES!!! Mexico to Canada in 4 months and 3 weeks.

I have come to realize (if I hadnt known already) that I love backpacking and living outside. I also know now that I love beds with sheets and pillows. I love cotton cloths and I especially love sitting indoors, looking out as it rains.

Heres to another adventure completed!

The first really clear day on 2 weeks

Marmot Family

Me hugging the Northern Terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail!!!

Skykomish, WA

I have walked 2480 miles since the mexican border, now I am about 180 miles from Canada. I will be there in 9 hiking days. With the end in sight I am both thrilled and pencive, thinking about the last 4 1/2 months, it has been terrific! Stehekin in 4 days and then the border.

I am ready to go back to living in a house with cotton sheets and pillows, wearing cotton clothes and showering with warm water and shampoo. not really looking forward to paying bills and working a 9 to 5 but I will be blissfully ignoring that till the last minutes of my flight back to the east coast.

The Rain of the last week has been brutal. Cold and wet and consistent. Basically impossible to stay dry. I managed for the last 3 days to keep the important things dry, long underwear and sleeping bag and pad. The etent has been soaked since day one and so has my not so water proof rain gear. I go to the Dinsmore's house yesturday and got dry and have been drying out my things. Will be leaving tomorrow and hopefully the rain will be finnished by then.

Fingers crossed for good weather for the rest of the trip.

Snoqualmie, WA

Got into town today at noon and am feeling great! so many wonderful sites in Washington already! I was astounded at the amount of wildlife I have seen up here. to date I have seen; rattle snakes, pika, mountain goat, elk, marmot and various amphibians and birds. Washington is definitely wetter than the previous two states but the clouds have made for dramatic photos.

I got heatstroke yesterday (it wasnt very hot) because I didnt drink enough water. I hiked 16 miles by lunch and ate a large meal while only drinking about one liter of H2O. The next section of trail was uphill in the sun and my body didnt take to kindly to me barreling up the mountain so I promptly got nauseous and dizzy. I through off my pack and laid down in the shade. 2 hikers came along, Uber bitch and Bristle cone, and made sure I drank water and was OK. then we proceeded very slowly up the hill, eating huckleberry's as we went, it was a very pleasant end of the day. I left them at the weather station they were planning on camping at and walked into dusk, to try and catch up to Shroomer and Wolf Taffy.

Dusk is the time to see many animals! I was startled by 2 elk in the middle of the trail, who when they noticed my presence crashed in opposite directions. Their shoulders were taller than me! later I ended up scaring 3 deer as well. the sunset was beautiful and I found my way to the dry creek where the boys had made camp. I thought Washington was going to be boring but so far it has been just as lively as the rest.

Here are some photos from Washington so far:

so good to be in the LAST state!

Cantrell for dinner

I dont know what kind of hawk

Mt. Adams shrouded

clouds coming in for the kill

I love the clouds

Starting the Goat Rocks wilderness

snow in August anyone?

the trail fallows this ridge for miles, it was great!

sudden sun rise in the trees

a Pika!

Mt. Rainer

big Hawk that I dont know what is it.

the view into Snoqualmie, Wa

Washington!!!!!

I have hit the Washington Border! 500miles to go, which should only take about 3 weeks. I am lucky enough to have a friend in Hood River, OR who is letting me and a couple of trail friends stay at his place for a couple of nights. Tomorrow we will head off to Washington, the final leg of our journey.

I am supper excited to begin a new state. Oregon has been very pretty, forests, trail angels, AYCE breakfast at Timberline Lodge (on Mt Hood), and only one Fire closer (it took us 40 miles out of the way, but whatever).

Here are some pictures from Oregon:

Looking north

Huckleberry

Crater Lake

Sunrise at Summit Lake

Camping beneath Mt Jefferson

sunset beneath Mt Jefferson

wild heather

Mt Jefferson

Sunset on Mt Hood

In Tunnel Falls, headed for Washington

Sister Sister Sister

I loved the show Sitier Sister when I was yonger. That is not what I am talking about though. I am now in Sisters, OR, about 160 miles to Washington state and about 678 miles to Canada. Stoppping in to resuply amd rest my aching feet.

Have been walking in spectacular country for the last few weeks. The conifir forests are shady and majestic and the three sisters wilderness of the last couple of days has been phenominal! The lava feilds and the three sisters looking down on me as I hike is great. The hiking from Ashland to Sisters has felt so good. It feels like home, it is that coumfortable.

Moving on tomorrow and looking to get to Cascade Lockes on the Oregon Washinton border in about a week.

People have said that Northern California and Oregon is boring hiking. They are so wrong. Relativley flat compaired to the Seirras but wonderfully wooded and green and beautiful.

Got caught in a rain storm last night that consisted of flashing lightning and rolling thunder. Me without a rain coat, I was quite nervous at first but then I was wet and I got over it. The posse I had been hiking with was only going about 5 miles and so I walked wet for a couple of hours and then got snuggley in my tent. PS I will be looking for a poncho while I am in town, as well as a delicious bakery Isaac and I had visited last year when we came out here.

Baked goods and boxes, Washington here I come!

OREGON!!!

Yippy I am in Oregon!!! I made it finally out of the neverending state of California. Cali was real nice but after 3 1/2 months I was ready to get out. On to Oregon now adn I am feeling great! OR is only 450 miles and that should fly by. I can realistically calculate the end of this trip as well. 7 weeks should put me at the Canadian border, baring any injuries.

So good bye California. You were wonderful.

Lost Socks, Snow and a Fungus among us

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood by Deadfall Lake. 17 miles from where I had started and only 13 to go for the day. It was noon and the cool water hot sun was too inviting so I joined my hiking friends for a dip. After swimming and an extended lunch break I thought it would be good to wash my socks that were Oh so dirty from the dusty trail. It would have been a great idea had I not forgotten to attatch the soggy socks to my bag before I left on the second leg of my day. It also would have been better if I had remembered my socks, air drying on a sage bush, before 6 miles later. It was a sad end to a great day.

28th, 29th, 30th and 31st of July as well as the 1st of August and we all get to walk over snow! not a lot of snow, just about 20 feet, but still snow! what a wacky year.

Lastly there is now a fungus among us! I have some sort of Athletes foot that blistered bad on the top of my feet. Itchy painfull open blisters on the tops of my toes, right where my foot bends and constantly rubs against my shoes. I am buying cream and powder, if I can find it, in Etna tomorrow.

Oregon is less than 150 miles away! should be there in 5 days!

SEMPER AVANTI!!!!

NOCAL

NOCAL: Northern California

People have said that Northern California was  going to be boring hot with brutal climes out of every town and basically, ultimate suffering. Well it has been hot and there have been pretty serious climbs out of town but there has been absolutely NO suffering! No Cal is great! there are trail angels all over the place and they are so nice. so lets see. a trail angel is someone who opens there home to hikers and or feeds them by leaving coolers by roads, etc. I have been in a different angels grace for 7 days now! So here is a quick shout out to them, Thank You to; The Church in Sierra City, the Williams in Bucks Lake, the Brightmans in Belden, the owners of Drakesbad Ranch, and the Hietmans in Old Station. What love and hospitality I have been given, it is amazing.

By the way... I have reached the 1/2 way point on the PCT!!! 1325 miles down, 1325 to go! Yippy Skippy!

Isaac and South Lake Tahoe

About 2 weeks ago I set out from Mammouth, CA with my friend Guthook and we hitched in to Truckee, CA to get a ride from a trail angel, Bill Person, to Reno airport. Guthook was flying back to New England for a wedding and I was picking up my good friend Isaac. I said goodbye to Guthook and waited in the Reno airport for 6 hours! I bought a book and read, no gambling for this lady. Isaac's flight got in asnd we boogied to the trail the next day. Starting from Mammouth the two of us took it slow the first week cuase Isaac was getting over a cold. Once we got to Tuolumne Meadows in Yasemite National Park we decided to hitch into the Valley. It is about 40 miles and we were very lucky to run into a guy I had met 300 miles before. John was very kind and took us out of his way, and all the way into the valley. Oce there Isaac and I walked around and took pictures of all the beautiful water falls. there are many. With the abundance of snow melting in the Sierras the Waterfalls were at gushing speeds! it was great! after a couple of days meandering the Valley we headed back to the PCT. there is still snow in the hills but it is melting quickly. I am so sick of snow! It is July for goodness sakes! And speaking of July, the two of us made it in to the quaint town of Bridgeport for July 4th! HAPPY AMERICA DAY!!! this little town has the most country pride I've ever seen! everyone in town was wearing flag shorts and shirts and hats. there were flags hanging off every street lamp and there was a Rodeo in town, not to mention the blow up bouncy pits, talent shows, and grease pole contests. It was true americana. We ate burgers and Beers and had a grand time. Now that we are in South Lake Tahoe, It has been 2 weeks and Isaac Has to go back to VT to finish up his Masters program (school is so Lame!).  and I will be headed back to the trail tomorrow. I love walking and should really look into jobs where I would get paid to backpack.  Feeling good!

Peace and Love

Sierras

I have gone up and over 6 Mountain passes since Bishop; Glen, Pinchot, Mather, Muir, Selden and Silver. Glen: the day of Glen pass I also hiked over Kearsarge again to get back to the PCT. We got to glissade a bit and sat by some nearly frozen lakes. Cold and cloudy. It had snowed the day before while we were in town thankfully the precipitation stopped right in time for us to get back on trail. Pinchot: this pass was not as pretty as the others but just as hard! Down hill is always fun and the weather warmed up nicely. even though the weather is sunny and worm, with all the river fords I am constantly cold and wet. Mather Pass: probably the sketchiest pass yet! Quite an epic day, 5 miles to the top of the pass... even though the pass was the most obvious one we got a little lost. It was a complete snow bowl. no trail visible at all!. we followed the foot prints around to the right and up the middle which then came to some loose large boulder/ rock hopping, this was the first time I thought that I could have easily slipped and died!. I didnt! but I could have. then there were 2 very long glissades down the back of the Pass. this is my favorite thing! sliding down the back of a steep slope on my tush is SO much fun! going down this pass was great cause for the first time we got below 10,000 feet and the snow disappeared! It was Glorious! walking on Terra Ferma is So so so much better than slippy slide y snow! this was the day we got surrounded by about 5 deer, who were not afraid of us at all. they were coming very close and walking through camp. We should have taken the hint then but didnt and continued cooking dinner when all of a sudden Guthook shouts "Holly sh**! a Bear!" and not more than 20 feet away is a rather large bear walking right for us! So what is the first thing I do? I took a picture of course! then proceeded to bang my pots together loudly, which didnt phase the bear at all. This was not confidence building. It circled us and ran away once Guthook started screaming and waving his arms about. we finished dinner and decided to pack up and walk another mile or so to get away from the food smells. while we were packing I saw another, larger bear, watching us from across the river. we left in a hurry! Muir pass: This was one of the nicest passes I think. there was loads of snow but it was easy walking and very gradual climbing. I got to the top and was greeted by the Muir Hut, which looks like a stone milk bottle. It was warm and dry inside and the weather was sunny. the way down was long and glissadeless. and to finish off the day we forded Evolution Creek. the 3 guys I was hiking with that day tried it on there own and all got washed away in the chest deep water. I on the other hand had the 2 that didnt make it to the other side, make a chain of people and we went over together. Hands on one another hips pushing us down to the bottom of the creek. We got across just fin and none of  my stuff was wet. Selden and silver: these were pretty unaventfull. more snow. more up. more down. Now I am in Mamounth Lake, CA taking a zero day and resting up for Yosemite. the big passes are over not and I am hoping for less snow as the weeks progress.

Bishop

Bishop, has been a nice place but it is time we all roll out. Tomorrow at 7am we will be in a car headed back to the trail. It will be a 7 mile walk just to hit the PCT again but then we will cruise over the next 100 miles or so to Mammouth. Here are some memmorable momments from Bishop.

The High Passes

I left kenneday Meadows, CA about 6 days ago and am now in Bishop, CA. In that time I climbed Mount Whitney, the Tallest Mountain in the lower 48 states, and I went up and over forester pass, a Mountain Pass over 13,000 feet tall. There were snow feilds and rock scrambles, cold mornings and freezing river crossings. One of the hikers, Lakewood, slipped and got carried away by one of the rivers and lost his GPS. He is OK, but was shaken up enough to go into town earlier than he had planned. It has been beautiful out in the Sierras and now I will be hiking in Kings Canyon National park. I dont hike with Treking poles for stability or any kind of traction for my feet. Many peole have both as well as an Ice Axe. I have been hiking through conditions which have made me want all three, but I have perserveared and continue to do just fine without any of them. Bishop is a nice town and I have eaten well here. Especially at the Wiskey Creek Steak house, Oh SO good! Here are some pictures from the last 6 days.

what's new

SO I have come a long way since the last time I wrote. I have walked 700 miles thus far and still have about 1950 miles to go. It is a long trail, but is a lot of fun. I am now in Kennedy Meadows, which is on the edge of the Sierra National Forest. I will be climbing up to 14 thousand feet in a couple of days. Mount Whitney is right around the corner. It is the tallest mountain in the lower forty-eight states. There is said to be a lot of snow up there right now but I am not worried. I am walking with a good crew of people. I have been hiking over 20 miles a day for a while. I have even done a couple of 29 mile days. Currently hanging out at this guy Tom's place and watching Forest Gump with a whole lot of hikers. The weather has been heating up so it is a good thing I am going to gain in elevation in the next couple of days. Leaving tomorrow. will be in Independence CA in 6ish days. hopefully I will be able to write then.

Peace and Love

Playing Catch up!

SO there is a Lot to fill in on. Took a Zero Day in Julian to escape from rain and wicked wind! ate Pie at Mom's and had a free Lunch! Kicked a sname that I thought was dead. It wasnt. it looked at me as if to say "dick!" and slithered away. I saw beautiful desert blooms. and caught 2 Horney Toads! they are awesome. I walked through a feild of poppies and lupin, singing the theme song for the wizard of OZ the entire time. Found myself at Eagle Rock (America, F** Yeah!). and took some pictures. Got to Warner Springs in tome to wait for the Post Office to open the next day. so soaked my legs in the hot springs. Kept walking north and ended up running into SNOW!!! Snow in Southern CA? you may ask. Why yes, when you are up at 8850 feet of elevatuon there is still snow. Some sections were tricky to meander, and other parts made me feel at home. We had a short lived snowball fight and made it to the town of Idyllwild ,CA which is were I am right now.  So here are some photos that may do a better job explaining the weeks.