North Cascades 9/20

Uber Dude with Little Kevin (ducky). The Machine in background. 

      Stehekin Ranch is a destination spot for those who want good food, rustic setting, and quiet.We all left it reluctantly but were excited to hike only 4.5 days. 

   

Mr. Sandals log crossing. 

Our last hundred mile marker. 

Bat Shit Crazy Mama shows up at Rainy Pass with lunch for PCT hikers. Our personal trail angel who will meet us at Manning. The end. 

   Come to Washington in the fall but before the snow hits. This entire trip has been a race to get here before October. The pressure has been on since day one. We have 2 more days to go and today it rained for five hours in the morning. It did not snow but the temperatures dropped. Eventhough we only have another two days anything can happen. The weather forecast predicted rain on Wednesday. Today is Monday. The new forecast 40 percent chance of rain tomorrow, 50 the next day and 90 percent on Thursday. Rain could easily become snow. This morning we heard thunder and lightning, walked in rain and clouds. We went over 2 passes (Glacier and Hart's pass) today. Fortunately we did this in the afternoon and the rain had stopped. Hart's is a pass that people can be blown off of. We are so close to our goal but until we reach Manning Provincial Park anything could abort the mission. Today for example TC leaned on a rock and a rock underneath that just about crushed her foot. She cut the top of her foot but it could have been worse. FC now has some kind of right shoulder pain and she is wondering if the chest strap of her backpack is cutting off circulation to her shoulder and it's now becoming necrotic. Princess has had a cold for about a week and now Mr. Sandals sounds like his lungs are filled with mucous. We are all still walking and now that we are close to the end, we are walking on egg shells. Knowing about the weather in Washington made us run through the desert 5 months ago. It is the oddest thing that we are doing. Relaxation does not enter the picture; not until the end. So for those of you who may be thinking that we have been on vacation for 6 months, think again. We have been having an athletic adventure that has included a lot of sweat, dirt, stench, crazy food, slanted sleeps, thirst, wind, sun, and foot pain. Has it been fantastic? Yes. Have we had fun? Yes. Have our bodies changed? Yes. Would we do it again. NO! Would we recommend others doing it? So far, we have not recommended it to anyone. We are recommending section hiking to everyone who looks at us with those envying eyes. If you want to do it talk to us first. There may be a few people out there who have to do it. 

 

Fall colors. 

Cutthroat Pass

Cutthroat Pass

After the rain. Glacier Pass 

Big peaks & glaciers. my map doesn't reach that far so I don't know the peak. We are traversing at 7000 ft 

Rugged!

Larch tree forest.  It looks like a conifer & becomes golden. 

      We have met some interesting hikers. Vocal is the name of a public accountant from Maine. FC thinks he should just be called Mouth. He is loud and loquacious. He talks until you faint or have blood coming from your ears. FC thinks he is funny. Princess avoids him. TC laughs at him and Mr. Sandals has not commented. He is east coast, swears a lot and has no boundaries. He does not wash and his beard probably has colonies of animals residing in it. You hear him first and the you smell him. He will talk non- stop whether you are listening or not. That is a relief to FC because she doesn't have to respond. That would exhausting. Today we met Lost and Found, someone we had heard about months ago from a fellow hiker. He was constantly losing his poles in peoples' cars. Most recently he has lost his passport two times. Everything comes back to him. He is from Spain and speaks English so fast and with such an accent it is almost unrecognizeable as a language. It sounds more like a game of mouth marbles. Über Babe is a man from Berkeley who wears a dress over his clothes and carries Kevin, a rubber ducky float on his back. Together He and Vocal make an insanely funny team. Uber has been travelling with a young woman from Switzerland named the Machine. 

Sunrise. North Cascades. 

Mt. Baker

Woody Pass. 

        

       As you might have heard from Facebook we have made it!!! We are in Canada, intact. After reaching the monument we still had to walk another 9 miles. FC is saying " It's over" and Princess says "No" and recounts the story of someone breaking their ankle in the last 9 miles last year who had to be helicoptered out. OK. It wasn't over. And then it was. We were met at the trailhead by Bat Shit Crazy Mama which eliminated one mile. Princess, Mr. Sandals and Tortuga finished with us. We travelled through Oregon and Washington with P and Mr.S and Tortuga joined us in Washington for the final push. We were weaving in and out of each other's lives since the beginning but determined that we would all end together. It was bitter sweet because we will now go our separate ways.

      Today, Sept. 25, it is rainy and cold here in Manning, BC. It may be snowing at the higher altitudes but we are warm, dry and safe in our room. Indeed, we made it a day before the dreaded weather. You might recall that when the Bubbies left San Diego back in April, Scout and Frodo sang them a blessing in Hebrew. It seemed spontaneous and not something they did for everyone. FC was certain they would make it after receiving that blessing. The other two motivators for finishing were meeting her friends from Canada at the end of the trip and sending Ziggy and the Bear word that they had made it so they could be included in his book of finishers. It is odd, the things that kept us going. TC wore her lucky bird earrings and a necklace she had bought in Hawaii just for the hike. Again, it is an carving of a bird rising. She wanted to feel like she was flying on the wings of a bird during her hike. 

      It probably will not sink in that the trip is over for a few days. We have had rest days but when that rest exceeds 2 days something will feel different, like our feet and achy joints. I will continue the blog on our re-entry  trip cruising on the Pacific from Vancouver to LA. Our friends in Canada, who agreed to take us back to Santa Cruz decided a cruise would be relaxing and there would be plenty of food. That cruise was also a carrot at the end of our hike. There was no way we would go on that boat without finishing. Now, thanks to our generous and thoughtful friends, our vacation is beginning. Yippee!! Stay tuned to the blog and travel the Pacific with us.

   One other thing, all of you who supported us and read the blog and made comments, you were our daily inspiration. I was planning on journaling but that would have been filled with whining and negativity. Who wants to read that. Having an audience helped me to see everything through different eyes. My deepest gratitude to you all. I have learned so much about writing and I have found my voice. Without you out there listening I could not have done it. 

Our last wet day out. TC. 

We hiked all this way to see this?

Princy & Mr. Sandals happy to be done. 

FC, Tortuga, Princy, TC, & Mr. Sandals  our trail family. 

Done!