Huckleberries and blueberries (red)
Border (and PCT trailmarker)!
Knee-deep snow (okay, he's standing in ankle-deep snow, but it was knee-deep in other places)
Sleeping with lots of snow
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Washington Pictures
Here are some of Vince's pictures from Washington and Canada. Enjoy!
Huckleberries and blueberries (red)
Border (and PCT trailmarker)!
Knee-deep snow (okay, he's standing in ankle-deep snow, but it was knee-deep in other places)
Sleeping with lots of snow
Huckleberries and blueberries (red)
Border (and PCT trailmarker)!Knee-deep snow (okay, he's standing in ankle-deep snow, but it was knee-deep in other places)Sleeping with lots of snow
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Oh Canada!
Canadian Border! It ended up taking me exactly 5 months to hike 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada, and what an amazing adventure it was! I ended the trip in quite a memorable and dramatic way: hiking through an early season snow storm in the northern Cascades. For the last 100 miles of my journey the temperature never rose above freezing, even during the middle of the day, and my bottle of olive oil remained in solid form the entire time. When I left Stehekin is was raining lightly, and that night the rain froze on my tent. I ended up hiking with 3 other people for the last week, and we ended up camping only a few hundred feet below the snow line. The following day I hiked through 4 inches of snow and had an absolute blast, although running shoes didn't do the best job of keeping the feet warm and dry . . .
A few nights later we basically had to stay awake all night long while camping, knocking the snow off our tents every 20 minutes or so. We all had tarp tents, which utilize a hiking pole as the only tent pole. Needless to say, not meant for snow storms! By morning we found ourselves in a winter wonderland. A few people that I was hiking with didn't have much experience with the snow, and it was great to see how excited they were to play around. While it was ridiculously cold, we all kept in excellent spirits, despite the frozen toes and fingers. As we climbed up a bit in elevation the snow kept getting deeper and deeper, and we ended up having to hike through knee-deep snow for quite a few miles. And all in running shoes! That day none of us sat down even once as it was too chilly to stop, and my lunch consisted entirely of snickers bars. I hope its years before I have to eat another Snickers bar!!! That night I had to deal with some minor frostbite on my toes - felt like pins and needles all night long as they thawed out in my sleeping bag. In the morning I had to bang the insoles to my shoes on a tree to get the ice off of them, and I could barely tie my shoes as the laces were frozen solid. Apparently the same storm dumped more snow a little further south. Hikers just a week or two behind me had to turn around and abruptly end their trip as they encountered chest deep snow and no sign of the trail. I had originally planned on finishing a week or two later than I did - I'm definitely glad that I put in so many 30+ mile days near the end of my trip.
The last day we had only a few miles to go to get to the Canadian border. When we arrived there was seemingly non-stop hooting and hollering, of course complete with drinking celebratory beers (at 9 am!) that some generous people had left there for such an occasion. It was fantastic to have completed the journey that I started 5 months ago, so so so long ago. I feel very lucky to have finished, and it was great to spend time at the border with my friends Monologue, Shadow, and O'dark.
From the border we hiked 8 miles to Manning Provincial Park in Canada, where I happily reunited with Monica and her puppy Toby! We went and joined some other hikers for lunch. I had an appetizer of chicken wings, an enormous bacon cheeseburger with avocado and sauteed onions and mushrooms, a large order of sweet potato fries, and molten lava cake for desert! And of course a few more beers . . .
Now its time to readjust to life in the real world. Despite being able to eat hot food whenever I like and sit on my sofa and watch movies (and hang out with Monica!), I'm incredibly restless. Seems strange not to get up and hike 25 miles, just another "day in the office." Luckily southwest Montana has been blessed with some great early-season snow, and I've been lucky enough to spend the last few days snowboarding in 3 feet of powder!!! Come to think of it, it was snowing on the day when I left in May, and it was snowing in October when I returned.
In summary, the PCT has been an incredible experience, and I feel lucky that I was able to successfully complete such an epic journey. I've always loved the Peace Corps slogan: "The toughest job you will ever love." I believe it applies perfectly to my hike. 20-30 mile days, countless blisters, tons of mosquitoes, freezing water bottles, and 100 degree temps. And I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! I got to see such an amazing array of scenery, from deserts covered with wild flowers, to snow covered passes and dense rain forests. I believe I went through 9 pairs of shoes and over 35 pairs of socks! While the scenery was spectacular, my favorite part of the trip was meeting so many incredible people from so many different walks of life. What an incredible adventure! Thanks to everyone for their support and keeping tuned in, its been a lot of fun to write about it (when I could find internet). And of course many thanks to Monica for keeping me resupplied, and baking me countless loafs of banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, and brownies! Please feel free to contact me anytime at vince.pct@gmail.com. Until my next adventure . . .
A few really cool facts (from pcta.org):
The PCT passes through 3 states (CA, OR, and WA), climbs nearly 60 major mountain passes, descends into 19 major canyons, and goes by more than 1,000 lakes and tarns. It also goes through 3 national monuments, 7 national parks, 24 national forests, and 33 wilderness areas. It passes the 3 deepest lakes in the country: Lake Tahoe, Crater Lake, and Lake Chelan, and goes within a few miles of Mt. Whitney (which most hikers opt to climb).
The highest point is over 13,000' at Forester Pass in the Sierras, and the longest waterless stretch is 35.5 miles, north of Tehachapi, CA.
AND fewer people have thru-hiked the PCT than have climbed Mt. Everest (this one really blew me away!)
A few nights later we basically had to stay awake all night long while camping, knocking the snow off our tents every 20 minutes or so. We all had tarp tents, which utilize a hiking pole as the only tent pole. Needless to say, not meant for snow storms! By morning we found ourselves in a winter wonderland. A few people that I was hiking with didn't have much experience with the snow, and it was great to see how excited they were to play around. While it was ridiculously cold, we all kept in excellent spirits, despite the frozen toes and fingers. As we climbed up a bit in elevation the snow kept getting deeper and deeper, and we ended up having to hike through knee-deep snow for quite a few miles. And all in running shoes! That day none of us sat down even once as it was too chilly to stop, and my lunch consisted entirely of snickers bars. I hope its years before I have to eat another Snickers bar!!! That night I had to deal with some minor frostbite on my toes - felt like pins and needles all night long as they thawed out in my sleeping bag. In the morning I had to bang the insoles to my shoes on a tree to get the ice off of them, and I could barely tie my shoes as the laces were frozen solid. Apparently the same storm dumped more snow a little further south. Hikers just a week or two behind me had to turn around and abruptly end their trip as they encountered chest deep snow and no sign of the trail. I had originally planned on finishing a week or two later than I did - I'm definitely glad that I put in so many 30+ mile days near the end of my trip.
The last day we had only a few miles to go to get to the Canadian border. When we arrived there was seemingly non-stop hooting and hollering, of course complete with drinking celebratory beers (at 9 am!) that some generous people had left there for such an occasion. It was fantastic to have completed the journey that I started 5 months ago, so so so long ago. I feel very lucky to have finished, and it was great to spend time at the border with my friends Monologue, Shadow, and O'dark.
From the border we hiked 8 miles to Manning Provincial Park in Canada, where I happily reunited with Monica and her puppy Toby! We went and joined some other hikers for lunch. I had an appetizer of chicken wings, an enormous bacon cheeseburger with avocado and sauteed onions and mushrooms, a large order of sweet potato fries, and molten lava cake for desert! And of course a few more beers . . .
Now its time to readjust to life in the real world. Despite being able to eat hot food whenever I like and sit on my sofa and watch movies (and hang out with Monica!), I'm incredibly restless. Seems strange not to get up and hike 25 miles, just another "day in the office." Luckily southwest Montana has been blessed with some great early-season snow, and I've been lucky enough to spend the last few days snowboarding in 3 feet of powder!!! Come to think of it, it was snowing on the day when I left in May, and it was snowing in October when I returned.
In summary, the PCT has been an incredible experience, and I feel lucky that I was able to successfully complete such an epic journey. I've always loved the Peace Corps slogan: "The toughest job you will ever love." I believe it applies perfectly to my hike. 20-30 mile days, countless blisters, tons of mosquitoes, freezing water bottles, and 100 degree temps. And I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! I got to see such an amazing array of scenery, from deserts covered with wild flowers, to snow covered passes and dense rain forests. I believe I went through 9 pairs of shoes and over 35 pairs of socks! While the scenery was spectacular, my favorite part of the trip was meeting so many incredible people from so many different walks of life. What an incredible adventure! Thanks to everyone for their support and keeping tuned in, its been a lot of fun to write about it (when I could find internet). And of course many thanks to Monica for keeping me resupplied, and baking me countless loafs of banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, and brownies! Please feel free to contact me anytime at vince.pct@gmail.com. Until my next adventure . . .
A few really cool facts (from pcta.org):
The PCT passes through 3 states (CA, OR, and WA), climbs nearly 60 major mountain passes, descends into 19 major canyons, and goes by more than 1,000 lakes and tarns. It also goes through 3 national monuments, 7 national parks, 24 national forests, and 33 wilderness areas. It passes the 3 deepest lakes in the country: Lake Tahoe, Crater Lake, and Lake Chelan, and goes within a few miles of Mt. Whitney (which most hikers opt to climb).
The highest point is over 13,000' at Forester Pass in the Sierras, and the longest waterless stretch is 35.5 miles, north of Tehachapi, CA.
AND fewer people have thru-hiked the PCT than have climbed Mt. Everest (this one really blew me away!)
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