Month: July 2018

July 9th, 2018 Jim Pass mm 2630 to Harts Pass mm 2622 Distance: 8 m I slept in, by my standards. I had woken just as it was getting light then fell back asleep until 6 am. I was on the trail by 7:15, just in time to hike with Arrow. Taylor caught up to us shortly after. The rest of the trail was a scenic traverse back to Hart’s Pass. We got there around 10:30 am and settled into the vortex that is Broken Toe’s trail magic encampment. He immediately started offering tea and crepes and eggs…all so tempting but I also needed to hitch a ride into Mazama to buy a new water filter. I settled on some[…]

July 8th, 2018 Castle Pass mm 2648.3 to Jim Pass mm 2627.6 Distance: 18.9 m It was a very cold night, as I predicted. There was in fact ice on my tent, both on the outside and inside from all the condensation. It was tough to get going but I could tell it was going to be a perfect day weatherwise. Arrow, Taylor and I all packed up at the same time and began hiking together at 7 am. I was enjoying talking to Taylor, who is a lawyer-auditor living in Utah but from WA State. He was a great resource for local information and could talk about any subject (his name would later become News-Feed because of his love[…]

July 7th, 2018 Mm 2633 to the Canadian Border mm 2652.5 and back to Castle Pass mm 2648.3 Distance: 23.2 m It rained lightly all night, which is great for sleeping. But it took me a long time to warm up. The rain had really chilled me to the bone and the elevation was just shy of 6,000 feet. My quilt did keep me warm but I also slept with all my layers on. I woke at 5 am just as it was getting light and was on the trail by 6:15 am. I had 6 miles to go to Rocks Pass…the most challenging section in terms of encountering snow, and 19.5 miles to the border. Might as well get[…]

July 6th, 2018 Harts Pass mm 2622 to mm 2633 Distance: 11 m I was awake early despite a somewhat late night, but I slept well and felt ready to go. Jon arrived around 8 am and we were off for the long drive to Hart’s Pass and the trailhead. It went by quickly, with fantastic views of the mountains along the way. We saw a few backpackers on HWY 20 but they were hitching the other way. We stopped in the tiny town of Mazama to check out the well provisioned general store and outfitter. There I saw a thru-hiker looking like he needed a ride up to the pass, so we offered one. Ratchet is on his 2nd[…]

July 4th, 2018 First off, I want to note that connectivity has been spoty and I am going to have to post some blogs with few or no pictures. Who knew internet would be worse in the US than New Zealand! I will update these first posts when and where I can (I’m in Stehekin, WA now). The theme of my Te Araroa thru-hike was serendipity. It’s such a beautiful thing to experience even once in a lifetime but it became a common occurance on the trail. I was blessed with the rewards of careful and long thought-out planning but also a lot of luck. Everything came together so perfectly, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience for my[…]