I used to number my “hard earned hiking lessons learned” throughout all my previous posts. Why did I stop? I haven’t brought any new lessons – practical or philosophical – since my final #55 before leaving on my Appalachian Trail adventure. (This is where I must put my book plug in😝Buy it here!) Why did I stop? Maybe because now there is just one ongoing lesson I’m trying to learn and live…let the Spirit guide. Of course, that idea is far too complex (or maybe too simple?) to explain, so I’ll just tell my story.
In life, we plan. Of course we do. There is nothing I enjoy more than planning a hike; it’s half the fun. I write it all down, rethink it when something changes, rework the details, rewrite the agenda…prepare. It’s all good. But life (and the trail) often asks you to let it go. Don’t get stuck in your plan. Let things flow.
So I threw up my hands. Bad forecast, roads closed, two car key swap idea out the window…oh well. My painstakingly thought out agenda was tossed to the wind. Though, I was still going! Because, who needs a plan?😉
Except there was ONE important part of my original plan we needed to keep – stay in the Crystal Lodge’s walk in only bunk room so we could get an early start on finishing those 38 miles I skipped last time. (The connector trail that would take us to the PCT starts steps from their parking lot.) From there our anticipated daily miles and camps would be a mystery. Let the Spirit decide. But first things first – we needed to drop a car at White Pass where we would be finishing.
Though when we FINALLY arrived in Packwood to eat dinner (road closures, remember?) we were DONE driving. Then the Spirit whispered in my ear, “Why not just stay here in Packwood and do the rest of the driving tomorrow?” Why not indeed!
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| We can't recommend the food at the Packwood Brewing Co. The spirit clearly led us here just for the beer 😜 |
And because we listened and went with the flow, we got to listen to the rain pounding down outside the window at our cozy room at the Crest Trail Lodge - instead of being camped in a dark and abandoned parking lot at the Crystal Resort. Turns out I had a huge oversight in my original plan; that being the Crystal Resort totally shuts down in September. Good thing that itinerary was in the dumpster.
The rest of the trip was more of the same. It evolved and changed as we went along, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. For details you can see the non-plan below. Happy "Spirit led" trails!
DAY ONE: 11.5 Miles to Dewey Lake
Had to go up the connector trail for my second time from the Crystal Mountain Resort parking lot. (See first time here.) I was told this is called “Bear Gap” but you will find no signs calling it that. You head toward Henskin Lake until you see signs pointing you toward the PCT – it’s a tough 3 miles! Finally up on the PCT, we went SOBO another 8.4 miles to Dewey Lake.
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| NOT Dewey Lake. Just a pic I like 😊 |
Unfortunately, my friends had misunderstood that the resort was not directly on the trail at Chinook Pass (thinking we were simply doing the “White Pass to Chinook Pass” hike as described on WTA) so those added 5.4 miles to Hwy 410 were a “bonus” for them.
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| Finally on the PCT! Though we still have 2.5 miles before Chinook Pass |
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| Okay, now we can "start" ha ha. Fun overpass though! |
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| Brutally windy/rainy night at Dewey Lake but the elks bugling in the distance made it magical. We also had a lost hiker visit us in the middle of the night, which was not so magical. |
DAY TWO: 12.4 Miles to Bumping River
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| Morning clearing at Dewey gave us hope for better weather. You can never trust a forecast! |
We were wanting to get a couple more miles in this day so we wouldn’t have to do 14 the last day, but the Spirit said to stop. (Okay, maybe it was my feet, ha ha!) Considering the stream here was looking a bit daunting, waiting until morning to go across seemed like another good reason to call it a day. And besides, it was a lovely camp.
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| A festive last night |
DAY THREE: 14 Miles to White Pass
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| Julie's first ever ford to start off the day👍 |
We were all concerned 14 miles were going to make for a really long, tough day – but they were pretty easy and we crushed them in seven and a half hours! That is light speed for me! And thank God, because we had the same LONG detour drive home, since Hwy 410 was still closed. But it was SO worth it (I can’t thank Heidi and Julie enough for supporting me and helping me get these miles in!) and now I only have those last 30 left from Harts Pass to the border (hopefully THAT won’t still be closed next summer) to finally finish all of Washington’s PCT miles! HOORAY! (Update: The border is still closed. Permanently, as of 2025. I still did it though as an up and back. Story here. )
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| The only time we got lost was the third of a mile from this sign to the highway! VERY confusing (because you are in a campground) and there’s a good chance we would have wandered around for a long time if not for Guthooks. But all in all, we rocked it!! Love you gals 🙂 |
P.S. Answers to our “Google it when we get home” questions along the way: 1) Bears go into hibernation pregnant and give birth while sleeping. 2) The difference between a lake and pond is mostly depth. To be a pond it must be shallow enough for sunlight to hit the bottom. 3) Roads used during this excursion were 1-5/ I-405/WA 167/WA 512/WA 161/WA 7/ US 12/WA 410/ NF 52 (the WORST!)
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