Twig Adventures

August 1st, 2018 Mm 2190.5 to mm 2162 Distance: 28.5 miles It was a great night of sleep, on which we all agreed. It was very quiet, right up until the 0430 alarm. I made oatmeal and took my time sipping coffee, so I was on the trail later at 0545. We had another 28 plus mile day planned, but with such early starts, there’s plenty of time. I shortly caught up to Spatz and then Skybird. She wanted to go slow all day to nurse an inflamed tendon in her foot. I slowed down to chat for awhile but resumed my normal pace after the first creek we came to, Panther Creek. The trail had gone down all morning[…]

July 31st, 2018 Mosquito Creek mm 2219 to mm 2190.5 Distance: 28.5 miles It was very warm overnight, so I didn’t sleep as well. Someone was snoring and then I was disturbed by something walking over my tent. I looked up to see the silhouette of a frog in the moonlight. I love frogs but I didn’t want the noise to continue, so I gave the tent fabric a light flick. The frog got a free flight somewhere else. I woke to Skybird’s alarm at 0430 and went with the flow. On the trail at 0520 and it was still quite dark in the forest, almost a little spooky. At least the mosquitoes weren’t quite awake so early but they[…]

July 30th, 2018 Road23 mm 2229 to Mosquito Creek mm 2219 Distance: 10 miles I didn’t sleep all that well, despite a very comfortable bed, and I woke up with a pretty bad migraine for some reason. It got really hot overnight, so maybe that was why. I got up at 6 am and decided to do a soak in the hot tub that I didn’t get around to the night before. Everyone was up when I got back and Shelly was immediately handing me coffee to help with the headache. What a great mom! We went to the continental breakfast at the inn, which was one of the best. One waffle plus some fruit hit the spot and was[…]

July 29th, 2018 Killen Creek mm 2244.5 to Road 23 mm 2229 Distance: 15.5 miles We were all up very early as usual. I beat my record again of being on trail at 0520! It was nice to enjoy the growing light and cool temperatures. Also, the mossies aren’t as active that early. The trail was going around the flanks of Mt Adams all morning, so there were a lot of little ups and downs, in and outs of the fluted valleys. There were also plentiful streams and views of Adams. I could just see the tops of Rainier and St Helens through the haze. The smoke from wildfires has moved in it seems. It may have been my last[…]

July 28th, 2018 Mm 2271 to Killen Creek mm 2244.5 Distance: 26.5 miles Today was decidedly not the exciting day that the previous day was. I took only 4 pictures and walked the long distance by 4 pm. There was lots of buggy forest and even a flat section that reminded me of the Florida Trail through Ocala. But the day ended well at a waterfall with friends, so it was still a good day. It was a beautiful morning. I woke several times in the night due to the full moon shining on my tent. I kept thinking that it was dawn. It was also so very quiet. The only sound I could hear was a distant stream coming[…]

July 27th, 2018 Ginnette Lake mm 2293 to mm 2271 Distance: 22 miles This was another stunning day with a ton of pictures to sort through. This section of trail is one of the highlights of the whole PCT. Overnight I was woken by a Barred Owl, which I thought at first was a coyote howling. Then I was woken by the sounds of someone packing up at 0430. Wow, my friends wake up early! Since I was awake, I packed up and hit the trail by 0530, my earliest start yet. I covered a lot ground by 9 am and was shortly back in the high country. Once again, green meadows and snow fields dominated the landscape. I stopped[…]

July 26th, 2018 White Pass mm 2295 to Ginnette Lake mm 2293 Distance: 2 miles I had the best of intentions to leave early and hike a full day. I slept well, packed early, ate a lot, and finished all my internet chores. I was heading back to the trail at 10 am just when Spatz came walking in. Skybird was just behind. So I turned around, went back to the store and promptly ordered a pizza to share. I had so badly wanted one the day before but couldn’t eat it by myself. I have been ready for some company once again and didn’t mind delaying at the store for them. About an hour later, Taylor rolled in too.[…]

July 25th, 2018 Dewey Lake mm 2321 to White Pass mm 2295 Distance: 26 miles plus 0.5 miles to store. Today started and ended great but the in between sucked, literally. It was a beautiful morning at the lake and the bugs were barely out. I was entertained by a gray jay picking around my tent during breakfast. I hit the trail at 0645 and enjoyed a nice climb out of the valley, with occasional views of the volcanoes. I was on my 8th day straight of walking solo and thinking about how silent I could be in order to see a bear. Then just as I rounded a corner and popped into a meadow, I was less than 30[…]

July 24th, 2018 Urich Cabin mm 2347 to Dewey Lake mm 2321 Distance: 26 miles Today was fun and interesting. First I woke just before 5 am to go outside to pee, then back up to the bunk to lay in bed for about 20 minutes. When I came back down to get breakfast started, about 30 elk had filed into the meadow. All in the short time since I had gone outside the first time. It was great watching them through the window while I drank coffee. Also while I was lounging in bed, I shifted funny and tweaked my hip. There was now a sharp pain with each step and I wondered if I had just put my[…]

July 23rd, 2018 CS2371 to Urich Cabin mm 2347 Distance: 24 miles Today was a pretty all-around good day. Plus, I have now surpassed my personal best in distance hiked on one of the 3 long trails in the US. I have done the first 270 miles of the Appalachian Trail and 300 miles of the Continental Divide Trail (via the segment that is shared by the Colorado Trail). On this day, I made it to 306 miles, plus the 30 I hiked north to get to the border. Not bad in 18 days. I started off at 0645 and saw the first couple going north at the nearby spring. They must have got a pretty early start. I had[…]