Drowning in sweat, I arrived at Snoqualmie Pass, where we would stay the night. For most of the day we did a tour of all the noteworthy food places in town, starting out with pizza and ice cream (Da Vinci and Siren were sitting there too) followed by a beer in the local brewery, where we could …
The next heatwave has kicked off! From now, I’ve just accepted that no matter how far north I go, it will always be hot. The climate here doesn’t respect latitude in the slightest. Half and Half and especially Lucky Charm were feeling it badly today. Nothing much happened. The massive bubble from earlier has popped …
‘It’s one of those days you just have to push through’, Lucky Charm sagely said. And right she was! After the blissful cool or the past couple days, the temperature rose again today. This combined with another long stretch of burn (I thought they would be over for sure once we were in Washington) and a goal of …
A perfect day. Not too hot, not too cold, beautiful views of Mt Rainier and challenging but well-maintained terrain. I ate berries, talked to Doggone (he used to be a teacher and is building a house for his wife next spring) and I found out the names of the other people in Bilbo’s group: Dash, MC …
I woke up and it was cold. Proper cold. Racing along the cloudy ridges, I tried to warm myself by moving. Soon I caught up to Squirrel Daddy and hiked with him for a while. He’s starting to talk to the rest of my group, exciting! This is like your one friend group meeting your …
Goat Rocks lived up to its name. There was a good amount of rocks and we spotted a mountain goat, high up on the ridge. In all seriousness, this was one of my favourite days on trail, Goat Rocks Wilderness is unbelievably beautiful. It’s almost like a second Sierra’s. High, snowy mountain peaks and verdant green valleys …
A shorter day today, an easy 22 miles. On the way we crossed into Goat Rocks Wilderness, the place everyone raves about. Nothing spectacular to be seen yet, although the temperature is a lot nicer here. Just a calm hike in the forest. I had dinner with Squirrel Daddy and Boots in the evening. I love those two …
I had low expectations for Trout Lake. A tiny town next to trail with only a diner, a taco truck and a small general store? That usually meant mediocre food, bad resupply and everything taking an eternity. I braced myself for a long hitch and even longer chores once in town. I was wrong on …
A quiet day in Washington. A wondrous surprise lay in waiting when I crossed a gravel road and suddenly felt the urge to poop. As it was already the second time that day, I really didn’t want to dig a cathole again. So I went to a nearby parked car and asked the driver if there was a …
I was told Washington would be cold. As expected, this was untrue. The western states of the US are one big continuous heatwave, anyone who says otherwise is either a liar or knows absolutely nothing about this country. In either case, they should be subjected to a lifelong diet of cold-soaked mac ‘n cheese for …
