PNT Section 6 – Coolin to North Port

PNT Day 23 – Three Whole People

Mile 5.8 on the Jackson Creek alternate to mile 5.5 on the Pass Creek alternate

It’s almost 10am and we are, a little embarrassingly, still in camp when Josh walks by. Our first sighting of another thru hiker on the trail! Though we actually met Josh super briefly in Eureka where he was a day behind us. I think we’re both shocked to see another hiker out here after spending so many days more or less alone. Which, is exactly how Starman and I spend the rest of our day. That is, until dinner time when Silver and Wayward roll out of the forest, they must have been just behind us on the trail all day. Wild!

The PNT only attracts about 100-200 hikers annually with some of those folks going eastbound. Spotting a thru hiker in the wild on this trail feels like a special treat.

PNT Day 24 – Smell that?

Mile 5.5 on the Pass Creek alternate to mile 354.2 Metaline Falls

The PNT is blessing me with the ability to endure new levels of stinkiness. After six days on trail and one very graceful full-frontal face plant I know, intellectually, that I am dirty and I smell atrocious. But somehow I don’t mind. Somehow I’ve transcended the barrier where normal funk lies and moved into a whole new land of dirt and grime that comes with living and exercising all day in the same clothes day after day. Maybe I do remember how to be a thru hiker after all.

PNT Day 25 – I’d Rather Not

Mile 354.2 Metaline Falls to mile 369.5

Abercrombie Mountain soars more than 5,000 feet over the town of Metaline Falls; a hulking beast of trees and rock. What begins as a paved road walk out of town transitions into a dirt road and then finally a trail over the course of 15 miles. And I for one am frankly not in the mood for it. Today will be our biggest elevation gain to date and I’d just rather not. My body feels fine and after a night in a hotel I’m well rested enough but my mood is not there. I mean, I’ll do the climb, I’ll get to the top, but I’d rather not. I’d rather crawl into my tent and doom scroll on my phone for the rest of the day. But you know what? Sometimes that’s just not an option. So after breakfast (including pie) at the local cafe I follow Starman and Bookworm out of town and begin the slog.

The joy of walking on a road is that the elevation gain is doled out in one long, smooth gradient. The downside is the traffic which luckily disappears once the road turns to dirt. Per usual Bookworm pulls ahead of us and vanishes around a corner. This is likely the last time we’ll hike with them and I’m both sad at their departure and grateful for the fun we had so far. Also per usual on the PNT we are hiking through the trees and we weave in and out of an active logging zone as the road switchbacks up Abercrombie’s broad flank. To pass the time I put in a podcast as the sky overhead gradually clouds over, providing much appreciated shade and a cooling breeze.

Some hours later when we get to our planned dinner spot for the night Starman ducks into the bushes to find a spring, our water source for the night, only to come back empty handed. The spring has dried up for the summer and now we have a conundrum: do we push on five miles to the next water source and then another four miles after that to the next camp, or do we take the half liter we each have and make that do for the evening. Being over it as I am and ready to crawl into the tent I push for the later. So we each eat the least dry snacks we have for dinner and complete the final climb to camp at a snail’s pace so as not to sweat and waste any further precious water. Tomorrow, after all, is another day.

PNT Day 26 – Josh and Jamie

Mile 369.5 to mile 381.4 then a hitch into North Port

A mop of curly brown hair sits atop kind, crinkling eyes; Josh greets Starman, Bookworm and myself and ushers us into his home. Jami, his partner, is an enthusiastic artist who arrives an hour later, gracefully welcoming three strangers into her home. They speak hiker lingo like a native and show us where we can charge our devices and shower. They feed us—burritos with ice cream cones for dessert. In the end, Josh and Jami were everything you’d want from a trail angel. And better yet they personify the treatment we’ve received on this trail so far.