Washington is the prettiest!

The feeling of beginning the final state was crazy! Knowing that the only thing that separated me from Canada was a mere 500 miles was exciting, nerve wracking, and also kind of sad. I found myself getting anxious about finishing, but let's not get into that yet and instead focus on the enthusiasm of being so close to finishing! I was so stoked that I could essentially feel how close the end was!

My first day in Washington began with the big climb out of Cascade Locks! The climb rewarded me with amazing views of Mount Adams, Mount Saint Helen's and the Columbia River! The rest of the day I moseyed through the forest and enjoyed the scenery. I did some hiking at dusk with the help of my headlight to try and get more miles in, and eventually called it quits when I found a flat spot to rest my head (night hiking alone gets creepy real quick).

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The next day I met a hiker named Dingo, and we leapfrogged all morning. The takeaway from this nuance of my day was that I learned from Dingo that if I want a working holiday visa in Australia or New Zealand I have to apply by 30.. so there's that, and don't worry I'll obviously be looking into this asap as 30 is far closer then I like to admit.I then unexpectedly had lunch with the hiker who helped Casey and I get up Forrester Pass, Slim Jim! It was really neat running in to him again, and we had a nice time catching up! At my last water source for the day I ran in to a south-bounder who informed me that there was trail magic 2 miles ahead at the campsite! Naturally this put a pep in my step and I hustled to ensure I didn't miss any trail magic! I got to the campsite and was greeted by Fun Hog, who had drinks, cheese, chocolate, and frosting! A great end to the day!

The following morning, Fun Hog greeted us with songs and set the tone for a good day! Clinic and I were leapfrogging all morning, and then shared lunch at the top of a climb. Trail magic kept following Clinic, and he shared in the chocolate and snacks he got from some section hikers. After lunch, Clinic and I were hiking together and chatting, and as we got to a road crossing we stumbled upon more trail magic! Just as two women from Portland were about to leave for the day, they saw us walking up and they dumped the remainder of their fruit, chips, and soda on us! We chilled and ate our snacks for a bit, before dragging ourselves away from the shade. Hiking on, we eventually got to a water source where we met Poppy. Poppy and I then hiked to the campsite at Trout Lake Creek talking all things ecology! At camp we met No Skip and a group of section hikers, one of whom asked if he could sketch all of us, so needless to say that was the evening's entertainment. Oh, and here's an update of how gross my feet were getting.. so.much.tape!

The next morning, Clinic, Poppy, No Skip and I teamed up to get a ride into Trout Lake together, and this began my early mornings in Washington (5:30 wake up calls). After a few miles we paused to call trail angels and coordinate a ride for when we got to the road. So after arranging a ride with Debbie, we carried on to the road and were met by the infamous Coppertone! I had been hearing about Coppertone for months, as he is known for following the herd and posting up making root beer floats for hikers. I thought I wasn't ever going to be so lucky as to meet Coppertone, but today was my day! I indulged in a root beer float and was so excited, but was more impressed by his cream soda floats .. try it! Then was a ride in to town where I had the most efficient resupply ever! We got our packages, packed our bags, went for breakfast, which concluded with a peanut butter huckleberry milkshake, and then were already back to the trail before noon! (Note, two things of ice cream before 12:00, be proud ma!) We scooped up Shifu at the trail head, and then the five of us hiked on into a burn area. As we were hiking we rounded a corner and got our first views of the insanely beautiful Mount Rainier! We naturally took a break here to soak in her beauty. Ebbing and flowing all afternoon, we eventually called it quits earlier than expected at what was a perfect spot to watch the sun set over Mount Adams and we couldn't resist! The boys made a campfire, and we all ate dinner and had good conversation! 

The next day was easily one of my absolute favorite days on trail because I saw a bear AND did my longest day! Despite waking up and having quite a bit of foot pain giving me a slow start, the boys waited for me and we hiked as a group for a while. We played tunes to get us prepped for Whites Pass, trying to see what songs would naturally win over the locals we were oh so excited to meet at the Kracker Barrel. As Poppy and I were walking and chatting, we see No Skip and Clinic stopped on the trail up ahead and they motion for us to be quiet... I knew instantly why they were shushing us! A black bear was wandering about the forest, eating and observing us and it was absolutely incredible to watch! I'd been desperate to see a bear since beginning the trail, and had become convinced that maybe this wasn't in the cards for me, but finally seeing one I knew I would be able to leave the trail extremely contented. We watched the bear frolic about until it was no longer in view, and then it was time to hike on. During lunch Sour Rip rolled through, and I hadn't seen her in a few weeks and was really excited to see her again! She and I carried on together after lunch and caught up on the weeks that had passed. Eventually we got to what would have been my 28th mile of the day, and the section hiker crew from the Trout Lake Creek campsite were there and informed me that Poppy had challenged me to go 4 more miles to finally do a 30+ mile day.. Not being able to say no to that, I pressed on with Sour Rip and we had a really beautiful walk up Cispus Pass. As we came down the pass, we saw the tents all set up around Cispus River and the sun was just starting to set over Mount Rainier, and there were even goats up in the valley to welcome us to Goat Rock Wilderness. A perfect end to my longest day :-)

The next morning was to be the much talked about Knife's Edge, which I had no idea about until two days prior. Sometimes I amazed myself with my lack of knowledge about what I would see on the trail, at least compared to others who knew every step of what we were going to be experiencing because they actually did extensive research about the trail, unlike myself. That said, being surprised, and in this case truly in awe, of what I was to see was kind of amazing as no pictures could have prepped me for how incredible Knife's Edge really was. (Needless to say, the pictures I'll include below don't do this scenery justice, but instead it comes hiiiiiighly recommended to see for yourself.) On the hike up to Knife's Edge you are also greeted by views of all three volcanoes, Adams, Saint Helen's, and Rainier and that was incredible to get all three in perfect view at once. Then comes the walk along Knife's Edge, which was unbelievably windy, pretty damn cold, and very narrow. The wind was so unbelievably strong that it really was a struggle to stay walking straight at times, and there wasn't a lot of room for error. Buttttttt the viewsssssss!!!! It was so incredible and the clouds were insane! Lenticular clouds were forming over Rainier and I'll never forget how incredibly beautiful that was, despite the fact that it did look like aliens might come out of the sky at any given moment. After the craziness of this part of the trail, we were then treated to a foggy walk along another ridgeline only a few miles before White Pass. We got to the Kracker Barrel in White Pass, only to learn that it is not nearly as thriving of a hillbilly community as we had hoped it would be, and instead resigned ourselves to drinks and a swim in the pool and family dinner before passing out in the hotel for the night. 

The next day was one of lingering at the hotel until the last possible minute, complete with laundry and eating at least half a box of Cocoa Krispies... my hunger came back in Washington to the same degree it was in the Sierras, if not worse honestly. Hiking out with a cider in tow made the return to trail really lovely, and we still crushed 17 miles with a noon start! The day concluded with a ridge walk, crazy good views, and a beautiful setting sun over the tree line. We also camped down in a meadow this night and it was a cozy spot to call home.

The next morning was one of my favorite sunrises I witnessed on trail, as I said I was finally getting up around 5:30 every day in Washington and this really made for beautiful, quiet mornings that I enjoyed thoroughly. Feeling inspired by the beautiful sunrise, I took off and was then struck by the views of Rainier that followed me all morning. We meandered by Dewey Lake and then made our way to Chinook Pass, at which point I demanded we take lunch at the nearby Sheep Lake because I was starving this day andddd I wanted a swim. The boys humored me, stopping earlier then we typically did, and I got my swim in (only after falsely being told that the water was warm...). Post lunch was one of those moments where it felt like you were only going down to go back up again, but after another climb we had yet another impeccable view of Rainier, with coincidentally great cell service, and I was able to FaceTime mom and dad and share in the sights with them and that was neat! This evening had promises of a clear sky and Poppy was eager to get a cool night photo of the tents! So after Shifu taught Poppy how to take a night photo he waited for it to get properly dark, and then he snapped some awesome pictures of both of our tents, thanks Poppy!

We all woke up to the sound of mountain lions this morning, which is always eerie and unsettling, but kiiiiinda cool when it's over and you realize you're not going to die! But, I also woke up feeling really weak and sick, as I think I'd been warding off a cold for a few weeks honestly. Poppy happened to have insanely spicy soup meant for his lunch that day, but he offered it up to me saying it'll flush the sick out of my system in no time. I traded my lunch for his, and sure enough he was right! I felt better so quickly and got in 10 miles just after 10:00, always a good feeling! This day was particularly forested, and made for pleasant shaded walking. A cluster of hikers was definitely forming these days, and so getting out of the thick of it a bit, we hiked an extra mile and a half up to an abandoned forest road and posted up for the night.

Another early morning ensued, as we were motivated to get to Snoqualmie this day, and 28 miles is what separated me from a hot toddy, and let's just say that was an extremely motivating thought! We had a climb straight away, with what turned out to be the final views of Rainier at the top. I met Poppy at a road crossing, and we sat and dreamed of trail magic arriving in the form of food and/or a ride the rest of the way in to Snoqualmie, but when neither showed up we carried on. After lunch, the afternoon seemed to drag, as most days that end in town do because the anticipation is so high that it feels like it takes forever! Unfortunately, as well, it started raining, and everything was slippery and I found myself getting really frustrated. Trudging on, I eventually saw the ski lifts of Snoqualmie and got so excited! I got to town and immediately got free wine (free town drinks are the best!) and at dinner Casey's and my friend from way long ago in the desert, Richard, came by for a drink to say hi as he'd gotten off trail after the Sierras. Reuniting with hikers you haven't seen in a while is always fun! We then concluded the night hot tubbing and that felt good on allllll my achy joints!

We woke up the next morning and vowed to not walk in the rain. With our whole crew ahead of schedule, we didn't see the need to venture back to the trail in a rainstorm, but similarly we didn't want to get stuck at the inn indefinitely either. Conveniently, we were able to score a ride in to Seattle, where Poppy then got us all a place to stay with one of his colleagues. I was excited to be in Seattle, and glad that eating was a central focus of the day as well. First was a trip to the Asian market, where I stocked up on some essentials and fruit! Then a trip to REI, which is always a real tease, and then off to Dennis'. Dennis took us to a Thai restaurant and I had avocado curry... mind blown! It was a nice evening of chatting and enjoying the sights and sounds of one of my favorite cities.  

The next day I was so excited to be waking up in a house and not in the rain! The guys let me choose where we got breakfast, and that might have been an unwise decision on their part because I chose a vegan cafe, but all was well and we had a good laugh over the whole thing. Freshly showered, we all ventured off to do some touristy things since Shifu and Clinic had never been to Seattle. A visit to the space needle and Pike's Place Market were naturally the two highlights. After lunch we arranged a ride back to Snoqualmie with a trail angel, and Marina got us back to the inn in the early afternoon. Not feeling motivated to hike out, and the skies still not looking promising, I stayed at the inn a final night, and again indulged in the hot tub knowing full well I had to hike out the next morning, whether I wanted to or not. 

This crew that I hiked with for about 10 days formed so randomly and organically, and sometimes the trail provides in unspoken ways such as this. The best part about the 'trail providing' is that it always happens when you need it most, and I was hesitant hiking out of Cascade Locks not having any crew really, but then the next day one formed. We were a great tramily, and I loved every minute with these guys. It's weird how people ebb and flow out here, but sometimes you find other hikers that you simply click with, and that's a really great thing. These guys wound up being very important to me by the end of the trail, and I was excited to have shared this part of my journey with them, as they kept me laughing mile after mile and continued to motivate me on some of the hardest days I had. So thank you Poppy, Clinic, Shifu, and No Skip for being such an integral part of my solo trek!