Date: September 1st, 2023
Miles Hiked: 23
I woke up in my cozy car camping set up at Harts Pass this morning. Trail Diva and Midnight slept in their car as well and Galileo cowboy camped as per usual. He came to camp with us for old times sake as we all shared a couple hundred miles in Northern California and a Shasta summit together. It was a cold night and I was glad we slept up on the mountain so I knew to pack some things to keep me warm on our hike. Exactly a year ago we arrived to Harts Pass getting turned away from our finish line due to wildfires at the Canadian border. It was awkward to say the least. Now it was time for our victory lap. I am beyond thankful to get to come back and do this with the two people I hiked half of the trail with. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
As we left Harts Pass the mountains were covered in clouds. We all quite enjoyed it and reminisced getting to hike through some similarly wet days on the Appalachian Trail in 2019. The Pacific crest trail hugged the side of the mountain just as it had for the last 2,000 miles. Never too steep, always cruisey. My pack felt heavy today and my feet felt swollen in the first five miles. It’s been a while since I’ve carried significant weight. I’ve been backpacking all summer but using a very light set up. We signed into the register and got the free wilderness permit. We spent the first five miles together and took a break to snack and talk about the water sources ahead as well as our campsite. We planned to camp at Lake View Ridge, a recommendation of Galileo. He got to finish last year and told us that was the last place with an awesome view of the trail and surrounding North Cascade mountains before making the descent to the Canadian border. When we packed up to leave the break spot the three of us instantly fell back into our old rhythm. Sometimes we hiked together, sometimes alone. It felt as if almost no time had passed at all since we got off trail a year ago.
I was in my head all day while I was hiking alone. Mostly thinking about the last 2,000 miles on the PCT and all the things that had happened between then and now. There were so many unknowns the last time I was walking towards Canada. I had absolutely no plan for getting off trail or what I would do next besides being completely open to any opportunities that came my way. After a lack of direction while we were still on the trail, Diva told me she thought it was time I pick my own path if one had not been presented to me. When I got off trail last year I hiked across the Olympic Peninsula alone on the PNT, one of the most challenging things I’ve taken on solo but could have been due to my lack of planning and poor head space from getting abruptly pulled off the PCT. I got a big tattoo, played around Northern Montana, bought a new car, recertified my WFR, thru hiked the Foothills trail with Chewy, fell into the worst post trail depression I’ve ever had, applied for a ridiculous amount of seasonal jobs and tore my ACL and fractured my Tib/Fib Plateau the week before moving to Big Sky Montana to be a ski instructor. Those two months felt like a trainwreck of a time putting my life back together for at least the near future. I knew that that next year I would pursue becoming financially stable again and building into a new community. I very much questioned my identity as a thru hiker and that winter I found myself surrounded by an amazing new friend group but no one who would truly understand what I had spent the past four years chasing. This summer I feel that I finally fully recovered from the PCT Mentally and physically. I have gotten to hike my remaining fire miles on the PCT and CDT as well as many other local peaks, mountain ranges and trails I’ve had on my list. There is a new partner in my life who I get to come home to. I work two awesome jobs that give me a great schedule to fill my free time exactly how I want to. Things look a lot different than they did only a year ago. The end feels like a new beginning rather than a cliff I’m about to jump off.
At Holman Pass we stopped for a long lunch break in a shady spot with some nice logs. I remember this is where the trail was officially closed last year. The rest of the day was uphill. I took several breaks as needed. The clouds burned off in the afternoon sun and temperature was absolutely perfect. When we got to the campsite Galileo suggested, the view was absolutely stunning. I could see layer upon on layer of the North Cascade mountain range, many of them had glaciers on them. After setting up camp, I enjoyed some sunset views with Midnight and Diva while I drank tea and ate a loaf of olive bread I got from the Mazama bakery for dinner. We were all in our tents at nightfall which was 9pm. I fell asleep instantly.
Happy Trails!
-Early Bird
Des Hikes Thru 