We continued to support Brian (aka "Views") on his PCT hike through the North Cascades to Canada via resupplies at Stevens and Rainy Passes, and ride home from the end at Manning, BC. And we took the opportunity to do a little hiking ourselves. Tom handled the Stevens Pass resupply (in his friend's new Tesla)! No hiking that day.
For the Rainy Pass resupply, we camped a bit east of the pass, and did a late afternoon hike to Blue Lake. Very nice, and not very crowded. And some nice views of beautiful peaks. The following day, we left the car at Rainy Pass and headed north on the PCT to Cutthroat Pass, then a couple of miles further. Absolutely stunning (which we already knew, but it was still great)! Brian had the key to the car, so he could eat and grab the food he needed while we were hiking. He also decided to ditch some of his gear (i.e., his tent, phone, portable battery charger) for the final 67 mile push. We chatted with him for a couple minutes on the trail as we were headed back to the car, and then off he went. And we headed to Canada.
The next morning, we scored a camping site near the trail's terminus, and headed out on a hike to Windy Joe Peak. The hike itself was not too exciting, being along an abandoned gravel road in the woods, and the views from the top were muted by the heavy, low clouds. We got signals that Brian would be coming out that night about 10 pm, so we went back to camp and had a good snooze and some dinner before packing everything up and heading to the trailhead to wait. And, pretty much on schedule, Brian appeared out of the dark, navigating via headlamp. We loaded him into the car, and headed back home. Surprisingly, he didn't just conk out after his 50 mile day, but was chatty all the way back to Seattle! For him, 2650+ miles, 88 days, ~3 nights in a bed, 0 days off, and priceless memories!!
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| "Views" and a wanna be, Stevens Pass |
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| Blue Lake and Posthole Peak |
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| Mountain Goat and Blue Lake below Liberty Bell and Early Winters Spires |
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| Liberty Bell |
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| Karen approaching Cutthroat Pass (Dome Peak in the far distance) |
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| West Fork Methow River Valley below Tower Mtn, Golden Horn and Mt Hardy (r to l) |
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| Mt Hardy |
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| Dome Peak |
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| Coral Mushroom?, Manning Park |
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| Triumph Aster, Manning Park |
Activities
- Hiking
- Blue Lake & Tarn Loop
- PCT from Rainy Pass to Cutthroat Pass and beyond
- Windy Joe Peak (Manning Provincial Park, BC)
"Oh Wow!" Moments
- Big peaks along the North Cascades Highway and the PCT!
Tom's Daily Stress Points
- Is Brian really going to come walking out of the blackness to our car?? Or did he make a wrong turn in the dark ... in his last few miles??? (stress level = medium)
Sleeps
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