Canada to Snoqualmie Pass

Trip Start May 15, 2005
1
11
13
Trip End Oct 2005


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of United States  , Washington,
Monday, September 26, 2005

It looks like I actually have internet access. Unfortunately I won't have time to upload all my pictures to this point. I'll only be missing the last few days though. Here's what's been going on since my last update from Oregon: As I mentioned previously, Rabbit and I decided to start hiking south from Canada rather than continue north and risk a horrible frozen death in the North Cascades late into October. After taking a bus from Ashland, Oregon to Portland I eneded up on a train to Seattle. (As a sidenote; If you post a request on the internet for a ride to Seattle from Portland and a girl named Chloe emails you back and says she'll be glad to take you along since she's on her way to the Tori Amos concert near Seattle, DON'T BELIEVE HER! She won't show up, call, or email to let you know she's not coming. All the busses to Seattle will be full by the time you make it to the bus station and you'll end up taking the train, which costs more. Basically, an entire day of your life will be wasted 01 -Manning Park
01 -Manning Park
. Not that I'm bitter or anything.)
Thanks for letting me vent there. After a couple days in Seattle seeing my parents, who fed Rabbit and I quite well, we got a ride from my good friend Allison to Manning Park, Canada. Although the Canadian section of the PCT is only about 8 miles long I am officially an international hiker. That will definitely go on my resume.
When we crossed over the border I was truly surprised that there was absolutely no one around. No border patrol or anything. It was strange to be at the Northern Terminus of the PCT not having finished yet.
Up until this point, over 1700 miles, I hadn't been rained on once. Our first full day out we hit both snow and rain. It was by far the coldest day on the trail. Rabbit, having never spent time in the Cascades, wondered if this pattern would continue through the entire state. Luckily not. Although it was mostly cloudy we only saw rain one other day. The mountains in the North Cascades were spectacular, even with our limited visibility. I believe I erroneously reported some time ago that the Sierra were more impressive than the Cascades. I apologize to the Cascades. I tried to get some good pictures but I could never quite capture the awesomeness we passes through.
Even the blueberries were unbelievable 02 -Allison
02 -Allison
. I've never seen any so big. It was difficult to hike steadily because we kept stopping to eat them. Our fingers and faces were stained blue.
Our first resupply was in Stehekin, WA on the shore of Lake Chelan. A great little town with the best bakery on the trail. I carried several pounds of pastries out with me and would highly recommend anyone to do the same. I also received a pint of single-malt scotch, smoked salmon, and many other hiker-related food items from my friend Sophia. We met many wonderful peolple in Stehekin who were full of questions for us ragged-looking PCT'ers. I even met a nice girl named Brittany that I believe sent me a surprise package to Snoqualmie Pass. Possibly food? I'll find out tomorrow. Thanks ahead of time!
The next section from Stehekin to Stevens Pass lies partly in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. In 2003 there was major flooding there and 8 bridges on the PCT were completely washed out. The PCTA (Pacific Crest Trail Association) set up a 50 mile detour around the devastation. Although the detour signs report the original PCT as impassible, it was not impossible. The rivers and creeks proved to be easier than expected, with only one ford, although we later learned there was a log crossing we missed. There were a few places where entire sections of trail had been washed away by flooding or mudslides, but someone had marked the route with orange ribbons. Following these up hillsides and through forest saved lots of route finding. After two years of very little use the trail was overgrown in places but still there, with minimal blow-downs. We did get occasional close-up views of Glacier Peak, which I was lucky enough to climb in 2001 before the flooding, and before Kennedy Hot Springs was wiped away.
Next stop was Stevens Pass. Here we stayed with some wonderful trail angels named Jerry and Andrea Dinsmore who live in Skykomish right next to the Skykomish River 03 -Canadian PCT sign
03 -Canadian PCT sign
. There were several other hikers there, all northbound, so we were able to give good information on their upcoming sections. I was also relieved of five dollars by a hiker named Tombstone. I definitely need to learn Texas Hold'em a little better.
Next year I plan to come back to the Stevens Pass area then hike out on the trail and give food and drinks to the thru-hikers. Trail Magic as we call it.
The short 75-mile hike from there to Snoqualmie Pass was some of the most scenic on the trail. We climbed lots of ups and downs throughout each day with some beautiful long traversing routes along high ridges. The last day gave us a perfect view of Mount Rainier and an easy mostly-downhill hike to the Pass. Here we were met by Allison, Carrie, and Tim, friends from Seattle. Much better friends as soon as I saw beer, fried chicken, and a huge assortment of trail food for the next section. We also ran into four very generous thru-hikers who left the trail early but came out to distribute Trail Magic, lots of trail food, which mostly ended up with me. I hope they realized how much that helped me.
I've said this in nearly every entry on this site, that I've met the most selfless, caring, friendly peolple of anywhere in my life. It held true again for this last 265 miles from Canada.
Right now I'm only 10 miles shy of 2000, and only 673 more to finish. Next stop is White Pass.
Hope you enjoy the pictures! I'll finish uploading them all as soon as possible.

-Tabasco a.k.a. Drew

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures & Videos

04 -Northern Terminus 04 -Northern Terminus 05 -Great weather 05 -Great weather 06 -Rabbit in the rain 06 -Rabbit in the rain 07 -Panda, Rabbit, Gloves 07 -Panda, Rabbit, Gloves
08 -Prepared for rain 08 -Prepared for rain 09 -Rabbit and Tabasco 09 -Rabbit and Tabasco 10 -Rabbit makes fire 10 -Rabbit makes fire 100 -Lake reflection 100 -Lake reflection
101 -Reflection 101 -Reflection 102 -Valley 102 -Valley 103 -Red trail 103 -Red trail 104 -Big Rock 104 -Big Rock
105 -Sign 105 -Sign 106 -Three Peaks 106 -Three Peaks 107 -Mist Covered Lake 107 -Mist Covered Lake 108 -Mountains 108 -Mountains
109 -Trees And Rocks 109 -Trees And Rocks 11 -Tabasco 11 -Tabasco 110 -Sleeping Rabbit 110 -Sleeping Rabbit 111 -Waterfall 111 -Waterfall
112 -Climbable Peaks 112 -Climbable Peaks 113 -Lake 113 -Lake 114 -Long Traverse 114 -Long Traverse 115 -Rabbit with Axe 115 -Rabbit with Axe
116 -Peaks in Clouds 116 -Peaks in Clouds 117 -Sunset behind Peak 117 -Sunset behind Peak 118 -Sunset on Peak 118 -Sunset on Peak 119 -Valleys to Mt. Rainier 119 -Valleys to Mt. Rainier
12 -Valley Clouds 12 -Valley Clouds 120 -Mt. Rainier 120 -Mt. Rainier 121 -Me on Kendall Catwalk 121 -Me on Kendall Catwalk 122 -Rabbit on Kedall Catwalk 122 -Rabbit on Kedall Catwalk
123 -Allison, Tabasco, Andy, Chaley, Rabbit 123 -Allison, Tabasco, Andy, Chaley, Rabbit 13 -Pasaytan Wilderness 13 -Pasaytan Wilderness 14 -Peaks Everywhere 14 -Peaks Everywhere 15 -Mt. Baker 15 -Mt. Baker
16 -A beautiful Day 16 -A beautiful Day 17 -Hart's Pass 17 -Hart's Pass 18 -Trail Magic 18 -Trail Magic 19 -Friendly clouds 19 -Friendly clouds
20 -sign 20 -sign 21 -Cruising uphill 21 -Cruising uphill 22 -Distant Peaks 22 -Distant Peaks 23 -Silverstar and Longhorn 23 -Silverstar and Longhorn
24 -Happy Day Hikers 24 -Happy Day Hikers 25 -Cairns 25 -Cairns 26 -Bent Wood 26 -Bent Wood 27 -Rabbit and Kay 27 -Rabbit and Kay
28 -Cold morning Hike 28 -Cold morning Hike 29 -Rabbit eating blueberries 29 -Rabbit eating blueberries 30 -Big Juicy Blueberries 30 -Big Juicy Blueberries 31 -Waterfall 31 -Waterfall
32 -Rainy Pass 32 -Rainy Pass 33 -North Cascades National Park 33 -North Cascades National Park 34 -Stormy Clouds 34 -Stormy Clouds 35 -Sysiphus and Rabbit 35 -Sysiphus and Rabbit
36 -Stehekin Ranch 36 -Stehekin Ranch 37 -From Sophia 37 -From Sophia 38 -Stehekin Lodge 38 -Stehekin Lodge 39 -Pastries from the Bakery 39 -Pastries from the Bakery
40 -Brittany 40 -Brittany 41 -Leaving Stehekin in the rain 41 -Leaving Stehekin in the rain 42 -Huge Tree 42 -Huge Tree 43 -Rabbit filtering in the rain 43 -Rabbit filtering in the rain
44 -Drying clothes after a long day of rain 44 -Drying clothes after a long day of rain 45 -Cliffs and blueberries 45 -Cliffs and blueberries 46 -Detour 46 -Detour 47 -Mossy trail 47 -Mossy trail
48 -Mushroom in moss 48 -Mushroom in moss 49 -Misplaced Bridge 49 -Misplaced Bridge 50 -Log Crossing 50 -Log Crossing 51 -Glacier Peak in mist 51 -Glacier Peak in mist
52 -Please 52 -Please 53 -Bridge of rocks 53 -Bridge of rocks 54 -Drying wet gear 54 -Drying wet gear 55 -Horrible Bushwack 55 -Horrible Bushwack
60 -Mountain Stream 60 -Mountain Stream 61 -Morning Clouds 61 -Morning Clouds 62 -Glacier Peak 62 -Glacier Peak 63 -Glacier Peak best view 63 -Glacier Peak best view
64 -Full Moon 64 -Full Moon 65 -Kennedy Hot Springs Sign 65 -Kennedy Hot Springs Sign 66 -River crossing 66 -River crossing 67 -Flood Damage 67 -Flood Damage
68 -Forest 68 -Forest 69 -Rabbit log Crossing 69 -Rabbit log Crossing 70 -Remains of a Bridge 70 -Remains of a Bridge 71 -Me log Crossing 71 -Me log Crossing
72 -Another Broken Bridge 72 -Another Broken Bridge 73 -Drying Gear 73 -Drying Gear 74 -View To Red Pass 74 -View To Red Pass 75 -View from Red Pass to Glacier Peak 75 -View from Red Pass to Glacier Peak
76 -Polite Sign at Red Pass 76 -Polite Sign at Red Pass 77 -Me 77 -Me 78 -PCT sign 78 -PCT sign 79 -Blueberry Fields Forever 79 -Blueberry Fields Forever
80 -End of Detour 80 -End of Detour 81 -trail sign near Grizzly Peak 81 -trail sign near Grizzly Peak 82 -Sunset 82 -Sunset 83 -Cliffs 83 -Cliffs
83 -Movie - Flood Damage 83 -Movie - Flood Damage 84 - Movie - The Toilet View 84 - Movie - The Toilet View 84 -Napping in a meadow 84 -Napping in a meadow 85 - Movie -Kennedy Creek 85 - Movie -Kennedy Creek
85 -Waking from our nap 85 -Waking from our nap 86 - Movie -Bad Bridge 86 - Movie -Bad Bridge 86 -Monkey Toes and Tummy Monster 86 -Monkey Toes and Tummy Monster 87 -Health Food 87 -Health Food
88 -Movie - Just out of Canada 88 -Movie - Just out of Canada 89 -Movie - Beautiful Saddle 89 -Movie - Beautiful Saddle 90 - Movie - Out of Stehekin 90 - Movie - Out of Stehekin 91 -Movie - The Non-Detour 91 -Movie - The Non-Detour
95 - Stevens Pass 95 - Stevens Pass 96 - Alpine Lakes Wilderness 96 - Alpine Lakes Wilderness 97 -Alpine Lake 97 -Alpine Lake 98 -Snowy Peaks 98 -Snowy Peaks
99 -More Mountains 99 -More Mountains
Slideshow Print this entry Snoqualmie Pass hotels