Since I’d made it to camp early enough yesterday, I decided to hike out around 0600 again today too. It had not been a very damp night, and so my tent was only slightly wet. I packed up my stuff in the dark and set out. As the sun rose, I climbed up a small hill and within the hour ran into Snow-White! He was just getting ready to hike out, and I was thrilled. Looked like we could crush some miles together today! It has been a very long time since we hiked the same stretch, and honestly I did not expect to see him again after he flipped up North to Washington. But the trail is unpredictable and so we found ourselves pleased to share each others company.
The early morning hiking was beautiful. The hillsides today too, a vibrant painting of all shades of red, orange, yellow and green. Even though it was overcast mostly, there were some small blue patches visible in the sky, which kept us hoping it would clear up during the rest of the day.
It would not.
During the second half of the morning we climbed higher and got exposed on a ridge. The heavy winds were blowing relentlessly, cooling us down until we both decided to hike further in our puffys. The trail crept behind the ridge and thus fortunately we found ourselves suddenly sheltered from the wind. That’s when the hiking became pleasant again, and soon the trail dropped below tree-line too, which made for even more comfortable temperatures.
We spend most of the day hiking together, and we talked a lot. We talked about the beginning of the trail (Snow-white and I met the first time at Scout and Frodo’s, where he hiked out a day earlier than I did). We talked about our experiences on the different sections. We talked about our shared adventure in Yosemite. We talked about what we learned out here and about the future. We talked about life. We talked about a lot of things. Mostly we reflected. It felt really good to give words to the experience of hiking through the final sections of the PCT. What that meant to us, and how we expected to transition into a different life again after this adventure. It felt special to share on a deep and personal level, and in Snow I definitely found a very inspiring and kindred spirit.
Because of hiking in good company, the miles came fairly easy today. Only in the late hours of the afternoon we experienced a very slight drizzle, and we expressed our luck that we hadn’t gotten rained upon earlier during the day. Some of the clouds had looked threatening.
The day ended with a large climb, and a small section of the following descent. It was getting dark, and we decided that the campsite we’d intended to use was a too exposed and very close to a lake, which would possibly make for a cool and wet night. We pushed on 0.5 miles further and found a site more to our liking. Below tree-line again, and on a nice grassy patch of flat earth. The rain started to pick up now, and we both quickly pitched our tents and got in just before the thick droplets started to fall from the skies. Just before we hiked into camp, we expressed our gratitude for spending the day in each others company. It was a meaningful day, with beautiful conversation, and amazing views of the Cascades.
A day of reflection on hiking this trail, and what we both agreed on, so far has been one of the most extraordinary experiences of our lives.
Don’t worry about me, I’m gonna make it alright
Got my enemies crossed out in my sight
I take a bad situation gonna make it right
In the shadows of darkness I stand in the light
You see it’s our style to keep it true
I’ve had a bad year, a lot to go through
I’ve been knocked out, beat down, black and blue
She’s not the one coming back for you
She’s not the one coming back for you
If I fall back down, you’re gonna help me back up again
If I fall back down, you’re gonna be my friend
Fall back down – Rancid
