Dungeness Spit Will Do for Now

The glories of Shi Shi will have to wait. Whether or not I'll ever get my daughter to come with me, though...to Shi Shi or anywhere ever again, has yet to be seen. But I believe the trauma of witnessing that brutal bear attack will wear off eventually; and we will someday have the mother/daughter excursion that I was dreaming of.

Okay, the bear attack was only on the big screen. It still made Summer turn to me with all the teenage angst she could muster and announce, "You thought this was a good movie to take me to? If you think you'll ever get me to go hiking with you again, you are wrong!!" If you haven't already guessed, the movie is Revenant, and I must say I have never had a cinematic experience quite so intense. It's sort of a JAWS for the new millennium; and it just may keep as many people out of the woods as the old shark movie kept people away from the ocean. But not me; and hopefully not Summer either...once she forgives me.

This log is a bit of a mystery

I was so thrilled and impressed she agreed to do a trip in January. I had taken 4 days off work to correspond with her long weekend off school, and I had even convinced my friend Heather and her daughter to come with us. It really wasn't that hard; I mean, how can anyone say no to Shi Shi? A look at a couple good photos of the "Point of the Arches" and you're going to be hooked. I read every winter trip report, and told myself all the reasons this time of year was going to be great; but in the end the rain forecast squashed our dreams. I think Heather and her "the joy is in the journey" spirit would have rallied if I would have pushed it, but I just didn't feel like suffering. And listening to Summer whine about how miserable it all was would have been the worst suffering at all...and so we bailed on the "teach the girls to endure adversity" plan. Staying at a hotel, doing a day hike, and then shopping and watching a movie in Port Townsend sounded like a MUCH more achievable mission. I certainly didn't expect it to end with my daughter's declaration of the banishment of hiking from her life.

Almost there!

At least we got the day hike in the day before; and it was mostly a complete success. Just a little confusion getting there (not the best signage; use your GPS) and a bit of driving in circles before figuring out how to pay the day fee ($3 at the start of the hike--not at the camping registration) and we were finally off. The tide was in our favor, so we were able to stay on the compacted sand the whole way; making it much easier. EASIER--not easy. Ten miles walking in the sand is a work out; so this was not a whine free hike by any means.

If only reality was only 5 miles away

Making the lighthouse our destination did not disappoint. I read the "hosts" would give us a tour; but I had my doubts. Upon arrival she was waving and welcoming us before we even got to the yard! Telling us all about how they had been there a week, about the different people who had visited, and offering to take our picture--these lighthouse keepers were exceptional! (at $350 a person it's not exactly cheap to sign up; but all the money goes toward keeping the lighthouse operational, which is pretty awesome and probably also a tax write off) She hurried us along a little, warning us that if we didn't get back before 4:45 pm, the gate would be locked and we would be stuck. "You have plenty of time" she assured; but knowing my extreme abilities at slowness, I was envisioning our lesson plan of sufferance coming to fruition after all.

Our host at the top

Maybe staying at a lighthouse for a week makes you a little crazy

A mile out and creeping up on 4:30, I handed Summer my keys and told her and Naomi to make a run for it. I'm sure she would have complained if not for the fact she does not have her license yet, and therefore must have felt she was getting away with something a little naughty. Plus she got to break the only rule posted on the beach.

Now this is a rule I can follow!!!

We got the text letting us know they had "made it out", but at that point we realized there was no way in hell we were walking the extra mile or more to the gate. After seeing the "Gate Closes at Seven" sign, the girls figured they could come back to rescue us, so it was all good. Except, I'll never understand why that "exceptional" lighthouse keeper screwed us over like that. I'll try to believe she was misinformed...though the truth is I think they may have been growing tired of their hosting duties for the day.

Stretching the legs. Ouchie. 

We saw a couple beautiful eagles 

The trip ended the next day at the Rose Theater, with the above mentioned ill advised viewing of a bear mauling. Not my best decision; but like I said, I do believe we will all get over it. And when the sun is out, and the tide is low, and we are all watching the sun set over the glistening waves and sandy beach...bear attacks will be far from our minds and we will know postponing our perfect Shi Shi experience was worth the wait.

Heather Lake Winter Wonderland

I enjoy hiking alone. I guess I forgot. I got spoiled this summer...always had a hiking partner, or several. But last week when I decided last second I needed to get out there, and nobody could come with me, I had a little "nobody likes me, everybody hates me" pity party. Suddenly, hiking alone felt like a loser activity. Silliness! I had forgotten that when I'm alone in the woods, I never feel alone, lonely, or like a loser. It's the best place to combat those feelings.

Although, I do have a hiking buddy who is ALWAYS ready and begging to go; but I mostly refuse her. She can just be such a pain, and besides, she stinks up my car. Sometimes she gives me those eyes, though; and then I can't say no. There is nothing cuter than seeing her pure delight when I give her the "okay, get in the car" nod.

I didn't realize until I pulled into the parking lot that in my haste to get going, I had forgotten a leash. Now, I will confess, I mostly don't keep my dog on a leash anyway (go ahead and hate me) BUT I always put one on her as soon as I see anyone coming. (so please don't hate me too much) I have had dogs jump up on me with their muddy paws and even literally french kiss me--so I get it. It it very important to me that my dog is 100% in control around other hikers...so this no leash thing was not going to fly.

Luckily I happened to have an old compression bandage hiding in the back of the car, so I tied a knot in it and called it good. Wouldn't you know this stupid improvisation proved to be the best leash ever? I'm seriously going to use it all the time now, because with the stretchiness of the fabric it was actually enjoyable to have her pull, when typically that is what annoys me the most. (you are welcome for that tip if you have the same issue)

My wolf wannabe

I didn't expect much from Heather Lake. I knew that it wasn't too far to drive, it was dog friendly, and only 5 miles round trip--the basic requirements for my impromptu hiking fix. Sometimes it's nice when you have such low expectations--it's such a pleasure to be surprised by something that turns out so much better than what you had imagined.

I was going to name this post "A River Runs Through It" because this is one of the wettest trails I have been on--but in a really good way. It wan't muddy, so as long as you have good waterproof boots, it's fun crossing the small streams along the way. But the best part about this hike was hitting the snow line and entering the winter wonderland with all it's glory. It was so magical and peaceful and beautiful...when I saw there was a campsite I actually wished I had brought my tent. (maybe someday I'll do snow; I'm just not ready yet)

Most lakes like this do not have such an easy to follow trail all the way around, so that is a really big bonus. Watching Lexi with all her exuberant pounciness (I don't think that's a word; but it should be) made me feel a little guilty about the fact I don't take her with me often. It's not an experience she can ever give herself...only I can provide it for her. So now that I have my awesome MacGyvered leash, I am determined to bring my ever ready friend with me more often. I suppose I need to invest in some good car fresheners. 

There Will Be Tears (Section J of the PCT-Part 4)

In the morning light we could see a lovely campsite right next to the water, but it didn't matter that we had missed it. All imaginations of lake frolicking were long gone. We barely had enough energy to snap a couple photos, and without even making our morning coffee, we were off for another long day.

Passing SO many thru hikers, who would hike twice as many miles that day as us (and have been doing so day in and day out for months) made wanting to bitch and moan a little less enjoyable than it would be normally. But we did it anyway! And I'm going to do it more right now! If your a thru hiker who is reading this, feel free to roll your eyes--you've earned it!

A rare find: a clean shaven thru hiker!
This is Eugene from San Francisco

Rainier in the distance

This day was brutal. One of hardest I've ever had, if not the hardest. Leigh kept asking me for the word "scree" because, "if I'm going to complain about it, I want the right word". There were MILES of it (though mostly of the bigger talus variety) and it really did wear on the feet. But even more so, it wore on the nerves...especially when the trail was very thin or the rock seemed rather unstable.

Will it ever end?

It was at just one of these spots that Leigh turned around and joked, "I don't think this meets the safety code!" As I waited for her to get past the particularly bad spot, we both heard a rock coming down. Not good. It was the most sickening feeling watching helplessly to see if she was going to get picked off, or if this rock was going to trigger a slide.

The bad spot. Hard to even see the trail

My third bout of tears came as soon as I knew she was okay. A local man (who I didn't know personally, but I know people who did) was recently killed by falling rock while hiking; so yeah, the next five or so hours of walking on rocky ridges were a little mentally taxing.

Being so tired and stressed, our map reading went from bad to worse. Our math abilities were shot (not that mine were ever good to start with) and with so many separate sheets with different lakes, we kept getting mixed up. Though the truth be told, we kept looking at the maps trying to will them to tell us we were closer than we were.

After FINALLY getting off what I thought was the last ridge and coming into a forest, it felt like we must be getting close. Then we came upon the above marker made by a thru hiker. (meaning 2400 miles from Mexico) Again, out came the maps, because according to our calculations we were at 2398. Now remember--we are going backwards (which didn't help us with our already bad math at all) meaning this did not put us closer to our destination, but two miles further away. "They must have been stoned" was Leigh's conclusion, but I was pretty sure any thru hiker knows exactly what mile they are on after doing 2400 of them. Plus, the lakes we were headed to were named "Ridge" and "Gravel"...and sure enough, the trail started heading up once again.

Gravel Lake

Looking at that final rocky ridge stretching off into the distance before you get to the lakes (though at the time I half believed we might see yet another stretch of dreaded talus once we got to the top) made we worry if it would get dark on us. I tried to tell myself that lots of people hike at night, but honestly I was terrified. I felt so uneasy on this thin trial, I didn't want to even try to take my pack off to get at my headlamp, much less navigate it in the dark. We needed to get to that lake!

Ridge Lake (next morning)

Our saviors!

On top of the stress of wondering if we'd lose our light, we were both wondering if our friends would be there to meet us as planned. There were so many variables; so many "what if's", and no way to communicate with anyone. The final tears for both of us came when we crested the top, and there they were--packs still on. It's hard to believe we all got there at the exact same time, and it's impossible to convey the emotion. I understood logically it wasn't that big a deal if we somehow missed each other or for some reason they couldn't make it; as long as nobody was hurt, we would have figured it out. But mentally it was HUGE to see their kind faces and warm greetings when we were at our very lowest of spirits. (along with their packs full of fresh, yummy food and wine! Hallelujah!)

Best food ever!

Birds thought so too

It was a real bummer that Julie felt sick all night. We were much relieved she felt better by morning, so we could enjoy together one more beautifully clear sky on this last day out. We couldn't have asked for a better finale than the famous "Kendall Katwalk", though the height thrill had been mightily dampened by all the tight sections and drop offs we had already experienced on our prior days.

Okay, there was one more set of tears at the bottom, but those are not technically "trail tears". The "I made it!" tears are different for everyone; and for me they were very bitter sweet. How can I love and hate something so much at the same time? I couldn't wait to see that parking lot, but I was thinking about what do to next before I even had my shoes off. There is the matter of 6 missing cheater miles to take care of...

I-90...so close!

Done! Cell phone reception at last!