Day 135

20 miles

Etna to South Fork Scott River

Day six of rain

Our ride out of town was at eight am. We had scheduled a ride with Molly. She is the local trail angel who enjoys making multiple trips up and down the mountain each day to pick up or drop off hikers. Because she is so familiar with the mountain road and because of her high speed performance driving classes (she told stories), she drives the curvy mountain road like a race track. It is a mostly deserted road which probably makes it more safe but it is still quite the experience.

From this point, we have 98 miles until we get to the 5 in Dunsmuir. I’m not really sure what I will feel or think when we see the interstate in the valley as we descend to town and the end of our journey.

While in town, Kevin and I bought our train and plane tickets home! For my resupply, I bought all my favorite foods. Oreos, candy, pretzels, chips, crackers, carrots, cucumber, green pepper.

The mountains and clouds were very spectacular today. The weather was confusing, the sun was hot but the wind was cold and I often felt one without the other so there was no balance! We could see giant sheets of rain on neighboring ridges or valleys. It didn’t start to rain until we just got to camp. We managed to set up camp and get in the tent without getting too wet and while still maintaining our marital bliss (as in not arguing too much). Anyone ever seen those people who roll into campgrounds and the whole campground can hear them set up camp “together”?!

I am hoping it won’t rain all day tomorrow like it is predicted.

Resupply in Etna

Day 134

13 miles

Resupplied in Etna, sleeping in the city park

It rained all night. I groaned inside when I heard it start. It felt pretty chilly as we crept out of our tent and began hiking. Good thing we had the motivation of getting into town! The thirteen miles of hiking went by pretty quickly as there weren’t any giant climbs. The clouds were rolling over the ridge above us but disappearing into blue sky and warmth above our heads. By the time we made it to the road we could lay out our tent to dry while we waited for a hitch.

Etna is a tiny little town. No stop lights and just one stop sign on the block long Main Street. But there are a few restaurants, a grocery store, laundromat, and a shower in the city park where hikers are allowed to camp for a few to the city. We are staying under a gazebo in the park because it might rain again tonight. The next two days on trail it is supposed to rain and then we are supposed to have two days of sun to end with. It has been hard to be motivated to keep pushing through the cold rain to the end but we are also so close that it seems tangible. Etna is our last resupply and we have 98 miles to go! I’m excited to go through the Trinity Alps which are a section of mountains ahead of us. I think we had a view of those mountains today, they were probably the ones with snow on them.

Seiad Valley

Day 132

19 miles

Through Seiad Valley and up the hill

We took a lazy morning today. I slept in until 7am and then showered again! Last night I showered too but I can’t sleep outside with wet hair so I waited until this morning for that.

The campground host made us hot coffee this morning and then we headed into town for our resupply. Originally we had planned to send a box here but when we skipped this section we sent that box elsewhere. I was glad to have a few good items left over from the good resupply in Seattle. My dinners now consist of corn tortillas, peanut butter, and marshmallows. I am hardly excited about it. At this point I just want vegetables. So I also packed out a green pepper and cucumber.

The cafe connected to the store opened right as we arrived so we could get a hot breakfast too! I think it has been closed for awhile so it was a surprised that it opened.

I am so grateful it is fall weather when we are hiking through this valley. When we were going to get here in the summer, it was about 110 degrees. Now we can do the six ish miles of road walk through town and not pass out from heat exhaustion.

The climb out of town was gradual at first and then steep. We went a mile farther then planned today. Each day we feel the pull of the end of the trail a bit stronger and want to chip away the final number! The next few days the weather is supposed to be a bit more cloudy and possibly rainy so we will see how that goes. Today is also the first day of rifle hunting season out here. This seems like a very early beginning of it but we met two hunters coming down trail with their guns and they told us it is opening day. I immediately took out my orange bandana and tied it on my pack. Taking no chances out here!

Elk in the campsite

Day 131

27 miles

Camped at Wildwood Rv park in Seiad Valley

Last night we awoke to a startling sound especially when half asleep. At first I was sure that two raccoons were fighting or maybe some coyotes. Then later, an elk came up the hill near our campsite and let off a few bugles. It was such an eery sound.

The original plan for today was to hike about 25 ish miles. At the first water source, we met some other hikers heading north who were also finishing up this section before heading home. They said they stayed at this newly opened place in Seiad Valley. It is opened by some people who lost their home in the recent McKinney fire which had shut down the trail. Supporting the people who live in these towns, especially after a natural disaster is an important part of trail culture. They also have hot coffee for us in the morning, so multiple motivators! So we hiked a few extra miles and made it down to this campsite.

The trail at some parts today were severely overgrown and wildly annoying. As we descended about 7500 feet into the valley, we started encountering poison oak, heat, and gnats. All things I thought we had left behind. Hopefully as we hike out tomorrow we will quickly hike away from these things.

It is super nice to stay at this campground. I got an unexpected shower and some laundry done as well!

Leavenworth

Day 128

Zero day

Rode to Seattle with a trail angel to rent a car and drive to Nor Cal

The town of Leavenworth is such an interesting place! It is modeled after a Bavarian German village. Our trail angel told us the whole town decided to make this move when the town was struggling to bring in tourism so it was a financial decision. Now she said the tourism is great and many people buy second houses here from Seattle so the people who work in the town shops and such can hardly afford to live in the town and often can’t find housing. This is the story of so many mountain towns we went through on the trail and true of our home state too.

Our journey south began with having to say good bye to Gnome and Pebbles. It was so sad to part ways with them but we also fully support their journeys and have really enjoyed their company along the way.

Yesterday, a friend staying with a trail angel had told me she was heading into Seattle today and could take us. So we connected and we’re so grateful for a ride to Seattle. From there we rented a car with Semi and Shuffles to drive eight hours to Medford, OR.

First though we explored part of Seattle. I had never been here and wanted to see the market and the Puget sound. Kevin got some salmon chowder and I got an apple cider slushie. As an apple cider expert given my Michigander heritage, it was phenomenal! We also made a stop at Whole Foods and so I am carrying way too much food for a 2.5 day resupply but it is all delicious food so I’m very excited!!

We finally left the city with surprisingly little traffic and headed to a campsite just north of Portland. We found a nice state park with cheap camping to end our busy traveling zero day.

Smoky day

Day 124

19.6 miles

Camped by a small pond

Shortly after going to bed, I found my sleeping bag and the tent soaked with condensation. It was quite disheartening and I settled in for what I thought would be an uncomfortable night. The next time I awoke the wind had picked up and dried all the condensation. With the wind was also the unmistakable smell of smell of smoke. In the morning, the nearby hills were obscured by smoke and we didn’t have very good visibility or air quality. It took part of the day to get a report of where the fire were and whether we could continue hiking safely. Right now that is what we can do. When we get to Leavenworth this may be a different story because one fire is north of Highway 2 but another is south from where we just came.

Originally we weren’t planning on going to Leavenworth, but since meeting up with Gnome, he had planned to go there and will stay at a super neat hostel there. So for fun we will head into that town too. It is modeled after a Bavarian village like Helen GA. Probably a very Americanized version of everything. There we will check out trail conditions and consider future plans.

Day 123

7 miles – Nero out of Snoqualomine

Camped at mile 2401.3

The morning was very relaxing as we spent most of the day in town. We left the hotel at 11 am after watching some of the new Lord of the Rings show. There was a delicious little market with vegan and gluten free food called Laconia Market. They had great coffee and food. I think my positive mood in town was owing to that little shop! Our plan for the day was to take it easy and head out of town to make it to campsite by dinner time.

A friend, Gnome, we haven’t seen in many miles came into town today too and we hiked out together. It is fun to join back up with various people and hear about their parts of the journey as well.

We spent some time today planning and trying to figure out how to get a ride from Rainy pass into Seattle. We have a couple of options. Then we worked on figuring out some details of getting to Nor Cal to hike there after we finish what we can in Washington. We are also on the fence a bit of whether we even want to return to that section or consider 2435 ish miles enough of a thruhike.

Snoqualomine Pass

Day 122

16 miles

Stayed in Snoqualomine

Miles into town never go as fast as I think they should. We left camp at a reasonable time but still had some significant climbs before getting near town. The last few miles were less of a climb and we ended up under some of the ski runs of The Summit, I think it is called. We could look down the mountain and see town about a mile before actually getting there. I was so so so hungry and just wanted something fresh with vegetables. When we got to the main road we went immediately to the cute little market and coffee shop. I got a curry bowl and a pumpkin spice latte which I was so excited about! Fall is here! The market also had some dairy free ice cream which I have been craving since Ashland, OR.

We were able to get most errands done before getting into our hotel room and had a restful night and I could prop my feet up for some rest!

White Pass

Day 118

16.1 miles

Resupplied at White Pass/Kracker Barrel

The going was a bit slow this morning as we still lacked motivation, even though we are going into town. Kevin and I talked through our hopes for the rest of the trail now and how we want to keep going even if it is a bit rough for awhile. The smell of smoke was mixed with clouds rolling in which made everything a bit damp and cold. It definitely felt like fall this morning. No views of Rainer and we hope as fall approaches we will still be able to see the Cascade range through the clouds!

We resupplied at White Pass in the little gas station there which accepts resupply packages. Good thing we had three boxes for us there since there wasn’t much for me to eat in their store! We also got new shoes which I am so grateful for. I have been so sore these last couple of days from having worn out cushion in my shoes.

Big climbs

Day 113

25.6 miles

6000 feet of elevation gain

Hello Washington! The forest often appears to be a tropical rain forest with moss hanging from towering trees and various shapes and sizes of undergrowth. It has been lovely so far! We even had a cooler of cold drinks for trail magic today. We had a few different climbs today but the longest one at 3,000 feet was at the end of the day. It was also a 10 miles water carry! About three quarters of the way through the climb, it cooled off and began to have a pleasant brew. I was so glad to have it get cooler.

All in all, at the end of the climb, we felt strong to have made it through all the climbing and still get to campsite at a decent time.