Between a Rock and Woody 2013.10.05 Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail Cherub seeming to enjoy the BY-FAR most terrifying and dangerous part of the entire PCT: the 9 or 10 (I lost count) huge washouts between Rock and Woody Passes, miles 2647.5 to 2648.5 in the Northern Washington Cascades. The entire ridge was sopping soaked loose, muddy scree. I thought I was going to die, either falling while crawling in a washout, or having the ground washout from under me, no joke. Read more
Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail On Saturday morning (10/5), I found Midnight Rider and Valentino headed the opposite way after an extremely harrowing episode on the south face of Rock Pass (mile 2646). She, her brother, and Rustic all thought they were going to die that night. The horse, “ass deep in snow,” and apparently frightened, began running off straight down the mountain. She refused to abandon the horse, necessarily complicating the situation. They pressed the SOS button but cancelled it and made it out themselves. Despite major concerns of family and friends, she and Rustic are attempting again today 10/7. Her brother “IS DONE” with the PCT and will not be going. Read more
Mile 2626.8 2013.10.04 Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail More ridge walking. Mile 2626.8 of the PCT Read more
Mile 2605 2013.10.03 Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail How the Pacific Crest trail looked in the morning. A team had gone the day before, so the trail was cut. No new snow was falling. Mile 2605 Read more
Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail “Avalanches.” These snowballs, some as big as a large snowman bottom, littered all of section L of the PCT. Mile 2605.5 Read more
Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail We went out on Thursday Oct 3rd, and this is what the PCT was like 5 miles in. Mile 2604.6 – Cutthroat Pass. 6840ft elevation with approx 16″ of snowfall. Read more
Goodbye for now, Lighthouse 2013.10.02 Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail Scottish hiker Lighthouse got off trail today. He chose not to walk the road to Canada after trying to posthole it for hours yesterday. He’s happy with his hike and all the friends he has made. I was there his first couple days hiking and I was around his last. He has hiked 2000 miles. So it’s a hard goodbye. Read more
Spooning 2013.09.30 Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail Our plan to stay warm on the way to Canada, with a four person Coleman tent (joking). El Jefe can be the big big big big spoon when he puts down the camera. Read more
Puddle Play Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail This little girl is making so many of us PCT hikers look like wimps, just playing in the cold water. Read more
Rainy Pass Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail Heading down off Rainy Pass this morning in Jeremy’s “Green Bean” (the name for his truck), several deer crossed in front of us. Incidentally Jeremy also had a deer in the back of his truck. Anyway, we were delighted that the weather looked so much better over town. Read more
2013.09.29 Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail Hikers Krusteaz, Shedder, KPax, and Pimp Limp’s mom walk back from Stehekin Pastry instead of waiting for the bus. Besides, we’re professional walkers and… it’s not raining much! Shedder and I wore trash bags to keep our down dry. We looked like idiots. Read more
Suiattle Soak 2013.09.27 Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail My adventurous birthday “novice backcountry” hike got a little hairy when someone took a dunk in the Suiattle River. This is sopping wet Cherub after her successful log crossing of that ferocious glacial river, on the old (disused due to a bridge washout) PCT. Happy birthday to me! Long story short, we couldn’t find the log crossing when we arrived at the River. Cherub decided to give a crossing a go. I wanted to let her do her thing, but also a nagging voice in my head made me hand her a stick with a length of Dyneema cord tied to it. She took a few steps in and quickly hit hip-depth. Cherub is not very tall. At that point she gave me an alarmed glance and […] Read more
Grassy Peak 2013.09.26 Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail View northeast from mile 2531 of the Pacific Crest Trail, showing crystal clear glacial runoff, marbled rocks, and Grassy Peak in the distance. Read more
Cherub’s “Arrow” Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail Hiker Cherub chucks a snowball at me on Fire Creek Pass, approx 6200ft, mile 2530.7. She then made the mistake of suggesting I throw one at her… Read more
Wet for Weeks on End Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail A fairly clear day for me, mile 2503.5. I slept at mile 2500 the night before, staying with three people who decided to quit the PCT due to snow. I watched seven people in all get off the trail that day, only to see it clear up the next. It gets really grating though, being wet for weeks on end. Read more
2013.09.22 Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail This photo cracks me up — Cherub summons the snow. “Comon, Snow!” She’s about to get her second snow, ever (she’s from South Africa). Piper Pass mile 2461 of the PCT Read more