July 27

I left my campsite early today for a few reasons. First, my neighbors were up and going early which helped me find the motivation to do the same. Second, the mosquitoes started waking up around 6:30 and coming under the tarp to annoy me with their high pitched buzzing. Finally, and more importantly, I had the thought of town and cookies on my mind. So I packed up, ate a granola bar for breakfast, and was on trail by 7:00. It was a short 8 miles to the ski resort and Kracker Barrel store, but I remember it taking forever. I did meet Meander on the trail. A trail angel that did a lot of work for my fellow sobos on July 4th on Harts Pass. I missed him because I was on my way to Canada, but heard great things about him and it was really nice to meet him. He's a great guy and has done loads of thru-hiking. He was trying his best to convince me to hike New Zealand this year after the PCT. It's all very tempting, but my bank account is probably going to say that's a bad idea.

By 10:30 I had a quart of milk and two giant bags of delicious chocolate chip cookies that I tore into. I made it halfway through the first bag then slowed down to pace myself for a full day of calorie loading. Around noon the ladies at the store had a fresh pizza made so I had to have a slice. I had gone through the hiker box, discarded a few items for other hikers, and pretty much finished my checks for food for the next 8 days when Louis "Poptart" showed up. He bought a quart of milk and we both went after the cookies again. I continued to charge my phone, and download maps on the wifi as Poptart re supplied. He bought a huge dish of lasagna that the ladies through in their oven. When it was almost ready they made us a huge spinach salad with cucumbers, green red and yellow peppers, and a lime vinaigrette dressing that was incredible. I honestly think we got a little special treatment for showing up clean. Meander did mention those ladies didn't like some of the stinky hikers that came through, but were otherwise very friendly. Poptart and I make a point of being clean when we come to town anyway so it was normal for us. We will mention to the nobos as we see them coming up that hygiene is appreciated at the Kracker Barrel store in White Pass.

After all that, and an ice cream bar before leaving, Poptart and I left for a campsite just two miles down the trail. I can afford it after a 26, a 24, and 7-ish plus 2 today makes 19.7 average for 3 days. Great campsite except for the hoards of mosquitoes. I may need to buy a small bivy-type mosquito net in cascade locks. I've heard the mosquitoes only get worse in Oregon. They shouldn't be bad up at elevation tomorrow in the goat rocks, and I am so excited for the view I've heard it's just unbelievable. 

July 26

Hiked another 24 miles today after a 26 yesterday. I'm feeling the mileage, hopefully soon I'll be used to it. I met quite a few section hikers and the first true northbound thru-hiker that I've seen. July isn't even over and he's already up here... Good for you Wind Warrior! 

I'm camped next to a couple that are around their 70's named Adam and Eve. They're finishing up this section headed the same way I am. They offered to give me a ride into Packwood if I need it. I might do that just so I can mail my ice axe and hiking crampons home. Everyone I've talked to said what little snow is left on the next few sections is easily managed without the gear, so at this point it's just going to be extra weight.

I am so excited for a town day tomorrow and especially for cookies from Jessie Sumners!  Can't wait to eat them, and a drink a quart of milk. I've been craving milk this last section I think it's a lack of calcium in my diet, I get everything else pretty regularly.

July 25

It was only about 5 miles to the Urich Shelter cabin near Government Meadow that we hiked to this morning. There, our 4 friends Reach, Warmup Mile, Snow Gypsy and Nathan decided to take a zero and and hike out early in the morning because of the novelty of the place. It is a really cool cabin and worth 4-wheeling, backpacking or snowmobiling to. Poptart (or possibly Sugar Side Down) and I decided to part ways with the crew and head for town I resupply. The four of them ran out of food two sections ago and on the last day two guys shared a packet of ramen for their dinner. That experience is still fresh in their minds and they each are carrying enough food to feed an army for this section.

Poptart and I had a lunch together 10 miles from camp, and then I packed up early, and said goodbye to him. I've decided to push a little harder for White Pass being that then I will arrive on a Saturday afternoon and could possibly find a willing soul to take me in and get some worship in Sunday morning. If not, I can get an early start on the "Goat Rocks" section that is both stunningly beautiful, and very challenging. The whole point of my mileage ramping up is to get to Crescent Lake in time for convention in Saginaw, OR and hiking to Crater Lake with mom. In order to get the whole convention I need to average 140 miles a week for the next 3 weeks. I think it's very doable, but I will be deserving of the rest. It's kind of nice to be solo hiking again, although I'll admit it feels a little strange. I have a feeling Poptart will catch me, and I hope he does he's a good hiking partner.

One more note. I met Detour and Linear today. They camped next to me just as I finished typing this for the night. We had some good conversation before I called it a night.

July 24

We left camp this morning aware of a 12 mile waterless section and the overall lack of runoff water that we all are so accustomed to. The awareness and planning paid off as no one had problems with running out of water, and we finished with a 19 mile day. My pack is a little lighter on food than I would like it to be at this point and this pace, but it's easily manageable and there are 5 other hikers in this group. Four out of those five have way too much food as it is and are handing it out every time we camp so I am confident there won't be a problem. 

Mt. Rainier is becoming more and more visible and massive as we are hiking closer. Louis and I had lunch at a spot on top of a small mountain called "Blowout Mountain" with 360 degree views of where we've been and what is to come. The weather has been incredible, and I hope it continues to be the case as it lends itself in that way to enjoyable hiking.

July 23

Despite all of their talk about being up at 5, breakfast at 6-ish, hiking at 7, our new hiking partners and Louis (now named "Poptart" for when eating his first bite of his first Poptart with his refined French pallet, revolutionized the way all of us will eat Poptarts henceforth. On his first bite, he mentioned that it took too long for the sugar to reach his tongue... So he flipped it over and ate it upside down. Only the French...) and I left camp at 9:00. With that start there was no chance for us to make the 24 miles planned, but we kept talking about it. We broke for lunch late, at 2:30 in the afternoon at what looked like a possible lake site. Turned out the lake was off the trail, and every one of us showed up with hardly any water. All except Reach, who kindly shared some of his extra. I guess there is truth to the scripture about gray hair being a crown of wisdom. Especially so, since after lunch there was no water for almost five miles. Those were some of the most miserable miles I have hiked on this trail. Just a little taste of what is to come, and a wake up call for everyone to pay attention to water sources. We are camped in a nice little clearing 0.2 miles from that little spring. We had a nice sunset tonight, good warm food, hit drinks and a toast to staying "true to the through".

July 22

This morning Louis went for the springs one last time for a hot shower and warm water for laundry. My watch battery died in the night so I got up late and hadn't had a chance to read so I stayed behind. There is something therapeutic about a mineral hot springs because we had a 3500 ft., 6 mile climb to get out of the hole we were in and get back to the PCT.

We made it to town by 3:00, bought snacks and re supplied, then headed to the "pancake house" for a burger. There we ran into 3 sobo hikers; Adam "Snow Gypsy", Zach "Warmup Mile" and Nathan that I met on the way to Harts Pass on July 4. Also we met a fourth hiker, Rob or "Reach" that they were hiking with. All 6 of us are camped near a creek in a wide clearing with a blanket of stars... With the sounds of semis going to and fro on I-90, 5 miles to the north.

One more note. My trail name is "Puppeteer". Apparently my cohorts found it amusing when I made shadow puppets from inside my tent using my headlamp.

July 21

We had our sights set on Goldmyer Hot Springs when we left camp this morning. It was a tough 23 miles that took us on an alternate route bypassing about 10 miles of the PCT.

The hot springs was completely worth the extra effort, and we found a road to take us the last 4 miles. We made really good time on the road and arrived at the springs at 7:30. We had dinner, set up camp, and soaked until well after 10:00. It is such a cool place with a cave where the source of the spring is located so there is total enclosure for your sauna and soaking needs. Exactly what we needed after our last few days. Town day tomorrow and we couldn't be more excited.

July 20

We decided last night to ramp up our mileage and start a little earlier in the day. We now are on trail by 7:30 in the morning and today, as a result, finished 20 miles by 5:45 with a lunch break and a laundry break. 

Today we were debating the "treacherous" ford, and whether or not to take the alternate route. Louis and I have similar personalities in looking at an alternate route that would add 2 miles versus a possibly treacherous ford, we would like to take the path of least mileage. After all, that's how we met (each taking the shortcut listed as "extremely difficult" rather than an extra 5 miles). With that in mind, and after talking to a couple that made it through coming the other way, we went for the ford. There was nothing really treacherous about it as long as one kept their footing. This is where we both stopped, dunked ourselves (on purpose) in the freezing water, and did our laundry. We found a decent campsite where the mosquitoes are somewhat bearable, and have camped for the night.

July 19

Fueled by dreams of a cheeseburger, we hiked the fastest 4 miles anyone has hiked to get to the road for a hitch into Skykomish. Found someone willing to pick up PCT hikers thanks to Louis's sign. He said he won't stop for regular hitchhikers but PCT guys are different.

I chowed down a loaded double bacon cheeseburger, half a bag of potato chips, an apple, a Butterfinger bar all at 11:00 A.M. There was no doubt in Skykomish that PCT hikers were in town and they pointed us to a pre-made sign that read "PCT HIKER NEEDS RIDE BACK TO STEVEN'S  PASS" to use for our return hitch. 

Went to the post office for my resupply packages. Which were huge! Louis and I devoured a box of cookies and cream chocolate, and the French side got the best of him when he saw that I did in fact have Nutella. I worked on finishing my package of gummy bears as we headed for the library. Then I uploaded my pictures to Flickr, which I'm kind of unsure as to how it works and I'm mainly interested in using it as a backup for all my pictures. My Flickr account is jordanpnelson if anyone knows how to use that monster and wants to see the pictures.

After an ice cream cone and Louis finishing his resupply, we grabbed the sign from Sky Deli and stood out by the road. 10 minutes later we had a ride and were at the trail by 4:05 hiking. We made it 8.5 miles in 3 hours and 10 minutes thanks to burger power. Big day ahead of us tomorrow and possibly a treacherous ford, I'm turning in.

July 18

Our camp of four all had breakfast together and broke camp in two waves. The brothers, Harvey and Matt, left first with Louis and me coming soon after. Louis and I passed them and managed to snag some more red vines on our way by. It was another blue clear sky day. Beautiful weather for hiking.

We stopped for lunch by a lake and lounged in the sun for about an hour and a half. Matt and Harvey passed us on their way out, and soon after Louis and I took off to get close to the highway for camp. We got a little sidetracked by another big lake that looked to good not to go jump in. So that's what we did... And tried unsuccessfully to catch some trout for dinner tonight. We found a campsite here 4 miles from the highway where we will hitch into Skykomish tomorrow, resupply, and hopefully be 4 to 8 miles down the trail for camp tomorrow night.

July 17

We had a crazy lightning storm last night that lasted for a few hours. Thunder and lightning right over our heads lighting up the tent. I loved it! Reminded me of the Midwest. Unlike the Midwest, however, it was gone before daylight and we hike for just a few minutes in a slight drizzle that melted away into sunshine and another day of beautiful hiking. Louis and I make great hiking partners and will probably hike a couple sections together.

At lunch I found a nice cold mountain stream to bathe in. It felt so nice to be clean and lay on a dark, warm rock in the sun for a few minutes and rest my legs. I found the source of my foot pain and blisters too and have started the healing process. Turns out it was my expensive shoe insole inserts. I am hiking today and tomorrow without them and so far it has been very helpful.

We were passing by a lake today and Louis was wanting to bathe before he slept tonight so we are spending the night about 1/4 mile off trail camped next to some weekend hiker brothers who have been excellent company for us. So far they've shared their campfire, stories and candy with us. Both of us are glad to have some interaction with other hikers. It's been a good day. We should easily make another lakeside campsite tomorrow. Maybe there will be more day hikers with candy...

July 16

We had a great day of hiking today. Louis and I keep about the same pace throughout the day. He does the lunch and rest thing in the day which has been helping me slow down a bit and not try like I have been to hike the whole PCT in a day. I help him speed up a bit as he said he was ready to do after getting in shape for the first few days.

We had one tough pass today, again slogging up a snowy north face, but nothing dangerous like the other day on Firecreek. After that it was mostly downhill and we reached our designated campsite just before 6, hiking 16 miles and hardly breaking a sweat. Feels good to be in shape, if the blisters would heal on my feet it would make life that much better.

Really good campsite life tonight. Since we made it early, we made a fire to help save fuel. I cooked what I consider to be the best camp meal I've ever had so far. Hot pork ramen with black beans and a dash of garlic olive oil all mixed in together. Then a snickers bar dipped in peanut butter for dessert. That one is going to be tough to beat I feel like a gourmet chef. We also had a couple cups of tea, and chatted around the fire until the clouds finally did what they promised us they would, and opened up in a slow drizzle. I look forward to tomorrow, it looks like Thursday night I will have phone reception and Friday we will resupply in Skykomish and Baring.

July 13

In the morning I caught the boat back to Stehekin, and spent the day lounging around the small trail/tourist town eating at their famous bakery and enjoying the sunshine. I took the last shuttle ride to the trailhead, and at 6:15p headed back down the trail I started on two days previous. Five miles in there is a good campsite and I have camped for the night. This will set me up for 3 days of at least 25 miles per day and a fourth with just a few less to Skykomish. In my haste to leave the other day, I left my rope I use for hanging food and scented items. I will go by that spot in the morning and see if it's there. If not, like tonight, I can use my rain gear as a makeshift "bear vault" that locks in the scent. Should work just fine.

July 15

Hiked a hard 15 miles with Louis (pronounced Lou-ie), another sobo thru-hiker from France. We lost 5,748 ft in elevation and gained 5,352 ft over the 15 miles. All day long was switchbacks. We had a lunch break and a nap at a frozen lake where Louis jumped in, submerged, then jumped back out. He forgot to turn his GoPro on, so he jumped back in a second time. I have both incidents on film! Crazy guy it must have been 33 degrees. 

Firecreek Pass was one of the worst I've come across yet for the amount of snow and danger in making it to the summit. We made it thanks to having two of us in the attempt. I don't know how I would have done that alone.

Met a hiker named Pie Man on his way up the PCT hiking a big circle around Glacier Peak. Then stumbled the last 5 miles to our camp site here at mile 2525 where we will start in the morning.

July 14

Left 5 mile camp about 7 am making good time on the trail all day until about 2 in the afternoon. There is a small shortcut following the old PCT trail that cuts off 5 miles of the new trail. The old trail has not been maintained since a new bridge was put up a couple miles down stream in 2011. I was debating with myself on taking the old trail, when a sign hanging on a tree next to the old trail was too much for me to resist. It read "Old PCT passable, but extremely difficult." Guess where I went...

You guessed it! Down the old trail to save 5 miles and have an adventure! Well they weren't kidding. The old trail had no maintenance and downed trees were everywhere. After scrambling over trees, rocks and dinosaur fossils, I found the old famous log crossing that was used after the bridge washed out. A sketchy crossing but nothing too terrible. Next came the joys of finding the trail. No easy task considering I was in a river basin of sand that gave me no perceivable direction on where the trail went. So I followed footsteps in the sand hoping before me knew where they were going. Turns out he didn't have a clue, but I did find him and we out our heads together, found the trail and are now camped together 34 miles from where I started minus the 5 mile shortcut puts me at 29 miles for the day. I think I'll take it easy tomorrow and get to know this guy from France a little better. Seems like a good plan.

July 12

Ok time to be serious. I do have some foot issues that could lead to further complications. I have some open tissue on three toes that could lead to an infection if I'm not careful. Also, plantar fasciitis of all things has been the cause of my right foot arch pain. I had this last year during my marathon training. The only way I found to get rid of it was rest. So rest I will until further notice my hiking is suspended. I am currently in Chelan, WA and have a boat ticket to take me back to Stehekin Landing where I will set up camp at one of the campsites, and try to rest and heal. 

There have been too many things going wrong for me to try this section until I am sure I can make it. It is a long and lonely stretch, so I need the confidence to make it the whole way.

Now for the story of the night of the bear. Last night after writing my blog post, reading, and saying my nightly prayer, I had a most unwelcome visitor. Crunch, crunch, CRUNCH came the deliberate footsteps to my tent (I use a tarp structure so there is no actual floor and about 3 inches of space between the ground). Right next to my tent it stops, and a bear sticks its nose under the tarp and sniffs a couple times. I yell! And scream and beat the ground so hard I tear a gash in my palm! The bear jumps back away from the tent, and circles around me with a wide berth. I then proceed to sing out of the hymn book I have with until my voice is hoarse and lay the rest of the night with my headlamp on, maybe getting about an hour and a half of sleep in total. Terrifying experience. 

Needless to say as soon as daylight arrived I went as fast as I could 10 miles back to High Bridge to catch the 9:00 AM shuttle to Stehekin Landing. Once at the landing, discovered they didn't have batteries for my SteriPEN, so I got on the boat that was leaving for Chelan and here I am.

July 11

Hiked through the park and past Stehekin Landing. Altogether a mostly uneventful day. My new shoes are excellent I did about 25 miles with no issues except for that nagging arch pain coming on late in the afternoon. The one event worth noting is my SteriPEN is on the fritz. Not looking forward to the days ahead of possibly having to boil water to make it safe for drinking. I was just talking to someone about how everything in my pack has a precise and calculated value, and how there is no spare of anything. I guess I'll see how tomorrow goes...

July 10

Woke up well rested from the night in my comfy, quiet hotel bed. Took a third shower in the morning put on clean clothes I washed in the sink the night before and had a nice hot breakfast. Then I spent the morning re supplying myself for the next 123 miles. I found a few food items in the PCT hiker box at the outfitter and left my boots in the box and bought new trail shoes.

By 11:00 I was ready to hitch to the trail. It took a couple hours before someone stopped thinking I was a different hiker, but he took me anyway and a little way up the road we picked up the other hiker as well. I wasn't sure on my drop point, being taken up with making conversation with my ride last night I didn't note exactly which trailhead I came to the road at. So I jumped out at a place I thought was "close enough" then started looking at maps and realized it was about 7 miles from where I needed to be. I walked 2 or 3 and noticed my water situation was starting to become desperate. In a moment of despair I stood on a rock beside the road and stuck out my thumb.

Now here is where it gets weird. I was just wondering about where I to legally camp being that I would enter North Cascades National Park, and I don't have a camping permit. The first car that I saw stopped, and it turns out he is a NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK RANGER! So we talked and it didn't sound like I would get a fine if I camped in the park, but I gave him my word I wouldn't because it's simply the right thing to do. So here I am at almost 1 mile from the park boundary "stealth camping" it and thereby taking a nearo (nearly zero) day. My feet need the rest anyway my arches hurt especially in my right foot, and I didn't want to try to make it all 20 or so miles starting at 2 in the afternoon.

July 9

Hiked out of the horrible depths of the forest this morning. I felt like I was on a different trail. There were no crests, no peaks, no glaciers, just thick shrubs and a roaring stream next to me. I did not feel safe at all given the bear scat piled on the trail every mile or half mile. So glad to climb 1500 ft and be back at elevation with ridges and views for miles. The deep forest is no place to hike alone, it still gives me the creeps.

Found snow covering the trail on cutthroat pass and an older gentleman on a day 1 of a 5 day outing let me come across the snow field and make a safe passage with footholds for him. I guess with age comes experience right?

Then for the highlight of my week. The best bit of trail magic any thru-hiker could ask for. A short conversation about the trail with a couple day hikers turned into a shuttle into town, dinner, and a ride back to my cushy home for the night called the Country Inn of Mazama. 

Sandeep and Cindy Arora thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you did for me today. I will never forget the kindness. Malcolm S. Forbes said “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him."  I believe I saw character today that is of a much higher standard. Thanks again.

July 8

Interesting developments. Hiked about 27 miles today. Bad news first: my bottle of heet punctured and spilled all of its contents meaning my alcohol stove is dead weight for the next couple days. I have the "hiker hunger" so I've been eating more than usual and am down to 6 days food "meager rations" (thanks for that Oregon Trail, '90s kids will understand). Good news: I can hitch hike to Mazama in the morning tomorrow and get a room for the night resupply and head back after a zero day. That does mean tomorrow will be 18 tough miles over two passes, one of which had snow according to some northbound section hikers I ran into. That's all for tonight I need my sleep.

July 7

Woke up this morning to rain.  I slept in for a while and when things cleared up took off down the trail. Again it feels great to be headed south on my way. I was going to stop by a lake I passed on my way north and wash clothes, myself etc., but Mother Nature had other plans. A few cloud bursts all day long some sending a little hail my way, nothing more than small bb pellet size stones though. When I got to woody pass just before rock pass I saw some weather rolling in so I beat it for rock pass to cross the snow fields before anything came through. Made it safely, again with the help of an ice axe and hiking crampons. I stopped by the pretty campsite on the saddle below rock pass and intended to make camp. However, thunder clouds started forming so I headed for the valley below and made camp in the deep woods instead of up in the high country. 

I made 14 PCT miles, started late in the morning and quit early in the day. As soon as these blisters heal I'm going to be able to crush the mileage. It's raining steady, but gently right now and I ran into another hiker on his way to the border that said it might sprinkle a bit tomorrow too. Still not a bad life out here. 

July 6

Hiked to the Northern Terminus today! Felt so good to see Canada and sit in "no man's land" for a few minutes taking pictures and digging through the stash inside monument 78. I found the PCT register, put my name on it, and headed south. Now every step and every mile counts toward my thru-hike. I did 25 miles today, however only 3 of those miles were southbound on the trail.

Rock pass still has quite a bit of snow, and I was glad to have my hiking crampons and ice axe. I'm going to take an easy day tomorrow. There is a lake 3 miles ahead and a real nice campsite just passed rock pass. Probably looking at an 11 mile day being that it is Sunday.

I just went over my food situation and I have about 10 days worth which means I need to average 18.1 MPD in order to reach Skykomish for my re supply. If I'm below this I'll stop in Stehekin and grab a meal there.

It's been a really great adventure so far! 

July 5th

My big mistake from day one has set me back 2 days on my hike after I took a wrong turn and put in some bonus miles. I ended up following a trail that runs parallel with the PCT so compass headings matched up. I check my GPS constantly now as I don't want any more bonus miles. This trail is long enough.

My extracurricular hiking shouldn't be a problem down the trail I just may have to stop in Stehekin and be a day or so late for my package in Skykomish.

I did get to meet 5 sobo hikers as I am now on the correct trail and heading straight for monument 78.  One was a group of two that should be easy to catch up to as they left July 1st and are just now making it back to Harts Pass for the night. The group of three also seemed like I should be able to catch. All in all they seemed like really cool guys and I'm excited to have some other sobo-ers ahead of me.

I've decided to camp early tonight found a really nice camp site. I have a fire going, in my camp shoes and dry clothes, and couldn't be happier. Totally different feeling than last night after retracing my footsteps and hating every minute of it. I barely ate last night, I think mostly from letting myself get dehydrated, but I recognized the symptoms, chugged a liter and a half of water, and went to bed.

I have completely forgiven myself for the mistake and look forward to the hike tomorrow. Sounds like rocky pass ahead of me is covered in snow and ice, but the experience gained in my bonus miles tells me it won't be a problem. 

Day 1 - continued

Travelled to Harts Pass. Amazing views up the switchbacks following just a sliver of a forest service road.  We even had to stop once to avoid a rock the little VW Golf wouldn't clear. A little higher we saw small pebbles tumbling down the cliff face above and decided that was a good section of the road to avoid. After what seemed like too far we finally reached the trail junction. 

Snapped a picture a I took off northbound for Canada via the PCT.

Made a big mistake about a mile and a half later.

Day 1

Leaving at 5 am from Missoula, MT for Harts Pass, WA to start my southbound thru hike of the Pacific Crest Trail.  You can follow my progress on blogger at jordanhikes.blogspot.com

If anyone is interested in sending a care package they will be welcome gifts! A few of my favorite things are cookies, dried fruit, dry soup, cookies, chips, jerky, and cookies. :)

Please contact me before anything is sent so we can make sure I will be around to pick up your cookies.

A little note for the day ahead. The trailhead from harts pass is at mile 2630 and I am hoping to make mile 2646 before dark tonight to set me up for a run to monument 78 at 2660 and the US-Canada border tomorrow. From there i start the sobo hike. This is all providing snow doesn't slow me down... I guess I will find out quick how conditions are.