PNT Days 44-45 – A Double Zero in Winthrop
Zero days, no miles hiked
Like a scene straight out of an old Hollywood movie, main street Winthrop, WA is both a tourist trap and the ideal location to spend a double zero. Starman and I first came here during our 2018 thru hike of the PCT and fell in love with its quaint charm. Over the next three nights and two full, luxurious days we will do all the things one might imagine of a long weekend lazily spent; laying down, watching TV, eating ice cream. And on the far side of it we will emerge stronger, recovered, and ready to face what the trail holds for us.
PNT Day 46 – Chill so Hard
Mile 828.8* to mile 843.4
* Due to the Whatcom Pass closure in North Cascades National Park we had to skip more than 60 miles of the trail and rejoin near Baker Lake
Is it possible to relax too hard? To chill with such intensity that you are rendered less capable, not more? From almost my first step down the trail today I fear that I may have fallen victim to my own ability to vegetate. That a mere two days off trail have negated six plus weeks of walking and instead of healing my muscles have instead turned them into mush.
My legs churn slowly, protesting at every uphill grade and mincing like a newly born fawn on every downhill. It’s as though I have forgotten how to do this very simple thing. Though I am grateful in the extreme for the mellow rises and falls that encompass our path around Baker Lake, for I am certain I would not survive anything more strenuous. Eventually the afternoon passes and Starman and I make it nearly 15 miles before calling it quits.
Day 47 – Road Walking and Climbing
Mile 843.4 to mile 859.7
The PNT loves two things: road walking and climbing, albeit the latter more than the former. Today started on winding, rolling trails cruising under buttery light playing through the lush trees. I, am lethargic. It feels as though my feet and legs have somehow disconnected from my brain and I am stumbling along the East Baker Lake trail. After barely two miles we reach the trailhead and commence to road walking. First paved then abandoned then gravel, all the while climbing steadily onto the giant shoulders of Mt Baker.
Arriving at our second trailhead of the day we are inundated by day hikers out to climb to Park Butte Lookout. It’s more people than I have seen on the PNT to date and I feel a little overwhelmed. I finally succumb and put on a podcast and finally with my thoughts occupied I can walk again. Wonder of wonders! The climbing comes smoothly and we reach our campsite just in time for the start of sunset. From our little perch on a ridge Mt Baker unfolds before us both high and glacial and rushing rushing rushing down it’s sides to meet the roaring river below.
PNT Day 48 – Zero at the Park Butte Lookout
Zero, no miles hiked
A ring of teeth. A jagged crown. And a great roaring beast. Those are my companions for the day as I perch in the tiny room of Park Butte Lookout which sits upon the shoulders of Mt Baker. Surrounded by impressive mountains to all sides with the rushing falls of Baker sluicing down into the valley. All day people come and go, marveling at the view and eating their pre-prepared snacks. Meanwhile I sit, lay, nap and while away the day in peace. My first ever on-trail zero and it is glorious.
PNT Day 49 – Never a Dull Moment
Mile 859.7, Park Butte Lookout to mile 1 on the Mt Josephine Alt
“Don’t tell me that’s the trail,” I joke, pointing to a near-vertical clear cut in the trees.
“That is the trail,” says Starman.
He is not joking.
The trail, as it turns out, has been a victim to logging. With a 200 foot wide swath cut straight out of the middle. Jagged stumps of trees and downed limbs abound, while the track for the actual trail has been obliterated entirely. On either side is a verdant evergreen forest while the foresting scar is a burnt orange-brown devoid of life.
We begin to climb into this scar, hand over hand. Care must be taken with every step to avoid collapsing logs and dig pits. Slowly inching our way upwards for 200 feet until we are able to duck into the woods and rejoin the actual trail. The time lost on this section alone means that even though we were on the trail early we hike on into the dark.
PNT Day 50 – Billie and Eddie
Mile 1 on the Mt Josephine Alt to Lyman, WA
I will never fully understand the people who go so far out of their way to cater to us hikers when all we have done is walk a long way to get there. But they have my unending gratitude.
Billie and Eddie welcome us into their home with everything a hiker could need: a spot in the shade, a place to charge our devices, and when dinner rolls around Billie surprises us with homemade enchiladas. Beyond catering to our hiker needs they are in themselves the epitome of trail angels, Billie is generous and gregarious while Eddie asks thoughtful questions about the trail. They are enthusiastic and helpful and after we are showered and fed Starman and I gratefully set up our tent in their back yard. As we move through the outskirts of Bellingham and onto the islands on our way to the Olympic Peninsula we will rely on the kindness of strangers like these to ease our journey.