Occupation: Adventurer!

One Time I Hiked From Mexico to Canada.

[occupationadventurer]

An epilogue of sorts.

[By prior arrangement, Tom's dad, stepmom, and sister met us the day after we finished in Manning Park. They brought cake, beer, and real person clothes, supplied in my case by my own family. Then they drove us back over the border to Seattle, where we parted ways. I don't know if I properly thanked them at the time, but I hope so. Tom stayed with some family friends, I think, and I stayed a few days with my cousin and her husband, who were extremely generous. They gave me ice cream!

I flew back to Michigan, moved onto my brother's couch, and got a job at a gear shop a few miles away. I didn't have a car, and had to walk an hour and a half each way, but I'd walked farther recently and didn't much mind.

My knees stopped working immediately after arriving in Seattle, and I couldn't go up or down stairs without a fair amount of pain, and couldn't run at all. I thought for sure that they were ruined forever, but, after a physical therapy consultation, some stretching, and a few months, they were back to being regular old knees again.

I live in Chicago now and I like it, but as of right now I haven't been hiking since finishing the PCT nearly five years ago. That's city life, I guess. I still think about it, still imagine going back and doing it again, or trying an entirely new trail, but the circumstances of adult life are prohibitive to flights of fancy. So, not right now.

Maybe one day.]

Your protagonist.

[occupationadventurer]

Friday, September 25th - Day 157 - Canada

We are Done. After five months and one day, we are finally done.

Woke up at sixish, climbed up to 7,100 feet, our last big climb, then down to castle pass. We met St. Rick and Wrongway coming south from the border, and had a heartfelt goodbye. Then, it was our turn.

We reached the U.S./Canada border at 1:42 pm. I don't know the last time I've been so elated. Hung out at the monument for an hour and a half, and then it was on to Canada!

Eight easy miles got us to the Manning Park Resort, where we sat in the bar and drank coffee for hours. I've had, like, nine refills, and I'm wired. A guy named Jamie, who works at the resort, offered to let us stay in his yard, right across the highway. As we were leaving, it became clear that he was quite drunk. We threw our packs into the back of his truck. I was Nervous, but he'd said his place was only five minutes away. Tom climbed into the cab, but there was no room for me. I tried to squeeze onto Tom's lap. "Shut the door," Jamie said, as he started pulling away with half my body still outside of the truck. I crammed myself in and he took off, careening around corners and speeding through the woods. His cigarette ash fell, and he began to swerve wildly. Another truck came around the bend towards us, and I knew that this was it, that I was going to die in Canada, of all places, that I'd hiked for five months to be ejected from the windshield of a speeding truck driven by a guy who'd assured us "I won't go over 20 kilometers an hour" in his friendly Canadian accent. But, he missed the truck, got us to his place, and we set up camp, and here I am, sitting for the last time in my tent, alive and well but still wired from the gallon of coffee I drank, and being alive has never felt so good, and we are done, DONE, and I can't believe it.

Five months. I've hitchhiked. I've napped under a truck in the desert heat. I've trudged through driving rain and pounding wind, soaked to the skin and nearly hypothermic. I've seen a dozen rattlesnakes, a handful of coyotes, more deer than I can count, and exactly zero bears. I've climbed into the sky and stood on top of the highest mountain in the contiguous United States, and peed off of it. I've drank from the purest springs, and chugged warm, iodized lake water with bug parts floating in it. I've eaten a one pound pancake and enjoyed McDonald's more than I ever thought possible.

I have been burned in the Mojave Desert and frozen in the High Sierras, and I've stood staring in awe at the beauty of the world, a beauty so cold and unloving but at the same time stirringly alive and powerful. I've felt the life around me, heard its heartbeat, breathed its breath.

Today, I completed something I started five months ago. Today I found out what I'm capable of, and I will not forget. I can't wait to come home. I can't wait to Live!

Left to right: St. Rick, Tom, Wrongway.

The U.S./Canada border is very clearly defined.

Beard glamour shot.

Manning Park bar, and the only bear I saw during the whole trip.

[occupationadventurer]

Thursday, September 24th - Day 156

Another gorgeous day. We woke up at 5:45 and were hiking by 7. Washington is cold in the morning, at least at 6,000 feet. Actually, it's chilly all day, except in direct sunlight, where it is hot.

We found probably the last trail magic, a cooler full of pop, beer, and an assortment of other beverages, as well as toaster pastries, apples, and Twizzler bites, and enjoyed a long break. It's hard not to be in a great mood, with the end so close now. 

Hiked over a handful of passes and began our last big ascent, just 2,000 feet or so. We found a good campsite and set up early enough to have another campfire!

Fifteen miles to the border. Fifteen miles to the end. 

We're finishing this thing. Tomorrow.

'Night.

[occupationadventurer]

Wednesday, September 23rd - Day 155

The miles came pretty easily today. We made it up to the top of the first big climb with no problems, had a great lunch break looking out at the mountains, and- 

The lunch breaks are what I'm going to miss most. There's nothing that compares to sitting down on a mountain pass to cook lunch, the whole world stretched out before us. Today's break was among the best, even though we were a little cold. Twenty minutes later, though, it was like we were back in the desert. The sun was hot, and we poured sweat as we walked a dusty trail along the mountainside.

We made it about halfway up our second big climb before setting up camp at a very nice site with a fire pit. We'd set up a little early, so we decided to have a fire, one of very few on this trip and most likely our last. It was a good fire, and sitting near it eating dinner and dodging flying sparks was a nice experience.

Oh. People have started calling us "The Two Towers." This is awesome.

'Night.

[occupationadventurer]

Tuesday, September 22nd - Day 154

Tom and I, ha-

GIANTSPIDERCRAWLINGUPMYTENTWALLAAAAH!

Having spent several hours in the restaurant drinking cup after cup of really good coffee before bed, understandably had trouble falling asleep. Still, the campsite was free, with a picnic table and access to a nice bathroom, so it was a good night. Showered in the morning and made satellite phone calls, took care of loose ends, whatever. We made the 11:15 bus out to the trailhead, and brought some tasty goods from the Stehekin bakery along the way. Then, back on the trail!

We're doing big climbing for this last stretch. Stehekin is at 1,600 feet, and we go up to 7,100 before the end, with lots of rising and falling in between. We're not afraid, though. Weather is our biggest concern, and the forecast looks good for the week.

72 miles to go.

'Night.

[occupationadventurer]

Monday, September 21st - Day 153

We are in Stehekin! Last stop before the end!

The End. Suddenly it's so close.

Not yet.

Stehekin is not a town, as I thought it would be. With 21 miles to go this morning, we found out that a shuttle runs the ten miles from the trailhead to Stehekin Landing, and that we could maybe make the 3:00 bus, and then get to the post office by closing time. So, 21 miles in 7.5 hours on feet still tender from climbing through yesterday's storm devastation area. We made it at 2:30, caught the shuttle (the only way to Stehekin, it turns out), and picked up out box by 4:30. There is no cell service here, and the only phone around is a satellite phone that you need a phone card to use. The lady at the post office let me borrow a phone card that still had some time on it, but after we finally got out of the restaurant, it was too late to call anyone, and some guy was on the phone anyway. He has his feet up, and seemed to be ready for a long conversation. I did not end him, as much as he might have deserved it.

Oh man. At the restaurant, every entree costs more than $10. Tom and I shared a side of cheese fries and drank bottomless coffee for three hours, and the waitress kept bringing us free food! What a place! Bedtime.

'Night.

[Can't help but be embarrassed by my stinginess here, upon re-reading this, but it's helpful to remember that, at this time, I only had $10.]

You can't see it, but there's water trickling down the mountainside.

[occupationadventurer]

Sunday, September 20th - Day 152

It rained during the night, and I slept in because I was shivering all night. I did dream about Batman, though, which was awesome. When Tom finally woke me up, there was no rain, but the valley was thick with fog. Tom and I put on our soaking wet clothes, packed up, and started hiking. A 2,000 foot climb right out of camp warmed us up, and by mid morning the sun was out. We held out until 2 four lunch but were unable to find a good spot to dry out our stuff.

A ton of fallen trees made the hiking very slow, but the day stayed clear, and we found a campsite right as the sun was setting. Warm and dry tonight!

'Night.

[occupationadventurer]

Saturday, September 19th - Day 151

Washington is cold and wet again, and so are we. It started raining at night, and kept up all day. We stopped for lunch at around one, and I got so cold I began to worry about hypothermia. Warmed up again climbing, but by evening we had to scramble across logs and rocks to cross milky creek, and I was freezing again.

Safe inside my tent now, but in the morning I'll have to put soaking pants on in the cold. If it's still raining, I don't know how I'm gonna deal with it.

'Night.

[I wasn't exaggerating about the hypothermia. At our lunch break, I couldn't stop shivering, and I skipped eating in favor of continuing climbing, which was the only thing keeping me warm. Wet clothes make a big difference on a chilly, rainy day.

The scramble at the end of the day made things quite a bit worse. The creek was strewn with fallen trees and rocks, with no easy way across, and the current was fast and dangerous. It took forever to pick our way to the other side, and longer to find the trail again over the rocky terrain. I stepped off of a log and my legs buckled. I tried to step back up to another one, no more than two feet off the ground, and I could barely make it. My knees weren't working, and I had a really strong urge to just sit down and cry. If you want to know what maybe the bleakest moment of my life was, that's it. The second is going to sleep that night and thinking about putting soaking wet pants on in forty degree weather in the morning. This all seems distant and a little silly now, thinking back from the comfort of a warm room and dry clothes, but that's perspective for you.] 

[occupationadventurer]

Friday, September 18th - Day 150

I had sewn my shoulder strap back on to the body of my pack, but yesterday the body itself began to tear just below my repair, so I tied it all together with a boot lace. Today, the other shoulder strap started to go, so I made an identical repair. This pack is being held together by boot laces and dental floss.

Gorgeous sights today, and relatively easy hiking. I feel good.

'Night.

[occupationadventurer]

Thursday, September 17th - Day 149

It rained last night, but we were toasty warm indoors. Didn't hike out in the morning. We stuck around and waited for Trashman to show up, and had enough time for "The Two Towers" and half of "The Mexican" before we finally climbed into his truck and headed out to the trail.

I am really enjoying it out here lately, more than I have in a long time. I can't help but feel that I've taken far too much of this for granted, focusing on finishing and getting home. I sat on the trail today and looked at far off mountain ranges, and wondered if I'll ever see anything like this again. I have to. When this is over, I'll go back home, but it will not be the last time I go out into the beautiful places of the world. There's a lot more to see out there, and next time I will be looking.

'Night.

[occupationadventurer]

Wednesday, September 16th - Day 148

Still at the Dinsmores'. Stayed up way too late watching movies. Gotta hike out in the morning. Bedtime!

'Night.

[occupationadventurer]

Tuesday, September 15th - Day 147

25 not so easy miles, and we are in Skykomish, at the Dinsmores' hiker haven, or river haven, or hiker hut, or I don't know. We made it down to Stevens pass at around 7:30, early enough to see where we were going but too late to hitch; Nobody that's not crazy is going to pick up a guy that looks like I do after dark. Luckily, we had the Dinsmores' number.

The Dinsmores are the local trail angels, prominent enough to be featured on the PCT bandana. Jerry Dinsmore drove out and picked us up, and an hour later we'd showered and our clothes were in the laundry. Then, Jerry carted us over to the hut, which is really a garage, a big garage with a crackling wood stove and a TV. Several other hikers were watching Point Break in honer of the late great Swayz, and we ate burgers and drank beer and watched it with them. 

There aren't enough beds or air mattresses for everyone, so Tom and I are camped out on the concrete floor, but I am clean and well fed and feelin' good. The scale in the bathroom at the house said I've lost 30 pounds, but I've probably put six or seven back on since then.

'Night.

[When we'd started the trail nearly five months before, I'd had difficulty sleeping on the ground for the first few nights. Here, I was sleeping on a concrete floor with a sleeping pad flattened by five months of continuous use, and I could not have been more comfortable.]

[occupationadventurer]

Monday, September 14th - Day 146

There was a heavy fog this morning, and at first it seemed to be raining, although I think now that the moisture just condensed onto the trees and fell off in drops. In any case, all the plants lining the trail were wet, which meant wet legs and soaked socks and shoes. It seemed like a bad start to what might be a miserable day, but when we climbed up over a pass, the fog broke and we were looking down at beautiful lake Ivanhoe glistening in the valley far below.

It stayed sunny the rest of the day, and we rejoined the PCT at lunchtime, ending our detour. It felt great to be back on the PCT, and the trail was good to us today, taking us gradually uphill to Cathedral Pass.

I was there, above two beautiful valleys with sunset approaching, that I received some very bad news via text message:

The Swayz is gone.

Patrick Swayze, the world is a sadder and darker place without you, but you've left behind a legacy of classic films, and you will live on in our hearts.

I'm gonna watch Steel Dawn when I go home.

'Night.

[Side note: At a high point somewhere around here, we found a lovingly-built outhouse on the mountainside. It was the most scenic poop I've ever taken. No pictures, sorry.]

[occupationadventurer]

Sunday, September 13th - Day 145

The PCT is closed for a section because of some dubious fire damage. The forest service suggests a detour that would add 40 miles to our hike. Unless the detour is through Candyland, a magical world made of delicious treats, this is completely unacceptable. Fortunately, some hiker plotted out a much shorter detour and wrote detailed instructions, which have been distributed by the girl who works behind the counter at the Summit Inn, the one person there who seems to like hikers.

After making sure that the forest service route didn't actually go through Candyland, we took the snow lake trail, which leads to the middle fork trail, which passes next to Goldmyer's hot spring resort, where we killed a few hours. The hot spring comes out of a cave in the mountain, about thirty feet deep. I waded to the back wall. It was dark. And hot! Like a sauna!

It was a pretty cool stop, but it killed our miles. I think we managed to get about 16 for the day. Well, whatever. What's the point of doing this thing if we don't get to experience cool stuff once in a while?

'Night.

[occupationadventurer]

Saturday, September 12th - Day 144

We hung around all day today, made a trip to North Bend with Erik the Red's mom for shopping at the Safeway (pop-tarts for $2.50 a box instead of $5 at the Chevron), waterproofed our tents, and caught up a little on the internet stuff in the hotel lobby before the guy behind the counter told us it was only for guests. 

[I'm gonna save us all some time here. I spent the rest of this page detailing the lengths the hotel and bar staff went to to make us feel unwelcome. I was incensed at the time, but it's a severely boring read, and comes off sounding more like entitled tattling than a narration of prejudiced mistreatment. Long story short, the hotel and bar management didn't want a bunch of filthy hikers abusing the complimentary lobby internet access or hanging out in a bar for hours eating as many cheap hot dogs as possible.

The complaining does highlight something that I should address though.

There seems to be a very direct relationship between the level of adversity we're facing and how much deference we expect from the world around us. When we're having a bad day, we think "Everybody better stay out of my way!" In my case, when I was hiking across the country (by choice), I had a hard time understanding why people I encountered weren't more sympathetic to my plight. Didn't they know I was on a quest?

I don't know if it's a line of thinking that's endemic to humanity, modern western civilization, my generation, or just me. I do know that being aware of it makes understanding others easier, and this world needs a hell of  a lot more understanding in it.]

[occupationadventurer]

Friday, September 11th - Day 143

We're at Snoqualmie Pass! 250 miles into Washington, 250 miles left to go!

The weather has been fantastic. Sunny days, blue skies, not a drop of rain. I still sleep with my rainfly on and closed just in case, though.

Ok. We had an easy six miles to go or so into town this morning, and then it was breakfast at the Pancake House. 

I'm getting ahead of myself. Snoqualmie Pass is a highway (I90) in the crevice between two mountains. There is a Chevron Station, a convenience store, and the Summit Inn, which shares a building with the Family Pancake house and a bar that kinda sucks. All of this is boring information, but I feel like I should give a better picture of whatever.

So. Pancakes (banana pancakes!) were incredibly good, chased down by another order of pancakes (ten silver dollar with chocolate chips) and four or five cups of coffee. I haven't had pancakes this good in a long time.

The bar has $1 hot dogs when the Mariners are playing. We looked at the schedule, and they're playing tonight! Tom and I each had a hot dog, on a toasted bun complete with a pickle, and prepared to enjoy several more, but the game was delayed for rain. No more dollar dogs. Would have been awesome.

We're stealth camped on a hill far above the highway.

I am tired. G'night.

[Difference between then and now; I'm actually full just thinking about trying to eat that many pancakes at once.]

[occupationadventurer]

Thursday, September 10th - Day 142

Three straight days without rain! Washington is showing us a different side, a side with views of impressive mountains. We've been able to see Rainier for the last three days, and it is huge and snowy and important looking. I could not be more glad that we're not going to climb it.

The trail has started throwing some dramatic climbs at us in rapid succession, but we're burning through them and still getting our miles without any real trouble.

I hope this weather holds. Washington is a beautiful state, but we've seen it when it's angry.

'Night.

[I can't let that last part slide. The weather for our hike was, for the most part, fantastically beautiful, and the bad parts tended more towards tedious and gloomy than truly scary. I think I really only weathered one fairly mild storm, safe in the Green Shark, and it was actually pretty nice.

That's not to say that gloomy, cold, rainy weather isn't miserable. If it's consistent, and you don't have the right clothing, it can even be dangerous. I'll be going into that shortly.]