[pct-l] Window closing - checking in - more photos

[carl myhill]

Hi All,

I hope this information is of some use to people trying to get through but I
guess it is somewhat old news by now. First, here are some photos of the
last bit to BORDOR...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlmyhill/sets/72157600994202757/show/

On October 1st around 7pm I reached BORDOR (monument 78) with TeaTree,
NAFTA, Eddie and Meeghan. We'd done a 26 mile day from the Yurt at Windy
Pass (mile 2629) pretty much without stopping. At times we were in 2 feet of
snow and breaking trail. Luckily Eddie is a Cat driver for Heavenly ski
resort and Meeghan is also a snow bunny so they were excellent at breaking
trail (I broke trail in the morning and it was hard work). The last high
pass (*sorry I dont have my maps) had deep snow on the switchbacks and a
narrow path. I'm not sure how it would work in snow shoes since it was hard
enough to figure out which part of the trail was supposed to be flat as it
was. Standing too close to the edge seemed slightly sketchy at times. You
could slide a long way if you messed it up but we all got down it fine.

TeaTree, NAFTA and I camped near the monument (nice campsite with bear
lockers and pit toilet). Eddie and Meeghan hauled into Manning Park. Mr Pink
and Miso arrived a bit later and also pushed on to Manning Park. I think
they did a 39 mile day from Hart's Pass. We hiked the 8 miles to manning
park in the rain on the swamped trail on the 2nd.  Out There showed up later
having done 17 miles into Manning Park. At that time he was the last to
finish, we didn't see anyone come in after Out There. When we reached the
road our natural inclination was to turn left. This is what the maps on the
trail implied we should do. Most people seemed to do this. You need to go
RIGHT when you hit the road. READ YOGI - she always has it right it seems.

Elliot headed out about 30 minutes ahead of us from Stehekin but we didn't
catch him and nor did we see his prints in the snow. I hope he is OK and got
off the trail somewhere sensible.

On 2nd it was snowing but not settling at Manning Park. On the 3rd we could
see it snowing higher up in the mountains so I guess by the time we left the
area it was pretty deep up there.

I feel VERY sorry for those folks behind who have been turned back a number
of times trying to get through. It's a long journey to be thwarted at the
last. I hope people walk away satisfied with their hike regardless of
whether they get to monument 78 or not. It's been an incredible journey.

Here are some thoughts for anyone considering pushing through. I am not
intending to be patronizing just reflecting on what I felt up there:

- at times the snow is pretty and easy to deal with but sometimes,
especially if it is wet and windy, you get extremely cold and cannot take a
break. Eddie suggested we stuff food in our pockets and so that's what we
did when we left the Yurk;

- I dont know how I could have pitched my tent in the deep snow. Plan on
camping low down if you have to camp (Out There camped by the lake near the
17 miles from Manning Park but awoke with 6 inches of snow on his tent);

- our trail running shoes felt better in the snow with plastic bags over our
socks;

- I would not like to be out there alone in those conditions. The cold and
wet was extreme and hypothermia not far away I felt;

- I would not like to be our there without decent maps, altimeter, compass
and extra food (my whole resupply was accidentally thrown in the hiker box
at the Dinsmores - I lost all of my food and my maps. What I later got from
the hiker box was ok but not ideal and the maps I photographed to use on my
camera didn't work very well since my batteries didnt work well in the cold.
Not a situation I am proud of but I stayed with my buddies and everything
was ok.)

- in terms of emergency shelter the restroom at Hart's pass is clean and you
could sleep in there (I think Speedstick did). Four miles further on, at
Windy Pass, there is a Yurt about 300 yards from the trail to the left (as
you head North). It's brown and is in the trees so it's extremely hard to
see when the snow is blowing around. I would guess it is 55 miles from
Stehekin at mile 2629. It's not in Yogi's book probably because it is
Private Property and is only to be used in Emergencies. It is, however, nice
to know that there is an emergency shelter nearby when you are caught in a
blizzard. if you try to find it from Hart's Pass keep looking to your left.
For the first 1.5 miles or so there is a steep drop-off to the left so you
can tell there is no Yurt down there. After this you will see things get
shallower and the valley, not far below, looks like a potential Yurt site.
The first shallow valley is not the one, nor is the second - it's the third
one you need to look for. There is a miners road which intersects the trail
and if you follow it you'll come to the Yurt. When we were there the miner's
road was hard to see but we could just discern it. Much more snow and you
might not see it. If you do use the Yurt PLEASE be respectful of the private
property. We left it cleaner than we found it and left $20 for the wood we
burned. We left the Yurt the next day much more prepared for the weather.

- As you probably know, TeaTree is something of an expert at having
adventures finding alternative routes. Her and NAFTA took a different route
from Rainy Pass. They hitched a way up Highway 20(?) and took jeep trails to
the Yurt. This was apparently NAFTA's find and it was an excellent one -
they also passed lost of interesting old mining houses. Out There and me had
a rough time in the weather on the PCT and TeaTree and NAFTA had it easy on
a lower route. Their alternative route wasn't super obvious but it may be
worth a look. They said, at times you reach a fork in un-signed jeep roads
and have to use your judgement. They expected to have to backtrack a lot but
made it first time by pure luck.

- down here in Nevada, in the Sierras, we had a very large early dump of
snow last year. It was totally gone within a couple of days but the sun
shines very hot here most days. Washington looked like a different deal to
me. There was a lot of snow up there and more coming in behind us. I
struggle to believe that it will clear with those grey skies much BUT the
locals we spoke to, hunters and such, told us that it sometimes does clear
up and melt a bit and it might well be worth waiting.


I have had the most excellent journey on the PCT this year. Huge thanks to
everyone who made it a fantastic adventure - friends on the trail and the
supporting cast (you know who you are).

I am very sorry to friends behind who are frustrated with the weather and
conditions. Please make safe choices and be back to hike another day. It is
somewhat arbitrary getting to the end - enjoy the adventure you have had!

I'm off to Grey Havens soon. If anyone is in the UK anytime, give me a
shout. I live in Cambridge. Google Litsl and you'll find me.

Litsl

PS Anyone fancy doing El Camino anytime soon?
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