Today I finished my thru hike. I was at the monument at 0850 and took a few pictures before heading on towards Manning Park. I started early at 0516 because I was really anxious to be done and about getting from Manning Park to Vancouver. A bit of snow in the early morning I had a bit of climbing to do initially before starting a long downhill towards the border and the monument....
Last full day on trail and it ends up being my longest distance wise. The sun is starting to shine on the nearby mountains I actually slept really well next to the toilets and the highway and started hiking at 0530. Initially the trail climbed and periodically had good views. Early day selife So many pretty mountains on this trail At a certain point it descended in to a big valley and the climb out of there was pretty tough....
Today I did the last resupply of the trail in Stehekin. I still managed to hike almost 30 miles as well which was good. Another beautiful lake near the trail I started just a bit earlier than usual at 0525 even with filtering water because I wanted to make sure I made the 0915 shuttle to Stehekin. I did make the shuttle together with Fireproof and quite a few southbounders. The hiking was not too interesting....
Today my goal was to get close enough to Stehekin to catch the first shuttle. This meant stopping quite late. Dramatic clouds early in the day I had setup my tarp last night so I got a late start at 0544. The day started with a climb followed by quite a lot of snow walking. Quite a lot of snow walking this day, this was just before the top of the first climb in the early morning light I did not initially hike in mist or clouds but several times during the day I had to....
Today I started by hiking in mist and ended by hiking in mist. Luckily it did clear for most of the day and I had some amazing views. I started hiking at 0529 after packing up my slightly damp stuff. Everywhere I looked all I could see was mist/cloud. This day was initially very misty/cloudy More clouds These conditions made for nice cold hiking for most of the day. Though in some areas the trees were so wet it rained from them....
Today I resupplied at Steven’s Pass which I managed to reach before they closed. I started at 0535 after packing up with a few of my mosquito friends. I am starting to really enjoy my earlier starts as the lighting is really beautiful. In the morning I passed a lot of tents. Quite early in the morning I had to cross a pretty strong creek where i had to get my feet wet....
Today was mostly good but it ended which such horrible mosquitos that it is difficult to remember the good parts. I awoke before my alarm at the Summit Inn and got up to have a shower and pack everything. I also ate the breakfast I had bought the day before. After this I checked out and headed back to the trail. The trail today had 2 big climbs and was generally more rocky and rough than what I have become used to....
Today I made it to Snoqualmie Pass which is roughly the midpoint of Washington. The day was pretty tough mostly because of humidity and heat. I started early today at 0511 since I wanted to spend the night in Snoqualmie Pass and get some value out of my room. Also in the morning it seemed like the mosquitos reappeared a bit. Forests everywhere Mostly I spend the day hiking in forests with the occasional view....
Today was a longer day than I particularly wanted because at the time I wanted to camp there were no good campsites. I did not have issues with mosquitos today which was really nice. Early morning beauty Sun just peeking out I started earlier than usual at 0532 because another hiker started packing and I could not get back to sleep. One advantage of the early start is that I get to enjoy the beautiful morning colors and cool temperatures....
Today was a kinda mixed day. It started really great with the Knife’s Edge where I had amazing views and interesting trail. Later the trail went in to forest and even a few mosquito infested sections. I love the early morning colors Cool rock wall demonstrating some of the work that goes into maintaining a trail I started a bit earlier than usual at 0538 since I wanted to get to White Pass as close to lunch as possible....