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Pacific Crest Trail Thru Hike Begins April 23rd 2022

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The Pacific Ocean marked the end of another 3k season of long distance backpacking and completion of the mysterious Pacific Coast Trail everyone thinks I hiked 🎉😉

The last 17 miles I backpacked for the season were some of my favorite. I was fortunate enough to be joined by some friends for the last section of the Olympic Wilderness Coast from Oil City to Third Beach. We slept in and spent the day hiking 10 miles along the coast. There was a three hour break on the beach one day where my friends built a monument to celebrate finishing the summer of hiking. Between the very nice beach walks were steep overland sections of trail that involved climbing up and down many broken ladders and very steep slippery sections with ropes to hold on to! Tide pools were another highlight of the coast. I loved how much the beach would change every time the tide would come in and go back out. It turns out that cowboy camping on the beach will make you significantly wet with condensation by the time you wake up. Both ends of this trip were spent at @catahoula_red place with nights around a campfire (the first and only of the summer) and time spent next to the Hoh River. We got to celebrate the opening day of Salmon season on the river watching the local fisherman who were generous enough to share one of their first catch of the year with us. I hope they were rewarded with ultimate fish karma for the rest of their trip.

After traversing the main part of the park, I was lucky enough to get a ride up to the northern tip of Olympic National Park's wilderness coast. I started hiking South on the PNT from Cape Alava to La Push. Coastal hiking is the most unique environment I've ever backpacked in. Everything is different and interesting. On the way out to the coast I talked to every hiker I saw about how their trip was. I was nervous for the Ocean and tides as water of all sorts (but particularly the ocean) is my biggest fear. I finally learned to understand how tides affect timing my hiking around headlands with tidal restrictions. Sunset was amazing and all the blow downs were a jungle gym to climb over at high tide. I found some swings built out of driftwood and buoys. Whale bones, sea stacks, crabs, and unfortunately trash line the beach where the ocean meets the land. I posted up in Cape Johnson which I had entirely to myself for five hours as I waited for the tide to come in and go out. I felt like I was playing in the movie cast away as I saw no humans for hours and was just stuck on the beach. High tide woke me up in the middle of the night as I heard the ocean roaring closer to my tent than before. I realized it's my own choice to decide if the 24 hour sounds of the ocean making waves are anxiety inducing or relaxing.

100 miles through Olympic National Park's inland mountainscape on the PNT. I hiked the Dosewallips River Valley up and over Hayden Pass, through the Elwah, past Olympic Hot Springs, over Appleton Pass, down to the Sol Duc, up to seven lakes, the high divide, and Bogachiel peak before bailing out down the Hoh River valley and rain forest. I got stung by a hornet on day one and the sting still itches a week later. Day two I only pass two other humans going the opposite direction who tell me they haven't seen anyone else in two days. I get to soak in a hot spring and that night ashes are blowing into my tent on top of Appleton Pass. The next morning I see five bears in a couple of hours. I bail out down to the Hoh River because I do not have enough food to check out the Bogie and cut it a day short. I started rationing food on day 3/5. Because of my lack of research, I did not realize the road walk I had to do in the middle of this section was all on abandoned parks roads that were washed out years ago. No resupply options here. This was one of the more challenging trips I've done in terms of both terrain and the mental game of being on my own post PCT processing how it all ended so suddenly and what comes next. 90% of this time I had no one to talk to, just me, my thoughts and a stupid song from Peter Pan I sing to scare away the bears that I had stuck in my head for days on end. My body felt tricked. It thought it was time for rest. I continue to push on.

Post PCT I unexpectedly ended up on the Pacific Northwest Trail. It starts at the Northern Terminus of the CDT in Glacier National Park and goes 1200 miles to the Pacific Ocean on the Olympic peninsula. Crown to Coast. I finally accept that even though it really doesn't feel like it, I can call myself a triple crowner because I'm not sure what else you call yourself when you hike 99% of all three of America's premier long-distance trails. The 1% will come some day. I asked my friends to drop me off on a whim when other plans didn't work out. I guess I can still chase down the 3k mark this year. Hiking 300 miles to the ocean through one of the wettest places in the US sounded nice when the 1% of everything I need to hike is on fire. I bought a hefty rain coat and a one pound guide book. I start walking.... On a road. This is stupid. Why would I hike the section with the most pavement of this whole trail that I'm only doing a section of anyways? At least there are plums on the walk. Marc Breckenridge helps me correct my mistake. I take a ferry to Port Townsend and then a free bus to Brinnon. It's a mission to get to @olympic_nps as fast as I can. I walk down the road towards the park. It still sucks. I make a friend with an older man on the side of the road selling post cards and arial photo prints he took for his professional photography career. He tells me to go check out this waterfall and then offers to drive me to the park so I can hike into the back country and camp for the night. My phone dies on the way there. I don't really know much about the PNT.

Before I begin sharing the weird chaos of my journey to get "off trail" and back into some sort of routine and start applying for those things called a JOB (still lots of adventure to be had, goals to accomplish, and miles to be hiked between now and then)... I want to share some stats from my hiking so far this season!

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