We had shared the hotel’s bunk room with Doc and Colin so we had breakfast with them – a buffet on Sundays, perfect for hungry hikers. Endless plates of bacon and Spanish omelette, blueberry pancakes and fresh fruit. And coffee, of course. Given we weren’t planning to leave Skykomish today, we went along to the home of trail angels Andrea…
Tag: trail angels
Day 91: Lazy Zero
Today we zeroed with trail angels JoAnn and Emory. I don’t think we left the house all day. We made it as far as the garage to the washing machine to do laundry, but really the day was all about the sofa and the TV. JoAnn is a big LA Dodgers fan so we watched a lot of baseball, and…
Day 80: The Hospitality of Belden
Getting to town today was 12 miles downhill. The first miles from the ridge were fairly flat and wide but the trail soon became recognisable as a descent into town. That is to say it narrowed to around 18 inches wide, cut into the side of a steep hill. Into Belden, the hill is densely forested and relatively humid, so…
Day 30: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
The Andersons’ place is wonderfully chilled even at breakfast time. They had coffee on the go at 6am, with pancakes following at 7am. Terrie gave rides to the trailhead, dispensing advice on the road walk around the fire closure. She had said we should walk the 12 miles on the road to the Lower Shake Canyon trail and then 23…
Day 29: Hippie Day Care
Coming out of Vasquez Rocks, we hit the town of Agua Dulce and a 3 mile road walk. Road walking is not my favourite: cars and bikes roaring by, nothing to see, and the soles of my feet turning into hamburger quicker. Eventually the trail wound into green brushy hills. The trail is visible in hillsides that are otherwise unbroken…
Day 24: The Kindness of Strangers
The morning brought town breakfast, which includes amongst other things, unlimited coffee. I like town breakfasts. I’ve even got the hang of ordering now. Diogenes joined us, having had to turn back from mount Baden Powell because of the snow. He only has a tarp so town was a better option than freezing in a windy snowstorm. The morning’s errands…
Day 23: Mental
I hadn’t slept well after hitting the wall yesterday on the second half of the climb. I’d eaten all my spare food knowing I was going to be in town within 24 hours, but sleep wasn’t happening. So the 13 miles to the highway today, including 5 more miles of climbing, were entirely mental. I had to push every step,…