PCT: WA Section K - Rainy Pass to Stevens Pass (SOBO)
Day 141 - 9/24/25 - High Bridge Camp
Distance: 19.5
Mile Start / End: 61.2 - 80.7
Weather: Sunny
End Location: high bridge camp
Lessons Learned:
Woke up 6:30am
Bakery
Croissants at 8am
Chocolate croissant was delectable
Brought one back for Mary
Mary didn’t want the croissant so gave it to some other hikers there
The Mayor was making breakfast as well
Ate second breakfast with other hikers
Mary gave Pyscho and I a ride to Rainy Pass just after 10am
Arrived around 10:45am
Gave trail magic to NOBO hiker shadow, scone
Started hiking just before 11am
Steheiken in 20 miles, pretty much all downhill, I love WA SOBO 😌
Kindness is remembered better than malice
We’re not perfect but we’re enough
Thoughts of a life in Bend
Thought about the convo with Bug
How much progress can you making in hiking?
Once you maximize the efficiency of your systems, it’s really just walking
I think the most progress and growth is in the mind
“Let the oceans worry about being blue”
NOBO Dude passed me with biggest bag I’ve seen yet, thing was bigger than him😂
Bubbles! Adorable Japanese hiker I met back in the desert recognized me
We signed each others bags :)
Only a petty person dwells on petty things
Philosophy pod
Religious transformation = when you stop framing the world in terms of how it can serve you and shift to how you can serve the world completely
Two ways to have conversation:
Projection of self on them in a utilitarian way (how can this convo benefit me)
or
Just listen to them and perceive them on there own terms
Buddhism in 3 sentences
Lunch break at Maple Creek
Ate rest of pastries and a tuna tortilla
Left after 3pm
Shuttle pick up in 9.6 miles
Saw 360! Hug and pic
She told me that the last shuttle to Steheiken is at 6:15pm
Gonna be close, wish I didn’t take such a long lunch😅
Skunk! (the girl), told her how much I appreciated her kindness and congrats on triple crown😌 gave her a treat
Huge cedar
Serious hiking
Boom boom, nice guy
Hot dog! Chatted with him for a little
He was so excited and shocked to see me😂
Ranger station around 6:45pm
Missed the last shuttle, oh well there’s a nice camp up above the river
Set up
Lavender, French gal was there
Made dinner and ate a ton of food, I carried way too much so might as well eat it
Other hike Tiger pulled up, aussie
Even made tea, it’s nice not being in a rush and having more energy
Geordie shore
Bed around 9pm
Day 142 - 9/25/25 - Baked in Steheiken
Distance: 12.3
Mile Start / End: 80.7 - 93
Weather: cloudy, cold
End Location: tentsite by creek
Lessons Learned:
Woke up around 7am
Breakfast
Granola peanut butter tortilla
Hot mountain mocha
Waited with Tiger at picnic table, rest of his trail fam joined
Some squatted girl and peed right next to the picnic table
Made me do a double take😂
I get we are camping but you I found it a little gross and inconsiderate
Blue bus pulled up
Chopsticks from Idyllwild! Said hey, he commented on how different I looked now
Loaded the bags in the bus to get things moving quicker
Got on bus near front
Stop at bakery
Ordered some pastries baked in Stehekin: a ham and cheese croissant, quiche Lorraine, cinnamon roll, a sticky bun, and a German pastry that started with K
So delicious 🤌
But the croissant at Mazama was better, not even close
Got a shirt for a buddy’s birthday and some cards
Arrived at ferry port around 10:15am
Lake Chelan was windy but beautiful
Teal water and white caps whirled while the mountains sat quietly above in the distance
Went to post office and got resupply box
Went to picnic area to sort everything out
The wind annoyed me as it knocked my stuff over
Sent off some packages to friends
Thought about trying to catch the 11am bus back but I didn’t want to rush, I wasn’t sure when I’d be back here again
In the years I lived in WA, I had always wanted to go here but never had the time
Now I was here and finally had the time so I figured I’d stay at least a little longer and take the 2pm bus
I found reprieve from the wind in a beautiful little boat house marked “for lodge guests only”
Weird name for a boathouse… but had an amazing view of the lake and Cascade Pass through glassed in windows and had chargers and 2 tables
If any guests came, I’d certainly leave but none ever did
“Sligo River Blues” came on the playlist Cheech made, I took a moment to soak it all in
Went over to the restaurant
Ordered chicken fingers with fries and a sprite
Sat with a view of the lake
Put on some tv and relaxed
The blue bus arrived around 1:30pm
Aryan and Charlotte (from the beginning of my journey) got off the bus
I gave them a hug and chatted with them briefly
Then Peter “Bush Pilot” got off and I gave him a hug as well, this would be the last time running into them
Boarded the bus
Arrive around 3pm
Will hike as far as I can, would like to get to Image Lake, 20 miles away, but we’ll see
Went to the bridge and watched the Kokanee salmon try to jump up a waterfall
Resumed trail 3:20pm
Straight up for 20 miles with 5 days of food😅
Kate bushed it
White chanterelle!
5pm, Agnes Mountains in view - dramatic and pointy
Huge Sitka Spruces or Cedar? I don’t know hahaha
A cold front was moving in
Passed Rebecca
Ate sticky bun from bakery, so fuego
Changed glasses
Will try to reach tent site and river 4.6 miles away before dark, decided there’s no need to night hike, will just wake up early tomorrow
Little bit of night hiking
Camp around 8:30pm
Set up camp, then dinner
Tv and then bed
A nice light day, basically a zero🤣
Day 143 - 9/26/25 - Image Lake and Miner’s Ridge Fire Tower
Distance: 22 miles + 5 miles off trail
Mile Start / End: 93 - 115
Weather: cloudy, cold , then sunny
End Location: Vista Creek
Lessons Learned:
Woke up 7am
Packed up, coffee, ate breakfast
Cinnamon roll from Stehekin Bakery
So delicious
Can’t decide whether the chocolate croissant from Mazama was better
The cinnamon roll definitely packed out better
They both win
Actually I win? 😂
Left 8am
Pretty steep uphill for 8.5 miles to Image Lake Junction
No music first hour was brutal
Put on “chill” playlist in order
“Good Day” by Nappy Roots to set the tone
Light rain
Junction in 5 mi
Top of Suiattle Pass 11:40am, all downhill from here😌 good morning workout
Image lake junction 12pm
Sike on the downhill
Took miners ridge detour, looked cool than going down and hugging river
And weather looked ok
Might skip the fire lookout but we’ll see
Passed NOBO couple that said lookout is worth
Ok fine, will do lunch there
First glimpse of glacier peak, the top was covered by clouds
Such a cool mountain, like Mt. Rainier’s lil brother
My summit attempt in 2 days will be completely weather dependent
And the weather looks fickle up there
Switchbacks up
Such a wicked ridge, so worth it
Image Lake around 1pm
Aptly named, the lake reflects a perfect image when the water is still
Filled up water and left for fire lookout visible in distance
Passed some friendly forest rangers
Had lunch on fire lookout
So cool
Clouds passed over Glacier Peak in the distance
Took an MTV Crib’s video
The colors were vibrant and clear
Made matcha to go
Left 3:15pm
Long switchback descent back to the trail
Lobster mushrooms! Did not collect, have to eat the ones I already have first😅
Finally back to PCT 5pm, must’ve been 5 miles of switchbacks, glad I was going up lol
Now for shortcut beta, go north to water icon, there should be a log to cross then bushwhack to a different trail, this should be interesting😅
Ran into Greenhorn
I was going NOBO so I acted like I didn’t know him and that I was someone else
Got his ass 😅
Told him about the log beta
Bypassing 5 miles sounded good to him too
Found log
Crossed log, lil sketch😂
Climbed uphill
Bushwacked straight up
Then through thick forest
Mushrooms
Finally made it to Upper Suiattle Trail after close to an hour of bushwhacking
Resumed PCT but decided to call it a day there
Set up camp and ate dinner together
Dunked head in silty milky river, felt good to wash off
Tv
Bed 9:30pm
Day 144 - 9/27/25 - Blow Down, Hike Up
Distance: 21.9 miles
Mile Start / End: 115 - 136.9
Weather: cloudy, rainy
End Location: Pumice Creek
Lessons Learned:
Woke up just before 5am
Left just after 6am
No music first hour
Lots of blow down in the dark😅
“Breathe” Kartell Slow Remix
Another day let’s get it sonnnn
Never mind the blow down is fucking me
Literally on all fours crawling under trees
Passed so NOBOs
Finally done with blowdown and overgrowth combo 8:30am
To be interesting, be interested
High alpine beauty
Badger or grey marmot?
“Loud places” by Jammie xx, good song for the high alpine hahaha
Top 9am
Filled up water and out of wool shirt
A light drizzle told me to keep going
Went to spot with trees and had a lil break
Peanut butter tortilla
Down
Brutal Switchbacks
White oyster mushrooms? Did not collect, unsure and still have a bit of mushrooms left (turns out they were Angel Wings of Death, glad I didn’t test my luck)
Past some NOBO hikers that generally looked pissed off🤣
I mean the trail was shit but you can try to have a good attitude
Some guy with a frown tried to tell me “go.” when I was already pulled over
“All you bud, I’m already moved over” I responded
And he passed with a huff, douche
Then ran into British hiker Goldfish (from Seid Valley)
The hiker that smiles back goldfish
Nice guy from London, had a chat, he is ending in Ashland
Made it to the bottom around 1pm
Took a little break to eat a bunch of candy and Greenhorn caught up to me
And now back up, 5 miles and 3000 ft of bullshit to Fire Pass😅
Will take break after 4 miles at Micah Lake for a swim and water
Deadbeats playlist got me up the hill
“Come This Far” Marvel Years and Leech
Kate bushed it
Made it to the lake around 3pm
Yahoo!
Tore off clothes and dove in naked
Rick flair WOO!
Chilly
Sun came out
Dove in again
Then did a backflip in
Then put shorts on
Greenhorn pulled up after I was clothed
Lunch, smoked salmon packet and chips
Left 4:15pm
5 miles to possible camp
“Anthem” by Greta while I climbed
Top of Fire Pass 5pm
Matcha green tea for PCT Bingo “Tea at top of pass”
Shoutout Tea Cup, miss you brotha ❤️
Sharp peaks and the smell of blueberries filled the air
Tasha!!!
Had a lovely chat w her
Bear! Scurried away
Bit of overgrowth
Cool creek, silt and clear water merged
Made it to camp around sunset 7:30pm
Green horn was set up at a nice but exposed spot with a great view
He said he scoped out the best spot for me, what a guy😌
Filled water, set up tent, made dinner
Greenhorn came over and joined me
Talked about life
Love is most important but then the different recipients are family, self, and life
If you have love all 3 , you’re 3/3 cover girl
Easy breezy, and beautiful
Had to explain the cover girl commercial to greenhorn, he’s a bit younger
Tent 8:30pm
Tv
Bed by 9:30pm
Day 145 - 9/28/25 - Smokey Glacier
Distance: 22.3
Mile Start / End: 136.9 - 159.2
Weather: Sunny, Smokey
End Location: Lake Sally Ann
Lessons Learned: the best gift you can give it your time and attention
Woke up 7:30am to the smell of smoke
The wind must’ve blown it in in the night
Cold but not too cold, keep wool shirt on but no need for tights
Coffee and honeybun
Garmin message from Bella, she is 16 miles south, will likely run into her today
Up
Down
Overgrowth
River crossing
Up
Blowdown
Down, nice and breezy
Saw Slackline and Fanta (Aussie), met them a long time ago in the desert
Signed bag
Latrine
Nice breezy jaunt through mossy wood
Fantastic fungi - I felt like a cat chasing a laser pointer as my attention shifter sporadically every way but straight
Brunch break around noon for trail mix tortilla
White Pass in 6.7 miles, don’t think I’m gonna go for the summit attempt, too tired and too Smokey and not enough food to last 3 more days out here
Left 12:45pm
Cool bridge
Uphill for next 5 miles
Bella and Extra! Had a chat
So good to see them😌
The uphill after was so tough
I think the smoke just zaps my energy
So much for my “cigarettes in the Sierras” training😅
Top of Red Pass, 3pm
There will be no summit attempt today, I can barely make it up the pass with all the smoke without getting a headache
I can’t imagine another 6k ft climb
Hiking the trail will be tough enough🥲
Lunch Break by White Pass 3:30pm
Left 4pm
9 miles to Sally Ann Lake for Camp
Passed White Mountain and the chance to attemp the summit of Glacier Peak would be 14 miles round trip and nearly 6k elevation gain
Can’t even see the peak…
No shot 😅
I’ll be lucky if I make it to Highway in one piece
Hanna from day 1!
She asked if I wanted to take a break and catch up
Ofc! How sweet 😌
And she shared some of her peanut M&Ms with me
Then the bag fell and we ate some ground M&Ms hahaha
We chatted for a good bit
Just her wanting to sit and chat made me realize that the best gift you can give someone is your time and attention (and candy)… lesson learned
Unexpected kindness
Her actions showed me how I want to act
Then JP showed up! Goes by Pie Guy now
Caught up with him too
Uphill for 2 miles
Top around 6:30pm
Beautiful sunset, the one pro of smoke
Kodak Peak provided a Kodak moment
Saw Moses and Lucky! (From the Sierras)
Made it to camp around 8:15pm in the dark at Lake Sally Ann
Greenhorn shouted at me from his tent and told me about a nice protected tent spot up to the right
Went up there, it was a nice spot
Grabbed water, set up camp, and ate dinner
Bed by 9:30pm
Day 146 - 9/29/25 - Valhalla
Distance: 23.6
Mile Start / End: 159.2 - 182.8
Weather: Smokey and Sunny, the rainy and cold 🥶
End Location: Lake Valhalla Inlet
Lessons Learned:
Woke up 7:00am
Raining already
Packed up, left around 8:00am
Prepped mountain mocha last night so was speedy escape
Left in tights, wool base layer, shirt, and rain jacket - it was cold and wet
4.5 miles to Cady Creek
Up
Down
Rainy
Golden Chanterelles! Collected a few for dinner
Break at creek
Up
Top of cady pass 10:40am
Avocado!
Listened to pod on Tommy Caldwell surviving hostage situation in Stan country
The Polish say: “climbing is the art of suffering”
Perfectly applicable to Thru-Hiking too
Down through high alpine
Saw a pika!
Accidentally passed Pear Lake, guess I’ll fill up water at the next creek… in 7 miles😅
Bottom around 1:45pm
Started climbing up toward Grizzly Peak, 2.5 miles
Hungry but no more snacks
Top 2:50pm
Quick lunch at a tent site
A cloud moved in with the wind
The combination chilled me and I started shivering - time to get moving
Hedgehog mushroom around but didn’t collect (they are edible but I didn’t know until research later)
The cold rain was brutal
Just kept gloves on and kept going
Filled up water at Lake Jannus outlet
I stopped briefly and got pretty cold
My fingers started tingling
The only thing that could keep me warm was to keep moving
I had more clothes but didn’t want to use them so I had a nice dry outfit for bed
Pushed on to Lake Valhalla
Made it to Lake Valhalla around sunset
Greenhorn was already in his tent
Through his tent, he told me there were two spot available
One was dry and under a tree, but was slanted and had a bunch of horse crap right next to it
The other was exposed and wet, but flat
With a little bit of daylight, I decided to check my other options
I took the trail down to the lake but the spots weren’t great, no water access and all pretty slanted
And I’d be alone
So went back and joined Greenhorn
I took the flat exposed spot, opting for a good pitch rather than temporary dryness
As I set camp it starting raining harder
One of my tent strings broke
I got flustered as I hastily tried to fix it
Took a breath
Fixed it
Put plastic wrap down and dove in the tent
I was absolutely soaked
Changed in to my dry sleep outfit as the rain pattered on my tent above me
It was a good pitch should keep me dry and warm throughout the night
For dinner, I hardly had any food left
I cooked in my tent and used my last potato packet to make a seafood chowder with lobster mushroom, chanterelles, and bear’s head mushroom (has a crab taste)
Actually pretty tasty
I told Greenhorn about my lack of food and he said he had extra
He gave me crushed up cinnamon pop tart for breakfast tomorrow and two candy bars
Needing a moral boost, I ate one of the candy bars right then
Then watched Geordie Shore and went to bed around 10pm
Day 147 - 9/30/25 - Steven’s Pass and Leavenworth
Distance: 6 miles
Mile Start / End: 182.8 - 188.8
Weather: Cloudy, Cold
End Location: Leavenworth
Lessons Learned:
Woke up with first light
Very cold
Fired up a Dirty chai
Ate the crumbled pop tart in my last tortilla
Yum
The rain lightened up throughout the night
Was just a light sprinkle now
Packed up in my gloves and left with Greenhorn
6 miles to Stevens Pass, left around 8am
No need to hike fast, the restaurants at Steven’s Pass were closed
But should be there before noon
Pretty easy hiking mostly all downhill
Heard chainsaws in the distance
Lichtenberg Mountain looked cool
Little uphill and the end
Made it to Pass around 11am
Grabbed my resupply box from the front desk
The front desk girl, Clara was as nice as could be
She told me even though they were mostly closed, they had a section in the back with free snacks and coffee for us
I went outside to tell Greenhorn but he was gone, he probably left to get his box at Snoqualmie
I chilled in the hiker section and got some coffee, sour patch kids, and skittles
Friko was there!
And a guy named Wolverine was comments were infamous on FarOut
Caught up with Friko and organized resupply
Gal name Archive joined us
I over packed the box so I ate a ton of food
Once my food was sorted it say goodbye to hikers and worked on getting a hitch to Leavenworth, which was 40 mins away
I stood on the edge of the highway and parking lot and put my thumb out
After only about 10 mins, I caught one
A nice Indian dude picked me up and told me he could get me 30 mins down the road
Cool
He was a snowboarding bum who worked carpentry to make a living and was going to visit his dad
We chatted about the different mountains and life
He dropped me off at a gas station
I grabbed a Dr Pepper and went back outside to stick my thumb out again
Not before long, I had some more luck and a white truck pulled over
I threw my stuff in the bed and hopped in
He told me he was going to pick u phis daughter from school
His wife and him ran a little mountain hotel
He vented about and incident
His wife loves to bake and so they give complimentary pastries to the guests that stay there
Some asshole said that pastries aren’t a real breakfast and left a scolding review on yelp
I told him I would happily eat a pastry right now hahahah
Once we got into town, he saw two hikers and joked, “oh there’s some of your friends right there”
“Wait those actually are my friends!”
He let me out in front of them and I ran over to them
It was Ellie!
And a new hiker Cookie Monster
I gave Ellie a big hug and greeted Cookie Monster
Then walked with them
They were on the hunt for food
We didn’t walk far before we found a restaurant that looked sufficient
The sun was coming out so we sat down outside at the Yodelin and figured out a plan for the lodging
I got a beer and bratwurst and was happy to be in a German town with my German friend, rather than in the cold, rainy woods
