Day 76 – Trail Drama

I have become a venue for the mouse olympics. In a previous section I was used as a kind of climbing wall. Last night I was a vault. Mice would run up to me, jump, and at the last second, twist and launch themselves in the opposite direction. It was not unlike swimmers making the turn at the wall.

I was powerless to stop it because mostly I was asleep. I would hear them coming, but wake too late to prevent it. What are they doing!? I still don’t know. I was aware of this happening at least three times. How many times it happened while I slept is a mystery I do not care to know.

Last climb before Stehekin

It did not rain as I had expected. This should have made my exit from camp quicker, but it was so dark in my forest camp, that it took a long time to find anything, let alone do anything. I am out of camp by 6 am. The first thing is a 3700 ft climb away from the Suiattle River. In the afternoon I will start making the long descent to my last Washington trail village – Stehekin

The trail up ahead is beautiful. There are many small tributaries to cross. This bridge is made from a single log with side rails added.

Why do I like this? I have no idea. It kind of looks like a forest version of an Easter Island statue.

The trail goes up and up.

This little feller gives me something nice to look at for just a moment – then is back to the grind.

As I near the top, I can see Glacier Peak again, maybe for the last time.

Trouble

At the top, I meet an old acquaintance. But this story is going to require some background. Last night as I approached camp, I passed an older man like myself. I chatted him up to where he mentioned that his wife had hiked on ahead. She was “full of energy.” I asked where they were going for the night. He said some name that had the word “Miners” in it. Anyway, it was not where I was going. I went on ahead and set up camp. He walked by several minutes later.

As I settled down to dinner, a woman came into camp from the opposite direction. “Have you seen my husband? He has a rust-colored pack.” I replied that I had seen him and that he had gone by about an hour ago. He was heading in your direction and going to meet you at Miners Creek. “Shit!” she said. “He must have walked right by me. I stopped at a campsite half a mile before Miners Creek. Thank you.” And that was the last I heard of it.

Now, today, on top of the ridge I see her again. She is eating blueberries from the bushes beside the trail. Her name is Nadine. I ask her if she found her husband last night. “No,” she said. “I hiked until 10:30 and never found him. He had the tent, so I had put my sleeping bag on the ground over my rain gear and sleep just like that.” That didn’t sound good!

I am faster than her so I volunteer to go ahead and look for him. If I find him, I will tell him to come back to her. She thanks me and I go on. I am actually pretty excited about the prospect of uniting these two, so I race ahead. Her husband’s name is Huck (short for Huckleberry.)

I stop a hiker coming my way to ask him if he has seen the man with the rust-colored pack. He says no, but he did see a handwritten message attached to a wooden camp sign that read, “If you have a Garmin, please text my wife at this number and tell her that I am waiting for her at this camp.” That must be him! I instruct the man to continue up the trail and tell Nadine what he just told me. That will at least put her mind to rest. I race on ahead.

100

The views are nice here.

I pass a trail sign. It has one VERY significant piece of information on it, although not related to Nadine and Huck. The number “100.” Only if you are a PCT hiker will you know that 100 means 100 miles to Canada!

As odd as this may sound, I am tired of the Northwest and of going north. I mean, it has been a magnificent journey here, but I am ready for it to be over. I want to go back to California. I want to go south through the Sierra. I want to go to the Southern California desert. I want to get to Canada NOW so all this can happen.

I pop out onto a rocky bowl. A marmot is making his presence known from across the expanse.

Reunion

I go down through the rocky valley. It reminds me of Northern California, but the trail is smoother. Water is pouring into this rocky area and forming a creek that I will follow all the way to camp. As I climb out of these rocks to the forested ridge on the other side, I meet Huck

He is standing by his written message about the Garmin and his wife. I say, “Let me get a photo of you before your wife gets ahold of you. You might not look too good after that.” He asks if I have really seen his wife. I say yes, and that she was a mile behind me. He tells me that last night he thought his wife had gone on ahead and that if he just kept hiking, he would eventually find her. He hiked until 12:45 in the morning!!!

I ask him if he or his wife had ever hiked at night before. He says no. I do not question him further about his logic. I tell him that I intend to wait here until she arrives because I want to witness the fireworks. He says, “Oh, we are not like that. We have only been married six years.” I reminded him that most failed marriages last six years. He laughs nervously. Huck goes down the path to his camp.

Nadine rolls up. She is blowing her whistle and saying Huck’s name. I tell her that Huck was pretty upset about her running off on him and that he had hiked late to try to find her. (I am trying to increase the drama, of course.) She asks where he is. I point down the trail. She heads down the trail signing some song about “my love.” Hoo Boy. Huck starts blowing his whistle as if to accompany her. This is like right out of a Hallmark movie. They hug. Huck gets all teary-eyed. No one is mad. No one is hurt. They are two love birds that never doubted or questioned each other’s actions or motives. After snapping a few pictures, I leave because I want to remember them like that.

Well, might as well have lunch. It’s another delicious tuna burrito smothered in mayonnaise. Add some M&Ms, Cheetos, cherry candy, gummy bears, and Cheezits. Yum.

Moving Target

Not long after that I meet a new hiking partner. His name is Moving Target. I have heard about him because he is close to my age and is flipping from Northern California, too. He is from Illinois and owns an auto repair business there. Here is MT crossing a log across a creek.

The views are nice too.

Here we are in camp. Hornet, a young man who was hiking with Moving Target is also here. Hornet is from Seattle.

We have a plan for reaching the first Stehekin bus in the morning. We have to leave by 5:30 in order to catch the bus at 9:30. We are all excited to start this last section of Washington trail. What a day though! So much fun!

• August 16
• Starting mile: 2544
• Ending mile: 2564
• Daily PCT miles: 20
• Total PCT miles: 1192
• Animals: love birds