#pct 2020

[pcttrailsidereader]

Christmas Eve

Howard Shapiro

I ventured out recently to one of my favorite sections of the Pacific Crest Trail. This is where the trail takes off from Harts Pass in northwest Washington and leads to the Canadian border and the northern terminus of the PCT. This being a very unusual year, I  initially didn’t expect to see many people much less thru hikers because in these COVID times the trail has been essentially ‘closed’. 

Prior to my hike I spoke with a ranger in Twisp (Washington) about what my plan was and casually mentioned that I didn’t expect to see many thru hikers or many other hikers for that matter. "Oh no!”, she said. “We are seeing more people than ever on the trails.” I was somewhat surprised. Given these odd times of staying close to home being outside is a logical refuge from the shackles of COVID-19. As I thought about it her information made so much sense. 

With my friend Dick Simpson we made our way north from Harts Pass only to discover just how many thru hikers really were out there. This being a very unusual year when the border is closed people can touch the border but not cross it. Meaning a yo-yo back to Harts Pass and exiting the trail after many long months. 

2020 has been an odd year in more ways than one. From a PCT perspective the southern sections in the San Bernadino and San Rafael mountains filled with late season snows making the way north unusually cold and challenging. The Sierras, on the other hand were much less challenging to navigate compared to the previous several years. 

Finding so many thru hikers on the trail  in 2020 is a topic for some future post as that fact alone is intriguing if not controversial. Nevertheless, seeing these men and women realizing their dream, I couldn’t help but think about my own experience just over a year ago. For me there was such a mix of feelings as I went to sleep knowing that the next day would be the culmination of many days, nights, and miles. The question of what it meant to be at this place and time. In the words of a Talking Heads song, “...how did I get here?” came to mind. I wondered, felt a rush of feelings, and felt exceedingly grateful to have gotten to this place, walking the ‘last’ mile. 

As Dick and I were passed by a string of hikers making the final push to the border or finding their way back to Harts Pass we offered our congratulations. One fellow who walked near our camp below Rock Pass on his way to the border the very next day had the noticeable strength of trail legs and trail enthusiasm as he rushed past us. We quickly blurted out our congratulations,  wishes for his safe travels north and asked how he felt. His quick reply was, “It’s Christmas Eve!” He was so right.  

[envoy-to-the-golden-sun]

funny how i got no hesitations about leaving my life, my place, my job or my friends behind for almost a year. my friends especially, most of them are in that stage of life where they just work and pay rent and live with their bf/gf. the most dramatic thing they’ll do in the meantime is pop out a baby or get promoted or something. things won’t really change again until they reach midlife crisis, i bet. they are more entertaining then i make them sound, i promise.    but the cat. leaving the cat is fucking haunting me. even tho i’m moving people into my flat to look after her, and i bought all the food and litter she needs for when i’m gone. the expensive hyperallergic royal canine too. but still. it’s gonna be so hard, man. i’m gonna worry.  

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sierra snowpack. everyone attempting the pct is watching this very closely, atm it’s around 80% of average. so, we don’t want it going any lower, cause it will mean that the fire season is gonna be bad, but we don’t want it going any higher either, cause it complicates things when you get to the mountains, with avalanches and the climbs though passes will be more like snow mountaineering, and the extra snow melt will make the rivers swell, making river-crossings a nightmare and everything is suddenly a lot more dangerous. more people die in high snow years. last year the snowpack was at 200%. it’s good for californians tho, cause 30% of the states water supply comes from the mountains.   simultaneous it’s good if washington and oregon to get a lot of snow. cause it means less fires and it will be gone anyway when we get to the northern cascades.