Canada to Snoqualmie Pass
Trip Start
May 15, 2005
1
11
13
Trip End
Oct 2005
Snoqualmie Pass,
Washington,
United States
Monday, September 26, 2005
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
. 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
. 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
