Hiking Dude Blog

I walked 52120 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 21 miles today.
8/27/17 All morning was hiking up to Devil's Dome crossing over two passes on the way.  Great views of Jack Mountain with glaciers and a pinnacle peak made the climb enjoyable.  The top of the dome was a wonderful rest point.  This will be the last time we're over 5000 feet until we reach the Olympic peninsula. Being off the manicured PCT and back on the PNT was a rude awakening for me, but it's our hike. We plunged 5000 feet down from Devil's Dome to Ross Lake in less than 6 miles, changing from alpine to pine forest to humid, hot dense woods.  We walked a trail along the lake to our camp spot. The trail was very cool in spots when it got closer to the lake. We had a cliff rising beside us, the lake right below us, and the sun beating down on all of it.  It was beautiful but hot. When we got to the campsite we hoped to use, it was full with 8 kayakers but one moved her tent to make room for us.  We went swimming off a dock for our first bath in a week.  After that, we chatted with our new friends.  They had a ton of food and invited us to eat with them.  So, we're now completely full and trying to fall asleep on top of our quilts since it is still stifling hot.  Such a huge change from the last few nights when we had to wear all our clothes to stay warm.

I walked 47034 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 22 miles today.
8/28/17 Long hike around the lake to reach our campsite on the other side which was just about 1 mile away by a straight line. Some beautiful rivers, falls, and bays all along the way.  The forest at this low elevation is so much different than up high.  Big cedars, lots of moss, ferns, and decaying logs make it like what we expect as we approach the coast. Ross Lake Resort had food packages for us so we can hike the next 5 days through the forest and mountains.  The resort is very cool.  It is a collection of cabins floating on the lake.  It was originally the housing for the workers that built the dam that created the lake. Since it was over 95 degrees, we rested there for 3 hours and charged electronics.  They even let us use their WiFi.  We chatted with a very nice lady that had two huge Swiss dogs. In the evening, we completed our hike to the Pumpkin Mountain campsite where we have the place to ourselves.  The big toes on both feet are getting abused a bit from these shoes but nothing serious yet.  My left knee has taken some hits and twists the last few days but still works fine while hiking.

I walked 43340 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 18 miles today.
8/29/17 We hiked from the lake up the Big Beaver Creek valley, over Beaver Pass, and down into Little Beaver Creek valley.  Then, we walked up this valley to our campsite.  All of this was in shaded, damp old growth cedar and pine forest.  Some of the trees were massive and much of our walk felt like dinosaurs should be roaming around. All we saw were some toads and tons of flies and mosquitoes.  We wore our bug pants all day.  We did cross paths with two big groups of backpackers but they didn't stop to talk.  And, we woke a couple in their tent at 2:30 when we walked past.  They thought we were a bear. Since we were in forest all day, there were no mountain views to be had but the smoke in the air would have prevented them anyway. Today was pretty rough for my body.  My left shin started aching and just got worse through the day. I wrapped it while hiking in the afternoon, put it in the icy creek tonight, have it elevated, and took some pain relief.  It is quite swollen in one spot so I'm a bit worried.  Nothing to do but forge ahead at this point.  Also, at the campsite, a sharp stick poked the inside of my left foot above the heel and blood started pouring out - more than I'd expect from a little stick. This was on the way to the creek to soak our legs so that helped stop the bleeding.  When I looked closer, the prick was right into a blood vessel there which is probably why it bled so much. Well, at least we have way too much food!  Two big passes to cross tomorrow so that's lots of up and down.

I finished hiking for today. You can check out my current location on the map and I'll post about my day when I am in coverage.

I finished hiking for today. You can check out my current location on the map and I'll post about my day when I am in coverage.

I walked 52440 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 20 miles today.
8/30/17 We climbed over both Whatcom pass and Hannigan pass today for over a mile of elevation gain again. Terrific mountains and glaciers kept our attention much of the day. We've seen more glaciers here than in Glacier Nat'l Park. My leg continues to give me pain but wrapping it helps. A highlight of the day was riding across a roaring gorge on a self-propelled cable car. We each had to pull it across, climb in, then pull ourself across. Lots of fun but lots of work. We left the North Cascades National Park and are the only tent at a trailhead with about two dozen cars of backpackers on the local trails.

I walked 58370 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 25 miles today.
8/31/17 While set up at Hannigan campground, we got our first rain in such a long time!  It just got our tent wet so a perfect time for it.
From the campground, it was all roadwalk up to the Mt. Baker ski area which took all morning.  There was a small cell service up there so we wasted a little time and I posted a couple blog entries.
We were also surprised when one of the couple hundred cars that zoomed past on their way up the winding mountain road slowed and stopped.  It was Rebecca from the Happy House on Widby Island where we hope to stay in a few days.  She and a friend were on their way to hike the Swift Creek segment.
At the top of the pass, we hooked into the very popular Lake Anne trail which led us to the Swift Creek trail.  Through this area, there are beautiful mountain views everywhere. We had heard of this infamous Swift Creek for a long time - It can be very deep and tough.  After a very long, rough downhill on trail that had recently been well brushed out, we caught up to Rebecca and her friend and then the creek ford.  It was only knee high and pretty fun.
Getting towards the end of day, we needed to find a camp spot.  Baker hotsprings looked interesting and right off the trail so we walked there.  It was pretty gross - sulphur, dirt, beer bottles, and junk.  So, we skipped it and kept walking along our route which was a gravel road until we found a wide spot.  We were low on water so, when Rebecca and her friend drove by having finished their hike, we bummed some from them. We set up our tent and laid some logs in the road to keep cars from getting too close. And that's another day done.

I walked 48230 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 23 miles today.
9/1/17 We started the day with no water having stopped at the first spot we found last night. Less than a quarter mile down the road after we began our hike, there was a nice clear stream so we filled our bottles. As soon as we rounded the next corner, there were two hikers sitting by the road in a very nice camping spot. They were Jetfighter and Caveman whose names we had seen earlier in trail registries.
We leapfrogged a couple times walking down the road as they stopped and then we stopped until we reached the Boulder Creek campground. There we noticed two more people that looked like thru-hikers so we stopped. Sure enough, it was Tickled Pink and Dust Bunny who we were hoping to run into one day soon.
The other two showed up a couple minutes later, so there were 6 PNT Hikers all together - huge from our point of view. We chatted a bit then continued our long roadwalk down from the mountains to civilization. Along the way, the trees became ever more covered in moss. This area receives lots of rain but none this summer.
We later saw Jetfighter and Caveman speeding down the road in the back of a pickup and we assume TP and DB also got a ride. We just kept walking all day until we reached us20 and the KOA campground. We spent a noisy night there but got showers and laundry done. We're now in the flatlands until we tackle the Olympic peninsula.

I walked 55430 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 22 miles today.
9/2/17 The primary PNT route traverses the hills north of the Skagit River valley. They are low hills with clearcuts and logging roads. We chose to head west on the Cascade Trail which is a bike path made from old train route. It isn't an exciting walk but the way was often shaded and we walked past pigs, chickens, goats, horses, geese, buffalo, longhorns cows, and even llamas.
Also, we snacked on awesome blackberries along the way and had internet all day. There was a distinct lack of water sources and I should have carried more. Lunch at McDonald's was a bonus.
We walked an extra 3 miles south of the trail to Mount Vernon because Josh's friends happen to be here this weekend playing an ultimate tournament. My wife flew out today so we're taking a couple days off which will hopefully give my leg a chance to rest and heal. Then, it's on to the ocean.

9/3/17
What a nice day to rest! Josh got to visit with his ultimate team friends while Kelly and I visited old friends in Bellingham. I got to rest my leg most of the day. It's still sore and swollen but it feels a bit better. Tomorrow afternoon we'll be hiking again and see how it goes.