There Will Be Tears (Section J of the PCT-Part 3)

Heading out from Deep Lake I pondered that this coming night would mark us being over half way done, because it would be evening  number 4 out of 6 frigid sleeps. But sitting down to write this and doing a little math, I discovered our Escondido Ridge camp (which I pronounce differently every time I say it) was pretty much exactly our half way point of 33 miles.

4 days to complete 33 miles...and now there would be only 3 to finish another 33. This would help account for why days 5 and 6 felt so hellish, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, because day 4 was probably my favorite. With the sun in the sky, and a very long stretch of golden and red maple filled easy forest walking, all was right with the world. The push up the ridge had a gorgeous view and was not nearly as difficult as we had anticipated, even though we had to carry all our water up to the dry camp.  

So many Maples!

 Amazing view of Waptus Lake as you head up

We were in a bit of a race with the only other pair going southbound to get to the best spot.(we met them at Deep Lake. Hello Angela and Christie if you ever stumble upon this!) Was there a best spot? Didn't matter...we were still going to get there first! (for those of you reading this to get info about this hike, there is an unmarked camp spot at mile #2421. As you can see from the pictures, it is clearly the best. ;)) We were barely set up when the other gals passed. If this was the last spot on the ridge, then they would have 9 miles to get to the next one. (there is one more, but we just didn't know for sure at the time if this was the one shown on the map or not) We were not willing to take that risk, but they were, and so they got another mile on us that day and we never saw them again. (making me the "slowest hiker" grand champion!!!)

I win!!!

Goodnight moon!

Hello day 5

Day 5 marked the beginning of our obsession with miles. How many have we gone, how many do we have left...I really need to bite the bullet and just buy an odometer, because I really suck at reading maps. Leigh had printed the "Halfmile's PCT" maps for section J (all 8 of them) which we referred to constantly; but although they include extensive notes, most the time we were scratching our heads. What the hell are those little blue diamonds for? It would seem logical that they mark every "halfmile" (hence the name)...but no. Then we thought that somehow they corresponded to the diamond markers we would randomly see nailed to trees, but that didn't pan out either. It's still an unsolved mystery; one which I am very open to being enlightened to. 

What the hell?

At around 6 o'clock, we were both feeling we should have gotten to our Spectacle Lake destination already, so with frustration Leigh looked back at me and said, "I'm really tempted to get the map out...but what does it matter?" And she was right. There was nothing to do but keep going.

Leigh confessed she got through the day by fantasizing about how she'd be able to clean up a little at this supposedly most splendid of all the lakes, but time was not on our side as we reached the turn off down to the lake. Our dreams of having any daylight left were squashed as we scrambled our way down. "You better write about this in that blog of yours" was all she could say about that dreadful half mile trail.  

This is actually from an earlier "obstacle course"
section of the trail, left behind by this year's fire

I don't know if it was because we were so tired, or because it was starting to get dark, or because the Blood Moon was coming, but that stupid trail seemed impossibly hard to follow. (or maybe it's just a really crappy trail?) And in this giant area, not a campsite could be found. It felt eerie. This is where my second set of tears came. Leigh and I had separated so I could get water, then I couldn't find her...it was just one of those nights. Thankfully, I only have two more sets of tears to come. Stay tuned. 

Damn you Spectacle Lake!

There Will Be Tears (Section J of the PCT-Part 2)

As soon as our friends left and we were on our own, it suddenly felt real. It didn't take long for things to get really real, when out of the blue my ankle just gave out and the next thing I knew I was on the ground. I've preached about trekking poles before, and I'll preach it again--they are a life saver!!! I know they helped disperse the weight and keep me from actually spraining my ankle, though the down side was that they also sort of acted like a catapult, launching me face first into the dust. Seeing me lying there like a felled tree freaked Leigh out quite a bit, (she got the "shaky legs" syndrome) but after realizing I was unhurt it proved to be the mental image that made us both giggle the entire trip. Unfortunately, it was also the image that gave me shaky legs whenever we were on precarious ridges (NOT where you want to be catapulted!) which seemed to be half the time...but that comes later.

Reenactment photo
(for some reason Leigh did not think to get her camera
out when she thought I might have dropped dead;))

Part of the reason I finally decided to cheat so we could make it to Trap Lake on day one was because I knew we wouldn't want to bolt out in the morning while our friends were with us; and starting at 11am means your not going to get super far. The second day proved way harder than I expected, so I was incredibly thankful for the mere 6 miles to Deception Lake. We found a great spot, away from the smelly horse camp, and settled in.

We had decided to take separate tents because we knew we'd have at least one day of rain, and space in your tent makes keeping stuff dry so much more manageable. But having "decompression" time--alone with your own thoughts and emotions--proved invaluable too. (decompression also meant "gas release" much of the time for me, so I know Leigh was more than thankful to be a few feet away...though she still laughed just about every time. Darn those dehydrated meals!)

It's sort of a tradition for me to look through my pictures and recount the day before I fall asleep. I had gotten through them all, then clicked the back button one more time to see my newly born grandson's precious face. It's not just things like flushing toilets that backpacking makes you acutely appreciative of; but more importantly just how much you love, need, and cherish your family and friends. First tears of the trip, that night alone in my tent...but there would be more.

Rain is a comforting sound while coming in and out of sleep, but completely comfortless when trying to get your butt in gear in the morning. After finally getting our stuff packed (including our bear bins, which we stashed at a nearby site thinking it was too late for anyone else to come in. Wrong! We tip toed when retrieving them, hoping not to wake anyone up and have them yell at us. I know, it was a bad idea...sorry!) it was a mostly uneventful day; until the dreaded log crossing. If you've read any of my other trips, you know how much I hate these.

No, most people don't crawl. I'm not sure if I was more scared of slipping and breaking my ankle, or of a thru-hiker coming around the corner and seeing my patheticness.("thru-hiker" meaning those hiking the PCT from MEXICO...yeah, they would have laughed) 

The rest of the uneventful day was mostly an upward haul to get over Cathedral, with a few desperate pleas to the thru-hikers as to how much longer. (they always said "almost there". I think they like toying with the novices) 

Cathedral Rock

Finally at the end of "up" for the day, we gazed down upon our next camping stop, Deep Lake. So close...and yet so far. You think you're so happy for some "down", until it's only down for what seems like hours. (actually, I think it did take a couple hours) And the switchbacks here are RIDICULOUSLY long--you can see the lake, but you just keep going back and forth like a Newton's Cradle, seemingly getting nowhere. 

This was our first "fight" of the trip. After having to rescue me from the previous day's face-plant (I seriously couldn't get myself up, with the weight of my pack up around my ears) I expected Leigh to check on me every now and then. But, I do understand what it feels like to be "over it", and I knew those switchbacks were pissing Leigh off. She was going to get to that damn lake ASAP. I stopped even trying to be within a reasonable distance of her. (This would be a reoccurring problem...what can I say, I'm SLOW. If your hiking with me, you get to have a lot of breaks. It is what it is.) 

By the time I made it down, she had had to double back because it had been like 15 minutes and she was wondering where the hell I was. Fifteen minutes is an eternity when your in "over it" mode, so the fact she was so patient and didn't yell or make me feel bad speaks to why this was an overall great trip and partnership. I gave a little "if you don't want to wait so long, you shouldn't get so far ahead" speech, and then we were good. 

Leigh hosted the party at her "house" that night (so much more roomy! Plus she had the best view) and I knew she still loved my sluggy self because she shared her wine. Hey, I'm always happy to help reduce pack weight! Hard to believe only 1 more day, and we would be over half way done! Though of course, the real suffering was still to come. 

P.S. No hiking lessons, so I'm going to try and do better with times and miles. I promise, nobody should be hiking slower than this, unless they are crawling. (and more than just over the log bridges :))
Trap to Deception/6 miles/5.5 hours hiking
Deception to Deep/12 miles/7.5 hours hiking

There Will Be Tears (Section J of the PCT-Part 1)

I pooped in a toilet this morning, and it was the best thing ever. I wish I could appreciate such things without having to be deprived of them for 7 days; but unfortunately, like most humans, I tend to take things for granted until they are gone. One of the wonderful benefits of backpacking is your excited about the little things again...at least for a few days.

I know what Leigh is excited about today. Shaved legs. I bet she waited until she could show off to her daughter that she actually let herself become such a hairy beast. And what a beast she did become...in the best possible way. I feel privileged to have witnessed such a show of strength and will. I would have thought I'd find it funny that after all we had been through, the first thing Leigh bragged about to our friend Melissa was that she didn't shave her legs--but instead I thought it was such a sweet and wonderful moment. It doesn't matter if we can relate to what others find challenging; we all know how great it feels to accomplish something you weren't sure if you were completely up to.

For anyone who doesn't know the back story, I'll try to quickly catch you up. Leigh came with me last year for 1 night of my 6 day trip. It was her first time backpacking; I think the first time she slept in a tent even. I gave her a ton of crap about bringing mascara, and I sort of expected she'd never want to go again; but instead she was enthralled. She said she wanted go with me when I did my 7 day hike. I liked the idea of not being alone; but as you can imagine I had some big concerns. I already knew I wanted to do Section J of the PCT (Snoqualmie Pass to Steven's Pass, or in our case the other way around because I wanted to go southbound) and I knew it was a no turning back, pure agony, there will be tears type of hike. I've had five years of acclimating myself into accepting the misery that I knew was coming, but to jump from 1 night to 6 was going to be extremely difficult. (and something I don't think I could have ever done, honestly) I might not have known Leigh very well then, but even so, I could tell she was someone who once she had her mind set, there was no stopping her. Of course now I know I was 100% right.

Hope Lake

Trap Lake

 

Okay, here is where I have to confess that we didn't actually do the whole 75 miles; but that was my call, not Leigh's. After much vacillating and being very torn, I decided we should cheat a little and go in the Tunnel Creek trail to shave off 6-ish miles to get us in quicker and further.(THANK GOD!!! Otherwise we would have had back to back 15 miles days, and for sure we would have been hiking in the dark, and DYING...or quite possibly actually be dead because we fell off a cliff. I swear I thought parts of this trail should not even be legal to hike on--I'll talk more about that later) As always, getting going took longer than expected and we didn't start up the trail until 2:20 pm. Melissa, Heather, and her dog Ruby were our drop off team and planned to stay the first night with us. As we headed in, Leigh started to make her noises after just about 30 minutes. I really grew to love her pissed off little grunts, but at the time I was a little worried. I certainly couldn't blame her; she was wearing a 44 pound backpack and gaining 1300 feet in just a mile and a half. (see how carefully I'm considering elevation gain now? Thank you Lake Blanca!) I kept telling her (and myself) this short cut was worth it, that the PCT is not this steep, and that it was going to get better. I only lied about the getting better part, because overall, I knew it was only going to get harder...but sometimes denial is our friend.  

Yes, we are cheaters; and proud of it!!!

Melissa wore Leigh's pack for a few miles...
after getting help standing up!

Thankfully we made it to Trap Lake just before dark. We had a great girl bonding evening together, but in the morning Leigh confessed that she was absolutely freezing all night. Not good. Was it her bag? Was it her tent? Was it her sleeping pad? With the help of our EXTREMELY generous and supportive friends, we switched things up and tried to alleviate the problem with some different gear. But of course I could make no guarantees that the next night or any of the others would be any better for her. This is when I gave Leigh the option of tapping out. This was her one and only chance to change her mind and head back with the girls. I knew she wouldn't, and I'm SO glad she didn't. To be continued...

Heather, you should have patented the sleeping bag coat!
But sorry, REI already sells it.

The morning after a long night....I think I can speak for all of us when I plead:
Do not zoom in on this photo!

Lake Valhalla

Did you know the name Valhalla comes from Viking mythology? I didn't either...not until I met Hans. But that comes later in the story.

Last year backpacking virgin, Leigh, became infatuated with hiking when she came with me to Hart's Pass. She has let me know she wants to come with me on my 7 day trip this year...after only one 4 mile round trip experience. She's a go getter, I have to give her that, and I know she could do it; but I thought it best she test the hiking waters a bit more first, as infatuation does not necessarily equal true love. (especially when mosquitoes are involved)

"How are these supposed to help?"

Finally the time had come for her "second date", so to speak, and because her 14 year daughter was also wanting to give backpacking a shot, we decided to make it a mother daughter trip. Melissa, my "first time" and hiking mentor, was also on board with her teen, making it a full on maternal lovefest.

One of my favorite free spirits

There are two approaches to Lake Valhalla. I've been saving it for a group hike because I am always intrigued with the idea of not having to double back...loops and such have been a bit of an obsession for me. But, saving money (on gas, or anything) is an even bigger obsession; and Melissa's car could fit all of us, so it just made more sense to pile in together. Therefore, we had to decide whether to do the more popular Smithbrook shortcut, or the traditional 5 mile in PCT route. Being that we got on the road much later than planned, (is it ever true when someone warns you that their "house is not well marked, but GPS should get you here"? ) I was tempted to try the steeper Smithbrook "backdoor" in order to get swimming before it got too late.

Mom Power!

After my last hike's inclination overdose, I was glad everyone agreed that a little longer but less steep experience was preferable. As we were hiking along (and I was still within ear shot, which is rare; typically I'm playing catch up) Leigh would ask me questions like, "how do you determine how many miles you've gone", to which I would answer with things like, "I don't" or "I'm not sure" or "I'm really bad at that". I'm sure this must have made her more and more uncomfortable with the idea of spending 7 days in the wild with me--and it should! My "skills" at hiking include the ability to be alone for days and a contempt for hygiene; not exactly qualities you look for in a partner. The girls, on the other hand, had already downloaded some AP on their phones which determined exactly how far we had gone at any given time. Kids these days. 

Kids these days...okay, they are pretty great

When we at last caught up with the girls, we found they had already plopped down all their stuff at the first campsite they came to. Happily frolicking in the stream, they all boldly declared it to be "the best spot ever!"

As to be expected, we adults could not be so easily convinced. Why is it so hard to just let children be happy with what they have? "No darling--you can't be so satisfied with that cardboard box, when I know the shiny toy is so much better!"

What a happy little stream!

So, unfortunately we made them strap their packs back on and continue with the quest for the perfect spot. (nothing short of beach front property would suffice!) Passing 3 locations that were already taken, I began to doubt our lusty ambition, but then we came upon our dream site come true! Right on the lake with plenty of space...I was too excited to consider why nobody else had claimed it. The mystery was solved when Melissa pointed to the "Day Use Only" sign. Of course we thought about setting up camp anyway; would a ranger really come by and kick us out? Probably not...but the "villagers" who obeyed the rules and camped legally just might. Lesson #44: If your kid says they love a tent site, for heaven's sake, just let it be. And while I'm at it, here are 3 more lessons:
#45: Do not store wine in a ziplock
#46: You can use your Sawyer Squeeze to filter wine that has been sitting on the bottom of your bear bin
#47: Teenagers will eat every gram of food you bring so pack accordingly

Teens...gotta love em'

I suppose I should get around to Hans. After we had a wonderful night back at the "perfect spot" (even though you can't see the lake, the privacy factor is a huge plus) we finally got our chance to go for a dip. This lake could not be more perfect; I actually thought twice about even writing about it because it's the kind of place you want to horde for yourself. (good luck with that, right?) Just as we were getting cozy on our floaties, Hans waded over with some Viking history lessons. What a character!!! Once a boy who left his village after it was taken over by Nazis, and now a 70ish old man who has cycled the globe not once but FIVE times, I really didn't know what to make of him. Was this guy legit? Considering his deflated sleeping pad which was supposedly ending his journey from Canada, and the fact he looked like hell (yes, you typically look a little worn at 70, but he did have the "I haven't slept in days" look) makes me think it's a possibility. I like to think so--he told the kind of stories that make being human sound like a beautiful adventure. 

This is how you filter water!

Mad diving skills, Mel!

When it was time to go, we briefly discussed the idea of hiking out the Smithbrook way and taking the chance we could hitch a ride back to our car; but there are beautiful adventures in life, and then there are the nightmare ones...and we didn't feel like taking the risk. So we played it safe and hiked back the way we came, and then we played it extra safe and spent our 2nd night in luxury at the Enzian Hotel in Leavenworth; causing my confidence at Leigh's resolve to rough it for 7 days to waver slightly. 

I do hope Leigh comes with me next month, and that she is able put up with my antisocial, smelly self. If the Viking hiking gods be willing, next time I'll be writing of our Stevens to Snoqualmie conquest. Until then, may all your adventures be beautiful!