This morning I didn’t get up and move as early as I expected. But I was walking around 7:30am, which is pretty good! If I can travel at a reasonable pace today, I should be able to finish my day in the Shelter Cove area. It would be a pleasure to walk into a warm room for the night, take a hot shower, and do some editing. I haven’t been able to do anything thanks to the snow. These are certainly not multitasking conditions.
My morning started around 5,500 feet and it would be a while before I climbed any higher. There was snow on the ground, but barely. I was able to move at a really solid pace all morning. Over the course of the day I would be climbing over 6000 feet, maybe 4 times total. Luckily I descend pretty quickly each time. My hope is that those are the only sections of the day where my pace slows down. It would be great to get into town tonight at a somewhat reasonable hour.
Climbing into the snow this morning.
Fortunately, there wasn’t too much snow on the first climb of the day. It was super manageable and didn’t take long. The morning was going by pretty quickly when I arrived at the trailhead around 10:40am Yesterday Sprinter had mentioned that I might be on one of the upcoming trails today. And in fact, this morning I ran into a northbound hiker who is doing a short section to finish his hike for the year. Apparently I had seen a Sprinter near a particular trailhead, so I had a feeling it might be close.
This lake looked so beautiful surrounded by snow.
I passed an area where Sprinter had written my name in the dirt, an easy indicator that I was somewhere out there. And I feel like we continue to be very lucky with time. He was about to pass by when he emerged from one of the nearby bathrooms. Otherwise, we would have been lost. The trail didn’t actually descend into any kind of parking lot. I probably would have kept going if I had passed by and not seen him.
A little surprise that Sprinter left us!
So far I’ve been having a great time all morning. It definitely seemed hopeful that we could get to Shelter Cove for the night and do so at a reasonable hour. That’s all I could have asked for and then some. Sprinter and I spent some time at this other trailhead before continuing on. He had brought me a couple of drinks and snacks, which was ridiculously nice of him! Being able to drink caffeine and recharge would definitely help this day go by faster.
Leaving the desert of the three sisters. I’m pretty sure I missed this section of the trail last time due to a small fire.
When I left that area, I began a gradual ascent above 6,000 feet. But this section of the trail actually went over a burn scar. And for the first time in my entire life I thought, «I wish this burn scar lasted longer!» Something I had never thought about the PCT before. But in a section with so much snow, the burn scars seem to be the places where it melts the most. I have to be grateful for everything I can get right now.
Four incredible mountains in the distance.
Thanks to the exposure of this section of the trail, I really enjoyed walking on the land, even at over 6,000 feet. I had to touch snow a couple of times but almost never. It was absolutely lovely and allowed me to have a really good time. I just have to climb over 6000 feet on two more occasions today. And even if for some reason that section slowed me down a lot, I’ve already made enough time to fill myself up later.
Trail marker graffiti.
It’s sad to see a section of trail like this so burned. When I was walking and turned around, I could see four huge snow-capped mountains in the distance. Simply the most beautiful set I have ever seen. So it’s sad to turn around and see the devastation of the most recent burn. And yet, isn’t it strange that in this brief moment, the exposure of the burned section is, in its own way, a blessing to me? There was no way I would have wanted this stretch of trail to burn. But it’s strange to think that after something like that, there could be something positive to take away from it. Even if it’s just for a brief moment like this.
Bear footprints in the snow.
Throughout the day, I would see many more bear tracks as I passed through snowy sections. And luckily for me those sections were few and far between. I knew I wouldn’t be blessed with an open, completely exposed trail all day. And many times the north side of a mountain will have significantly different snowmelt than the south side. But overall I had a good start. Once I got over this last climb, I started moving towards the next one.
Traversing a deeper section of snow while climbing up to 6000 feet.
I ended up walking through a decent amount of snow. But anything under 6 inches is incredibly manageable right now. And luckily for me most of the time it was between 2 and 4 inches. I was still going about 3 miles per hour and had no problems. Time was passing quickly and I thought it might even be a day earlier than expected. The third climb of the day ended quickly and then I went back down again for a long time. It would then begin to rise once again to the last high point of the day.
Some beautiful views of a lake in the distance.
This area definitely had a good amount of snow. Maybe more than the other climbs of the day. I even saw the marks of someone cross-country skiing. I was happy to reach about 6,000 feet in elevation for the last time of the day. Because it wouldn’t be long before it began to descend once again. After that, it would be an easy sail to Shelter Cove.
A very high PCT marker.
It was around 5pm when the road was cleared of snow for the last time. And from then on, I was having fun the rest of the day. I started descending towards a beautiful lake with a huge snow covered mountain right behind. I was walking on a nice easy trail of dirt and pine trees. It was a great treat after days of running through deeper snow. It felt like a reward!
As I got closer to Shelter Cove, I ended up getting some service. And I received an audio message of a slide with sad news. He had received an update from Gray Stoked, another hiker who achieved the calendar year’s triple crown. I mentioned it before and his social media account is Trek for Tarzan. Apparently Fred, also known as Gray Stoked, had decided to quit for the year due to dangerous weather conditions. I knew it was north of me, somewhere in Washington. And when all this snow fell, I was definitely pretty worried about him.
My favorite part of the day was walking by this lake. The road was also completely clear of snow.
But Fred has come so ridiculously far this year! He has completed the entire Appalachian Trail and the entire Continental Divide Trail. And he has already completed large sections of the PCT such as the desert section and the Sierra. On paper he had very little left to complete. But here the weather is changing rapidly. It’s hard for me to imagine still being in Washington. I’m getting a little restless here in central Oregon.
It was pretty unfortunate news, but I was glad Slide let me know. I spent the next hour thinking about it as I headed toward the trailhead. How unfathomable it is to walk so far and have to leave it. Even if that is the safe and smart decision. Fred started on January 1st as did Punisher and I. And Slide, which is also doing the border-to-border calendar year triple crown, started on January 3rd. The four of us are the only people who have been away all year.
The only other person still on track to achieve the calendar year Triple Crown is Chezwick, who is seeking an FKT. But because he’s chasing a speed record, he hasn’t been on the track that long. I don’t think he got along until May. So it’s really this group of four that I resonate with the most. And now there are only three of us. Punisher, Slide and me. The remaining three calendar year triple crown attempts from border to border. And then Chezwick, who is still in the running to establish the FKT.
The sun was beginning to set as I headed toward the trailhead.
It sometimes amazes me to think about the 10+ people who came out earlier this year and have since gone home. It’s really hard to imagine. Everyone here has still had some crazy obstacles and things they had to fight through to stay in the game. So it was very discouraging news to learn that Fred had resigned during the year. Although I can’t imagine being able to make a different decision in that situation. Washington this time of year would be a very dangerous place to defend the PCT.
Those thoughts accompanied me throughout the rest of the day. I headed to the trailhead and finally ran into Sprinter, who was waiting there. I guess everything is closed at Shelter Cove, at least in terms of accommodations. But there’s a town just down the road called Crescent Lake. And apparently they have a motel and restaurant in town. So we headed there and they checked me into a room for the night. The place had a huge DVD collection and DVD players in every room. That was great.
This would have been a place to take a killer zero day! It would be so much fun to pick up DVDs and watch movies all day.
I took a shower which was incredibly nice after being in the snow for days. And then once I was situated, I headed to the nearby restaurant and bar. Sprinter was already there hanging out and talking to the people inside. I walked right into the middle of it sharing things about my story with everyone. So I became kind of a spectacle in the restaurant. Sometimes it’s fun to talk about this hike and share it with strangers. Especially because people tend to get very excited and want to know everything. It’s funny, though, when left to my own devices, I rarely share what I’m doing with strangers. It just tends to be easier that way.
The waitress and bartender were ridiculously friendly and really intrigued by my story. I drank a lot of Shirley Temples while we were there and appreciated that she always brought them back. Sprinter and I ended up having some dinner. I got a chili slathered cheeseburger, which was really good. And after drinking probably one more Shirley Temple than I should have, we finally left. I still wanted to sit in the room and organize some things. I also had to do some editing.
Eat roast chicken for dinner.
Once I returned to the room, I relaxed for the rest of the night. The room actually had a fireplace, so I tried to keep it on for a while to dry my shoes and socks. I actually did a good job getting the fire going. To start, I watched the movie Disturbia on DVD. Then I ended up watching a Ben Affleck movie, which was actually pretty good. When I said watched, I meant that I was editing on my phone the entire time while the movie was playing in the background. But it was still very nice.
As usual, I stayed up a little later than I probably should have. But he finally decided to turn around and call it a night. I’m really curious to see what the trail conditions will be like tomorrow. Tomorrow I will be climbing above 7000 feet for the first time in a few days. After the blizzard first hit, everything above 7,000 feet was pretty wild. Although today’s thaw was very promising. I hope it’s a little more manageable now and with more elevation.
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