Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike this summer
- Thread starter tradja
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We made it to the US/Canada border on 9/30! We spent a few days hitching to Vancouver, where we are waiting another few days until our flight out of Seattle on 10/5. After that, we will be visitng family and I will have PC access to post pics and a full update. On the iPod Touch now, so the typing is sloooooooow.
Waking up the past few mornings, inside, with no miles to do that day is taking some getting used to! However, hunkering down at our budget hotel in Vancouver's Chinatown has the distinct advantage of ready access to 24hr cheap tasty eats.
The last sections had some spectacular scenery when it wasn't raining, but most days were spent plugging along in cold rain with visibility limited to 50 yds or so.
Waking up the past few mornings, inside, with no miles to do that day is taking some getting used to! However, hunkering down at our budget hotel in Vancouver's Chinatown has the distinct advantage of ready access to 24hr cheap tasty eats.
The last sections had some spectacular scenery when it wasn't raining, but most days were spent plugging along in cold rain with visibility limited to 50 yds or so.
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mtnfolk mike
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very cool John.. glad to hear all is well...:thumbup: you folks logged some major miles man, i'm sure it's definitely going to take some getting used to not having to walk..
looking forward to more pics and hopefully meeting up with you all again...
take care..Mike
looking forward to more pics and hopefully meeting up with you all again...
take care..Mike
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wow Tradja and Mrs. Tradja! you made it! what a great adventure we all saw through your eyes. thank you for sharing so much of your lives with us.
eddie and lora
eddie and lora
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Congratulations!
I'm looking forward to the last pics. I'm kinda sad that it's over, and I wasn't even out there.
I'm looking forward to the last pics. I'm kinda sad that it's over, and I wasn't even out there.
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Thank you Mr And Mrs Tradja. I has been wonderful going along with iu on this incredible journey. What an experience!
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Glad you made it safely!
You two have hiked the Pacific Crest and the Continental Divide trails together. What an accomplishment. :thumbup:
Any plans for the hat trick and an Appalachian Trail hike as a couple? Or have you already done it?
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Congrats to both of you I look forward to the final update :thumbup:
I look forward to the final update :thumbup:
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Thanks! When that time approaches, let me know if I can help in any way with your planning, even to just chat or bounce ideas around.congratulations- quite a feat by any measure! I hope I get the opportunity to give it a whirl someday
That's been the topic of discussion the past few hundred miles. I did the AT in 1996, before I met Swipe. She wants to do it, possibly even in 2011 if we don't find keeper jobs, but as a Western girl our last month of rain on the WA PCT has given her reservations about extended hiking in the rain back East.
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Here is the wrap up from Stevens Pass to the US/Canada border! We're doing a 2 week tour of friends/family back East, back to Oregon by Nov 2 once our tenants are our of our house. I'll get some quick vids stitched together at that point, and do a post-hike wrap up of all the knives.
The last 2 weeks of the hike were pretty rainy through the Alpine Lakes and Glacier Peak Wilderness areas, with a few spectacular clear days in between. The North Cascades generally were a treat. Most of NorCal, Oregon, and southern WA were nice enough, but northern WA really feels like we're back in wild mountains again. There were several exciting creek crossings, although all were on rock hops or downed logs.
The Koyote LBK was mostly used for food prep, stripping wet wood, and even clearing wet brush or blowdowns from the poorly-maintained trail. To my surprise, despite repeated and prolonged drenchings the 1080 didn't show any rust. The shiny "Scandivex" edge developed some mild patina. It's hard to tell, but the dark textured flats on the blade may have a subtle lacquer or protective coating.
We really enjoyed the final trail town of Stehekin, WA -- there is no road access to this isolated little settlement, the only ways in being a 50-mile ferry ride, a seaplane, or hiking in 18 miles.
What do you do when it's getting dark and the only possible tentsite for miles has a huge log in it?
That's right! Get yer big ol' Koyote LBK and baton the heck out of it.
But what do you do when your baton breaks? Yes, get a BIGGER baton!
As you can see, we got pretty deep into the hard, seasoned deadfall. I had no experience with 1080 before the LBK, but Christof has that heat treat down because the edge and spine straightness didn't flinch through this abuse. The differential temper really soaked up the abuse on the spine while the edge stayed sharp and straight. It still shaved after this, though the "pop" was diminished. Eventually, it started to rain again so I just deadlifted the snag out of the site, but I'm confident I could have batoned all the way thru.
A break in the storm:
The Murray Carter necker at a deluxe lunch break:
Wispy clouds:
The last 2 weeks of the hike were pretty rainy through the Alpine Lakes and Glacier Peak Wilderness areas, with a few spectacular clear days in between. The North Cascades generally were a treat. Most of NorCal, Oregon, and southern WA were nice enough, but northern WA really feels like we're back in wild mountains again. There were several exciting creek crossings, although all were on rock hops or downed logs.
The Koyote LBK was mostly used for food prep, stripping wet wood, and even clearing wet brush or blowdowns from the poorly-maintained trail. To my surprise, despite repeated and prolonged drenchings the 1080 didn't show any rust. The shiny "Scandivex" edge developed some mild patina. It's hard to tell, but the dark textured flats on the blade may have a subtle lacquer or protective coating.
We really enjoyed the final trail town of Stehekin, WA -- there is no road access to this isolated little settlement, the only ways in being a 50-mile ferry ride, a seaplane, or hiking in 18 miles.
What do you do when it's getting dark and the only possible tentsite for miles has a huge log in it?
That's right! Get yer big ol' Koyote LBK and baton the heck out of it.
But what do you do when your baton breaks? Yes, get a BIGGER baton!
As you can see, we got pretty deep into the hard, seasoned deadfall. I had no experience with 1080 before the LBK, but Christof has that heat treat down because the edge and spine straightness didn't flinch through this abuse. The differential temper really soaked up the abuse on the spine while the edge stayed sharp and straight. It still shaved after this, though the "pop" was diminished. Eventually, it started to rain again so I just deadlifted the snag out of the site, but I'm confident I could have batoned all the way thru.
A break in the storm:
The Murray Carter necker at a deluxe lunch break:
Wispy clouds:
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The huckleberry and blueberry bushes were turning bright red by this point in the fall, creating some dramatic splashes of color across the hillsides.
Sunset from camp near Red Pass:
Tarp setup. It is in prolonged wet weather that the tarp really shined. Our tentbound friends had to crawl into a stuffy, wet tent body each night, but we crawled under a wet tarp with no wet walls and nice ventilation
After the first freezes, the blueberries and huckleberries lost their sweetnes and got a little mushy, but they were still juicy and plentiful. In any event, it's fresh fruit and antioxidants.
Approaching Glacier Peak Wilderness:
You can see the trail snaking across the lower third of this frame. Magnificent hiking!
Many of the bridges in the Glacier Peak area are perpetually at risk or out. Note a previous bridge all jacked up in the top of this photo:
"Don't be chicken. It looks legit to me!"
80% of the PCT is arid, but much of the trail in the Pacific NW is lush.
After a few flat spots on the map turned out to be rocky or bushy, we ended up camping on the only open spot for miles: the bridge. It had a significant advantage of being well-drained and flat. Note the improvised tent stake in the foreground. Frankly, I am a huge fan of Ti tent stakes because you could just hammer them in like nails in a situation like this, but of course I don't want to damage the only crossing for miles up and down this creek.
Winter's coming! Note the dusting just above us. Honestly, I'd rather be just above snowline than just below it in the 36 degree rain. Unlike rain, snow is solid.
Up north, marmots are not brown, but shades of grey. We saw a mountain lion a few days later, and unlike the tawny cougars of NorCal, the WA cougar was colored very similarly to this marmot: greyish.
The infamous crossing of the Suiattle River. We had been hearing about this crossing for months, and one southbounder friend fell in and was swept downstream (very dangerous). By the time we got here in fall, the creek had subsided at least a foot and this better log crossing was more accessible.
Sunset from camp near Red Pass:
Tarp setup. It is in prolonged wet weather that the tarp really shined. Our tentbound friends had to crawl into a stuffy, wet tent body each night, but we crawled under a wet tarp with no wet walls and nice ventilation
After the first freezes, the blueberries and huckleberries lost their sweetnes and got a little mushy, but they were still juicy and plentiful. In any event, it's fresh fruit and antioxidants.
Approaching Glacier Peak Wilderness:
You can see the trail snaking across the lower third of this frame. Magnificent hiking!
Many of the bridges in the Glacier Peak area are perpetually at risk or out. Note a previous bridge all jacked up in the top of this photo:
"Don't be chicken. It looks legit to me!"
80% of the PCT is arid, but much of the trail in the Pacific NW is lush.
After a few flat spots on the map turned out to be rocky or bushy, we ended up camping on the only open spot for miles: the bridge. It had a significant advantage of being well-drained and flat. Note the improvised tent stake in the foreground. Frankly, I am a huge fan of Ti tent stakes because you could just hammer them in like nails in a situation like this, but of course I don't want to damage the only crossing for miles up and down this creek.
Winter's coming! Note the dusting just above us. Honestly, I'd rather be just above snowline than just below it in the 36 degree rain. Unlike rain, snow is solid.
Up north, marmots are not brown, but shades of grey. We saw a mountain lion a few days later, and unlike the tawny cougars of NorCal, the WA cougar was colored very similarly to this marmot: greyish.
The infamous crossing of the Suiattle River. We had been hearing about this crossing for months, and one southbounder friend fell in and was swept downstream (very dangerous). By the time we got here in fall, the creek had subsided at least a foot and this better log crossing was more accessible.