PCT: WA Section H - White Pass / Highway 12 to Cascade Locks (SOBO)

Day 156 - 10/9/25 - White Pass At Last

Distance: 6.7 mi

Mile Start / End: 357.8 - 364.5

Weather: cloudy, cold

End Location: ridge

Lessons Learned:

Woke up 6am

Could hear the rain outside, was glad I had real shelter and didn’t have to hike

Wrote in bed a bit

Bakery and coffee at 7:15am

Dirty pumpkin spice chai and an assortment of pastries

Sat outside in an aderondeck chair

Greenhorn pulled up and joined me

After he ate, we walked back to hotel to prepare our laundry

Quick stopped at Ace Hardware on way back

Greenhorn needed gloves, I copped a pair as well for bed time - Smurf blue🤣

Housekeeping came by and collected our clothes, nice service

I took another shower while Greenhorn made some calls to family

The rain stopped and the sun came out

After laundry was done, walked the road for a hitch to White Pass

Stood by a herd of Elk that was grazing the town’s grass

A car pulled over

“We’re trying to get to White Pass, where are you going?”

“We’re eloping to Mt. Rainier to get married, but can take you too the intersection”

Whattttt🤣

These hitches constantly make me question humanity and reality

Hundreds of cars passed us and the 1 that stopped definitely had something better to do 😅

They saw us earlier but had forgot something so turned around and said if we were still there they would pick us up

When we came back our way, we were still there

They said they’ve always wanted to help PCT hikers out but never got the chance until now

Super nice couple, they offered us waters and other items in their car😂

Their destination was Pinnacle Peak to hike in their wedding outfits and seal the deal

They dropped us off at the intersection and sped off, already running late to their nuptials

The next hitch was brutal

We stood on the side of the road for 2 hours trying to get a ride

Plenty of cars passed but none stopped

I got demoralized and ate my cheese, apple and vegetables as I sat on my bag

Finally a guy named David picked us up and took us to white pass

A quirky guy, he had an unstrung Ecuadorian bow and arrow in his front seat

I shifted some stuff on his seat and sat with my bag on my lap

Got to white pass around 3pm

Got my resupply box

Also bought a corn dog, Dr Pepper, and cookie

Left around 4pm to hit the trail

Hiked 6.7 mile to nice ridge and had a fire

My first fire on trail 😌

Bed around 9:30pm

Day 157 - 10/10/25 - Old Snowy Mountain

Distance: 23.5

Mile Start / End: 364.5 - 388

Weather: cloudy, then snowy

End Location: Walupt Lake

Lessons Learned:

Woke up around 7am

Extremely cold, frost on my tent

Ate breakfast in bed, but no coffee - just wanted to get moving

Put away tent with my gloves on

Left around 8am before Greenhorn

Knife’s Edge in 10 miles, quite a bit of a climb 🥲

Hiked along the ridge line

Then high alpine

Ground crunched beneath my feet

Saw a hunter’s camp

Then the hunter

Don’t think he saw my though

Greenhorn passed me while I took a break

Filled up water

Time to climb, 3000ft over next 4 miles

Started to get cloudy

I hoped the weather would hold off for Knife’s Edge

But the higher I climbed the darker and colder it got

Almost felt like it was going to snow🧐

Beautiful high alpine though

Yellow grass and red blueberries bushes 😌

Up

As I climb up the switchback, I looked for the peak of Old Snowy

I planned on doing a quick peak bag, but just hoped that weather cooperate

I reach the ridge and saw Old Snowy in the distance

Wicked

Also saw Greenhorn walking the ridge

He looked so small compared to the vast landscape

The clouds got darker and covered up the path ahead great

As long as it didn’t lightning I would be ok

Walked the Knife’s Edge, so cool - a small little path with hundred foot drops on either side

Then the view got covered and it started snowing 😅

The wind was brutal

I put on my windbreaker and kept going

I reached the intersection to Summit Old Snowy

Fuck it… when would I be back? It was a short jaunt too, less than half a mile there and back

Also this would probably be me last peak bag 🥲 ya I’m sending it

I dropped my pack after the intersection (taking my Garmin, phone, and poles with me) and climbed up the mountain in the snow storm

The snow was wet and heavy

I reached the top around 2:30pm

Not much of a view but still felt accomplished

YAHOO!

I left shortly after reaching the summit to avoid freezing

As I went back down I was careful not to slip on the snow or ice

Reach my bag after the 15 min descent

Old Snowy, aptly named ☑️😂

I rejoined the PCT and the snow storm dissipated

Wild timing hahaha

Mt Rainier poked out

Then I saw Mt Adams

And took a break for lunch while look at Goat Lake and Rainier

As I ate my tuna packet and chips, I remembered the trip I took with some friends a few years ago to Goat Lake and Snowgrass Meadows

Good times, we bagged the summit of Hawkeye Point on a much sunnier and clearer day 😅

After lunch, I descended the high alpine through Snowgrass flats and glanced at the peaks as I passed

Passed a father and daughter, quick chat

Down

Chatted with a couple hiking

Weather was still cloudy and moody

Passed a waterfall

Then a creek, filled up water

Then went up Cispus Pass

Then down

Garmin Message from Greenhorn - he was going to camp at the intersection of Walupt Lake, works for me

8 more miles

Mostly down and easy hiking after Cispus Pass

Got dark

Switched in night hike gear

Put of Hardcore History podcast, still listening to Supernova in the East - this episode talked about Battle of Midway

The sun set without any fireworks

Reached camp in the dark around 8:30pm

Greenhorn was there with another hiker

They were putting out a fire, damn I missed it again😅

The other hiker was a NOBO named “T Pine” (because he lives in Torrey Pines)

I surveyed the grounds but decided the flattest and driest spot was the one by T Pine, with the weather today, and rain forecasted for tonight, I wasn’t taking any chances - a good pitch means dryer gear

I set up camp and then ate my ramen next to the smoldering fire

It was cold and they both left to seek the warmth of their sleeping bags

I finished my ramen and retreated to my tent as well

I watched an episode of Geordie Shore and went to bed

I was more cooked than the ramen😂

Day 158 - 10/11/25 - Christmas Time is Here

Distance: 23 mi

Mile Start / End: 388 - 411

Weather: sleet then snow

End Location: Lewis River

Lessons Learned:

I woke up around 6:30am

It was cold, dark, and oddly quiet

I realized there was a layer of snow on my tent that was causing it to be dark

I hit my tent and knocked the snow off

There was probably 3-4 inches on the ground

Which is average…

Fuck

It wasnt supposed to snow yet

Once I heard the other lads rolling around, I broke the news to them

Greenhorn poked his head out of his tent and was shocked

I ate breakfast and a dirty chai in bed

Then packed up camp and decided to get moving so I could warm up

T Pine finally got moving and check outside

He was shocked

He asked us what he should do since we had just come from where he was going

I told him to hike until he didn’t feel comfortable

Greenhorn told him bluntly “Turn around.”

As I left, I wished him the best of luck

Just leaving camp, my shoes and tights got soaked from the wet overgrowth

Great… this was going to be tough

I tried dodging the puddles on trail but eventually just started walking through them

Screw it

Then it started sleeting / cold rain

This dampened my mood and I shouted profanities into the void at a rate of 1 profanity per mile - a new high for me

As I climbed in elevation, the sleet became snow

The dry powdered snow was actually reprieve from the wet dirty puddles and I was actually thankful to be increasing in elevation

The snow was actually beautiful

It was like a winter wonderland

I put on Khruangbhin’s “Christmas Time is Here” (the one Christmas song I had downloaded) and tried to get into a merry mood

Kind of worked…

Then Foreigner’s “Cold as Ice” came on, funny timing🤣

After covering 12 miles, I took a lunch break at a campsite with a fire ring, where planned to have a nice little fire and warm up

I filled up water and gathered some firewood

Right as I put the firewood in the pit, it started raining again and the wind picked up

Fuck, there goes that plan

I took sheltered under some trees and put on some warmer clothes

I sat on a stump and and ate lunch

Greenhorn passed by but kept going, he had just eaten lunch and wanted to stay warm - feel that

I finished up my lunch and got moving

I was shivering as I left the campsite

Looking back, I probably should’ve put on more layers, but I wanted to have a dry pair of clothes for sleep

I eventually warmed up as I hiked

My fingers hurt in my gloves as the blood rushed back to them

This is brutal, basically just survival mood now

The rain turned to snow

Crossed a paved road

Passed Potato Hill, couldn’t really see it

Lava Spring, cool with spring in lava rock

Climbed

I saw a pair of gloves on the ground

Shit, they were Greenhorn’s

Picked them up for him so I could return them later

Killed Creek, nice lake and waterfall

As I went higher in elevation, the snow got deeper but luckily Greenhorn paved the way

Followed his foot steps

This really helped me at Adam’s Creek, it would’ve been tough to trail find without snow 😂

Followed his steps and crossed the creek

Mistaking it for the Lewis River, I filled up 2L of Water for dry camp

I kept hiking, hoping to bump into Greenhorn before dark

I crossed the Lewis River and saw Greenhorn’s tent set up around 6pm

He was already in his sleeping bag trying to warm up

I returned his gloves to him and he thanked me

I had planned on going another 1.5 miles but decided to join him and set up before it got dark

It was gonna be another cold night

I debated between two spots for a bit

One was but at the bottom of a hill and didn’t have much tree coverage but was flat

The other was dry and under a tree but not flat

The better the pitch the dryer the gear…

I went with the flat spot and got a solid pitch

The ground was wet so I put my plastic sheet down inside my tent

I cooked dinner in my tent and got cozy in my sleeping bag

I watched an episode of Geordie Shore while I ate

As I laid there I notice water pooling under my plastic tarp

Luckily it was leaking through but I was a bit concerned

I flipped the way I was laid so my feet were by the water pool, rather than my head and hoped for the best

Watched another episode

The water pool seemed contained under the plastic

Went to around 10pm

That was one of the toughest days on trail yet…

Day 159 - 10/12/25 - to Trout Lake

Distance: 13 mi

Mile Start / End: 411 - 426

Weather: Snowy

End Location: Trout Lake

Lessons Learned:

Woke up around 7am with layer of snow on the tent

But was glad I didn’t wake up in the night from the cold

The water pool was gone

I think it froze during the night 😅

I heard Greenhorn moving around so I let out a cry, “Wahhhhh this sucks”

He responded with a “Wahhhhh”

We both decided to get the fuck out of here and get to Trout Lake

We also decided to stick together

It snowed a lot throughout the night and was still snowing

This was not going to be an easy hike out…

We left just before 9am

13 miles to the road where we had arranged a ride to pick us up at 1pm

But looked like it was going to be more like 2:30pm 😬

The snow caused us to hiker slower than normal

I texted Gerry, the guy that was giving us a ride, and let him know

He said he would see us then and would bring a hot thermos with mochiatto - what a guy😌

It was a winter wonderland again

The snow was deep, probably 4ft total

The trail was completely covered but you could still find the path

Greenhorn and I took turned breaking the path

It was harder uphill, and I was surprised to see the difference in energy between following and leading

We chatted for a bit and then both switched to music and podcasts

Distractions were needed in order to survive this…

After we got through the worst of the snow and descended in elevation, Greenhorn sped off

The kid hikes fast

He booked it and we did our last 5 miles separately

The snow turned back to rain

The lower I went, the more mushrooms I began seeing

Many amanitas

I was happy to see them

They brought slight joy to sour mood

I saw a few Chanterelles and kept a watchful eye out for them, hoping to get enough for a meal later tonight

But no luck, just a bunch of False Chanterelles

Then I saw some foragers of the Asian variety

I asked them if they had seen any Chanterelles

“No, Chanterelles too old now” they replied

Then they asked me, “Have you seen Matsutake? They should be here”

“No I haven’t” I said, as I looked around, “but yeah, they could be here”

The soil seemed hilly, mossy, and volcanic enough

Truth be told, I have never found Matsutake But I’ve also never foraged specifically for Matsutake

I wished the foragers good luck and decided the warm car and town was good enough and turned off my foraging attention

I made it to the headwaters of the White Salmon River around 2:15pm

It was such a calm little creek

Found it interesting because I rafted the river further down for my birthday a years ago, and there were intense rapids

Some lesson about momentum there

Reached the road right at 2:30pm and saw a truck and a white Tesla there

Figured Gerry would be in the truck

I was right

He greeted my and I saw greenhorn in the back

Threw my stuff in and hopped up front

I thanked Gerry repeatedly and he gave me a cup on hot coffee

This guy rules🤣

He drives us down to Trout Lake (about a 40 min drive) and we talked

We should him pics of the snowy conditions we just endured

Then he told us about himself

He worked in the Forest industry for almost his life

The industry kept bringing him back to Trout Lake, which he was too upset about, he loved the place

He had us signed his personal register in the car

We made it to town around 3:30pm and he took to us to the general store to sign their register

Gerry took a seat at the counter, where I suspect he spends a lot of his time, and Greenhorn and I left to go grub at the restaurant down the street

I got the French Dip and a huckleberry milkshake, yum

Greenhorn got a burger

We both defrosted and talked about how glad were that we had survived the winter conditions

After we finished eating, we left, hit the general store for groceries for dinner and breakfast, and walked over to the Airbnb for shelter and further defrosting

The Airbnb was nice

Laid out gear outside and by the wood stove to dry

Made grilled cheese and egg drop tomato soup for dinner

Reminds me of my dad

He made it for us kids for dinner when my mom was away one time

Funny how some memories just stick with you

Drank wine

And watched a scary movie for spooky season

Bed around midnight

Day 160 - 10/13/25 - to Cascade Locks (Zero Day)

Woke up 7am

Coffee

Hung out

Made French Toast and bacon (used melted ice cream instead of creamer)

6 pieces each for both of us 😂

With a huckleberry syrup and apricots on top

Scarfed down

Packed up

Shower

Walked to store

Talked to a van life guy named Mike (gave him trail name Lynx due to his cat like appearance)

He gave me his time and attention so I gave him mine, nice chat

Gerry walked up and said he was going to Hood River if we needed a ride

Hell ya, we love Gerry

T pine pulled up as we were leaving, glad to see he was alive😅

Gerry drove us to the Safeway at Hood River  and dropped us off

We went in and got some for lunch

Our plan was to catch the bus over to Cascade Locks but as we were walking to the bus stop, a guy pulled up next to us

“Are you guys PCT hikers?” He asked

“Yes” we replied

“Where are you trying to go?”

“We were hoping to get to Cascade Locks?”

“Yeah I can help you out, hop in”

The dude’s name was Jordan

He was a super chiller and had hiked the PCT the year before

He’d been wanting to help out some hikers this year but never had the time

He took us to run a few other errands and then drove us 20 mins to Cascade Locks

Niceeeee

We asked him if we could buy him lunch and he declined

But then said he would take a beer 🤷🏼‍♂️

So we went to the brewery and had a couple of beers

Greenhorn and I had to wait until 4pm anyways to check into the hotel

Nice convo about life and told Jordan our plan for the rest of the trail

I was trying to get to Timberline but was playing around with the idea of just doing Tunnel Falls and looping back to Cascade Lock because I had a package that would be arriving Thursday

I invited him to do Tunnel Falls with us and to my surprise he said he was down

What a chiller 😆

When 4pm came, we went our separate ways and he said he would text me

Greenhorn and I were pumped for the hot tub at the Motel

We walked across the street to Motel

It was kind of a dump but at least there was a hot tub

He got the keys and I asked the lady where hot tub was

“Hot tub? No hot tub” she replied and walked away

“Greenhorn, there’s no hot tub!“ I told him

We were both upset…

In reality, I didn’t need a hot tub but after being told there was one, I had come to expect it

It always hurts when your expectations aren’t met

Oh well

Instead of the hot tub, I took a nap

Woke up for sunset, walked by the Bridge of Gods to watches the sunset and celebrate not being cold and in the snow anymore

Then we went and got dinner at a Mexican food truck just outside the motel

Grabbed a beer to go at the brewery

Watched some Kill Tony and went bed around 11pm