Twig Adventures

July 14th, 2018 Mm 2543 to Mica Lake mm 2521 Distance: 22 miles It was another stunning day in the Cascades. This area has such raw, rugged beauty, it rivals all other places I have hiked. Today I did a whopping 8437 feet of ascent and 5794 of descent! It was huge day but the scenary gave me the energy to keep going. We were rewarded with an overnight at the frozen beauty Mica lake. It was the best day yet! I woke up at 5 am and was on trail by 0615 am so that I could catch up with the 5 ahead of me. Sure enough, two were still at the campsite and another two I met taking[…]

July 13th, 2018 Swamp Creek mm 2564 to mm 2543 Distance: 21 miles There were lots of interesting wildlife encounters today, plus a few really exciting events that involved things flying overhead. First, I nearly stumbled into a deer when I got out of my tent. I had to go to the bathroom and she followed me. As soon as I was done, she went to the spot and started licking. Gross. I guess they like the salt in our pee. I was on the trail by 7 am and it was a steady climb for 12 miles. I was listening to some music and suddenly heard a roar coming from behind. I looked up just in time to see[…]

July 12th, 2018 High Bridge Mm 2572 to Swamp Creek mm 2564 Distance: 8 miles The town vortex exerted its pull but I was able to escape it in the end. I woke plenty early because I still had lots of chores to do. First I wanted to hand wash some clothes and give them time to dry. I camped right near the bathroom, which had a nice sink. The campsites require a permit but are free for up to a week (I think). This is surprising, given such nice facilities and in a resort town, to boot. The scenery around the lake reminded me of the lakes in NZ. I would say it’s definitely worth a visit and if[…]

July 11th, 2018 Mm 2595 to High Bridge mm 2572 Distance: 23 miles It was almost all downhill on this day, which wreaked havoc on my feet. I’d say it was probably one of the worst hiking days ever, in terms pain and suffering. But the reward was the first official town stop. We wanted to catch the 6 pm bus to town so we were off pretty early and kept a steady pace all day. We took advantage of the nice toilets at Rainy Pass. Then the trail paralleled the highway for about 1 mile before diving back into the woods. There were some cool log bridges to cross. We stopped at a big stream for lunch and I[…]

July 10th, 2018 Harts Pass mm 2622 to mm 2595 Distance: 27 miles Today was a good day for a marathon. I had taken it easy the day before, I got an early start, and it was cold and cloudy all day, prompting me to keep moving just to stay warm. It was drizzling when I began packing at 5 am and didn’t let up until about 8 am. It was also foggy. I was on the trail by 6 am, despite the rain. With the umbrella, I don’t mind as much having to set out in the rain. A gradual climb warmed me up, but still I left my rain jacket and skirt on well into the afternoon. Actually,[…]

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[…]