Twig Adventures

Breaking Rank by Breaking the Line (Flip-Flop Flilosophy) Everyone knows that a thru-hike is done by following a long trail continuously from end to end, and that there could be no other way, right? (Those most stuck in this mindset might also insist that northbound is the only possible direction…’NOBO or NOGOs’ may want to just stop reading here since the PNT is an east-west trail, which might be too mind-blowing:) Admittedly, a continuous line is usually the most logistically-easy and strategic plan, but also the most instinctual and traditional. Such journeys have their roots in religious pilgrimages, where the whole point is walking an unbroken path to arrive a place of significance, hopefully finding enlightenment along the way. A[…]

The PNT was a real joy when it came to Trail Angels and Trail Magic. There’s a pretty amazing network of people dedicated to supporting the trail and hikers. The trail towns are generally small and quaint, with many businesses striking a nice balance between providing for-profit services and being generously giving of their time and amenities. As such, many of the examples I’ve listed below came from kind proprietors and organizations, not just individual Trail Angels. I wanted to recognize these many instances of kindness and support, and also hopefully urge future hikers to patronize the hiker-friendly businesses and organizations. My apologies if I neglected to mention something or someone. I do my very best to list EVERYTHING, even[…]

My intention for this post is to help future PNT hikers in answering the age-old question: Which way should I go? I’m not saying that anyone has to follow my advice, just explaining why I chose certain options and what I thought of them at the time. Though, there are a few routes that I STRONGLY encourage, either for the wow-factor or to hopefully save a hiker some misery. The PNT is full of ‘alternates,’ so it’s very much a choose-your-own-adventure type trail, similar to the CDT. Recalling that the official trail is depicted as a red line on the Far Out app, alternate routes are usually drawn as a blue line, but sometimes other colors such as purple or[…]

After having several months to reminisce and go through my daily blogs, I have only warm and fuzzy memories of this hike. Was it my absolute favorite? Well…it seems like every trail becomes my new favorite but it certainly ranks high. Like most long distance trails I’ve done, there were some really incredible days, many that were uneventful and quiet yet still enjoyable, and only a few that weren’t so great. I’m pretty happy walking just about anywhere, so you may want to take my overall impressions with a grain of salt. Certainly some hikers do not enjoy the PNT, mostly I think because of the road walking, bushwhacks, and rough trails. Yet these can also be some of the[…]

Monday, August 29th, 2022, 0615-1330Chilean Memorial to Cape Alava, then to Ozette via connector trail, WEBO mm 1248.2, Section 10 Olympic Coast16.6 plus 3.3 miles, Gain 890′, Loss 870′, elevation 0′ Another perfect night on the beach and this day we awoke to clear blue skies, not even a hint of fog. I must admit, aside from a kinda wet start (which I didn’t even mind), I’d been blessed with nearly perfect weather the whole route. While the trail might have been punishing at times, at least I didn’t have the complicating factor of punishing weather to deal with. I packed quickly but was second to last out of camp. I found everyone just ahead, slowly beginning the day’s routine[…]

Sunday, August 28th, 2022, 0615-1900Hoh River/Diamond Rock to Chilean Memorial, WEBO mm 1231.6, Section 10 Olympic Coast23 miles, Gain 2460′, Loss 2450′, elevation 15′ What an amazing night on the beach! I slept so soundly to the rhythm of the surf…the most perfect white noise machine ever made. Also, my concern over excessive condensation proved untrue. I couldn’t believe it when I woke to a mostly dry tent. I don’t recall ever having a dry tent when pitched fully exposed on a marine beach. It’s just not supposed to happen and especially not in the PNW. And as far as I could tell, no critters came by to raid my food. It’s funny that the Everglades NP raccoons are so[…]

Saturday, August 27th, 2022, 1035-1900Bogachiel State Park to Diamond Rock–Pacific Ocean, WEBO mm 1208.6, Section10 Olympic Coast24.3 miles, Gain 2050′, Loss 2290′, elevation 2′ It was a boring day of walking connector roads but at least it ended spectacularly. As such, I wasn’t in a hurry to leave the hotel room in the morning. It would have liked to spend a whole day, or at least until checkout, if it weren’t for the 24 miles that needed to be walked. I had to be at the mouth of the Hoh River in order to make a low tide passage early the next morning. Tides dictate everything along the beach section of the PNT. I’d known this beforehand and was looking[…]

Friday, August 26th, 2022, 0635-1600Hyak Shelter to Bogachiel State Park, then into Forks, WEBO mm 1184, Section 9 Olympic Mountains23.3 miles, Gain 1770′, Loss 2900′, elevation 240′ I set up in the dark the night before and then packed in the dark the next morning…the hot springs dude would have been so impressed. This was, of course, my daily routine as a repeat southbounder of so many trails, especially as it got to be close to November. Since I was only 4 days away from finishing this hike, I wouldn’t have to deal with the short days much longer. The fresh scent of red cedar persisted all morning. A trail crew had been slicing a gigantic fallen tree into thin[…]

Thursday, August 25th, 2022, 0640-2010Olympic Hot Springs to Hyak Shelter, WEBO mm 1161.1, Segment 9 Olympic Mountains28 miles, Gain 7730′, Loss 8170′, elevation 1370′ I didn’t pay attention to the elevation totals for this day, since I left it up in the air as to where I was going to stop and also because I took an alternate route that wasn’t on FarOut. Calculating later and realizing the big numbers, no wonder it was such slow going. The PNT was full of 6, 7, and even 8 thousand foot days, so this was nothing new. Still, it was a long day…but beautiful! I also took some long breaks at the lakes along the way, which were very refreshing. I contemplated[…]