Pacific Crest Trail: Cascade Locks- White Pass

Day 69
2145- 2165 (20.47)

We were out the door by 9 am and crossing the Bridge of the Gods. This may have been one of my favorite trail moments even though we were on a road. The lady at the border check asked us to cross facing oncoming traffic so we crossed he street before making our way onto the bridge. It felt so high because I could look down through the grates that made up the bridge and see the water below me. The wind was howling and I was holding onto all of my stuff tightly as cars drove by closely. I was amazed at how far we had come and couldn't believe we were crossing the bridge into Washington for one last State. The rest of the day I just felt good, proud, accomplished. I know I have a lot more walking to do and I know it's going to hurt but I also believe that it's going to fly by and be over before I know it. We set up camp in a tiny campground with far too many people in it but we squished our tents in on uneven ground and made it work. The other hikers had crossed the Sierras much early than we had so they had all kinds of stories about waking up in 2 feet of snow and waiting out lightning storms.

Day 70
2165-2191 (25.76)

In the dark trees it was harder to get up and moving but we were still on trail pretty fast. Walking in the deep dark wooded forest was a bit creepy and then I was startled by some rustling around in a tree. I stopped and backed away a bit and watched as pined cones and sticks steadily fell from the tree. I stood there alone looking at it until a man, Nana, from camp investigated with me. We were nearly hit by pine cones numerous times and concluded that there were squirrels up in the tree. Feeling silly for being so scared, I continued on and then was restartled by some nearby gunshots. The night before we had joked about the PCT being like the hunger games and the trail makers are up above throwing whatever they can our way. "Bridge of the gods, cue high winds...dark forest, cue squirrels throwing pine cones, cue gunshots, Washington, cue big climbs" as said by Nana. After reaching a water source we realized there wasn't one for another 11 miles and 4,000 ft up so we went for it and made almost a 26 early and with ease.

Day 71
2191-2216 (25.6)

Today we were deemed the "huckleberry twins" by the group of 7 that we have been hiking with the last 3 days. We were the first out of camp and passed by all of them within the first 10 as they all joked about how blue our mouths and fingers had become. We are both pretty low on food and decided that it was worth slowing down to get some extra nutrients and calories. We did so throughout the day and leap frogged with the group all spread out and ended up all in the same camp again. I feel like I've really gotten closer with some of these people and we all laugh and joke around while we make dinner. We all brush our teeth and say goodnight to our little trail family.

Day 72
2216- 2240(24.5)

Fastest 10 miles ever to a barrel full of food. Nana beat me to the barrel and we both joyously grabbed apples, Starbucks frappachinos, chocolate milk and signed in before making our way over to Coppertone. Double trail magic! And much needed. I loaded up with some calories when our old friend Banjo pulled up in the back of someone's truck. I walked with him for a ways and then Marissa and I got into a deep conversation on how to convey what this trip has been like when people ask us how it went. We are already feeling a bit nostalgic and also talked about what we will take away from this trip. Twenty three miles passed quickly and the sun was still high so we continued on until we found an amazing camp overlooking Rainer. It was so beautiful and also very exciting to look at since this is about where I parked my car to begin this adventure a few months ago. I'm amazed at how far we've come and how fast yet long it all feels.

Day 73
2240-2266 (25.6)

The sunrise over Mt. Rainier was one of the coolest views I have seen yet. Unfortunately my phone was not working so that I could take pictures but I just enjoyed it while I walked. Today was the first day that looked like it was really going to rain and we were cold when we stopped to take breaks. By the afternoon we were making a game plan to try to work around the storm. We only felt the slightest misty drizzle on our way into camp and then it stopped. Tomorrow we will be making our way over knifes edge hopefully in the calm of the morning instead of a windy night.

Day 74
2266-2290 (24)

One of my favorite days on trail so far. The morning didn't seem so promising when we slept past the alarm and barely moved by 7 o'clock. It was cold and it was still sprinkling. We finally got out of our shelters and onto the fog covered trail. The trees were gorgeous in the fog and as we made our way over a pass we could see very little to one side but the fog opening up in the valley. We then made our way around a mountainside and could see mt. Adams peeking through the fog and eventually mt. Rainier. We were with Banjo and Echo who we've gotten to know pretty well when we came over the ridge and we all just stood there in amazement. The rest of the day over knife's edge and through the valley was gorgeous. We got a bit wet and very cold in the afternoon but made it to camp with a gap in rain to set up tents and warm up. Just before camp we met a man who supposedly started the AT last February, hiked the whole thing, walked from Maine (end of AT) to Washington to start the PCT southbound and then from Mexico plans to walk east and start the CDT northbound. He also carries a sword and practices ancient European martial arts in trail.