PCT Day 129-139

August 2019

Back to where it all started.... 3 years ago I took a trip to visit Seattle for the first time. I wanted to visit the city, visit my friend James, and most importantly, explore the mountains of Washington. James helped my friend Cassie and I find a route that showed the best parts of Washington in just a few days. What I experienced on that trip lead me straight to thru hiking the PCT. After 3 days of gorgeous lakes, meadows, and rocky peaks I wanted to explore more! After 4 months on trail, I finally came across trail that I was familiar with. This 30 mile section will always be very important to me.

James and I

Taken this year, this is the view 3 years ago that changed my life.

Not only was this section special because it felt like a return to home, but I also had many special people join me on my journey. While I was on trail I got a text from my great uncle saying he and my great aunt were taking a trip up to Washington and wanted to meet up with me. After about a week of figuring out logistics, we managed to sync our schedules and meet up. I was incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity. Seeing family this close to the end is such a boost in morale and after saying goodbye to them I felt ready for the last 2 weeks. We got to spend time in Leavenworth, a small German themed tourist town. While my German friends said it is not very authentic, they agreed the food was great nonetheless! It was wonderful to be able to share more of my journey with my family.

Immediately after my visit with family, my best friend Josh and his girlfriend Aida came to hike with me. We decided to just do 5 miles of hiking and then spend the day at a lake and relax. It was fantastic to see them and truly lifted my spirits giving me motivation to finish my journey strong. During our hike together, I felt like a day hiker, something I had not felt since before the trip! We took the hiking slow, stopping to look at mushrooms or think about the formation of rocks. Once we arrived at the lake we just relaxed all afternoon, drinking refreshing drinks, eating fresh garlic bread and cheese and admiring the beauty of where we were. It was so nice to slow down and take a day to truly take everything around me in.

This section in Washington will always hold a special place in my heart. Between sections of trail l hiked years ago with friends, family I haven't seen in quite a while, and best friends from college, I made many memories here that I will never forget. Although the landscape is beautiful and breathtaking, it is truly the people that make the most impactful memories.

If you look closely in the picture above you can see several plumes of smoke. This is one of many fires that were occuring in Washington that we were dealing with. It was during this time spent with friends and family that I found out they closed the last 30 miles leading up to the Northern Terminus at the Canadian border. This means no reaching the official end of the PCT. It took a while to process this and even longer to figure out what to do.

Less than 150 miles to go now... Stay tuned for the final post!

-Pickle