PNT Section 14 – The Olympics part 2

PNT Day 68 – Kindabird and SOS

Zero day at Kindabird and SOS’s house, Port Angeles, WA

Kindabird and SOS have welcomed us onto their gorgeous property for two nights, providing all the amenities a hiker could need: laundry, a place to charge our devices, and crucially, a network of other trail angels who swoop in and save us from the uphill hike to their home out of town.

She is a funny, candid, working nurse who has a self-deprecating charm and a generosity that goes unmatched. She seems genuinely invested in our hike, providing maps and detailed beta on the tides along our coastal route. He is smart and provocative, and attentive to their rambunctious five year old, Base Weight.

On the evening of our second night Kindabird makes us homemade deep-dish pizza, complete with a sauce made from tomatoes from her own garden. It’s perfection as is the rest of our stay with the family.

PNT Day 69 – Olympic Hot Springs

Mile 1125.1 to mile 1133.6

I am expecting chaos. Picture crowds. No, picture spring break but with fewer pools and housed in the wilderness. In my mind there is no way that Olympic Hot Springs is going to be anything but madness on the last day of Labor Day weekend. I don’t even anticipate getting into the springs because of the crowds. But it’s camp here or add an extra 2,000′ of climbing to the end of the day, and I’m less enthusiastic about that than I am with camping in a crowd.

So imagine my surprise when the campground at the springs is barely occupied. And better yet, the same goes for the pools. Before dinner Starman and I spend a leisurely hour relaxing in the warm waters, letting the heat melt the strain from our muscles. Afterwards we meet another PNT thru hiker: Skookum! After chatting for a while he camps a few sites over from us.

PNT Day 70 – A Different Sort of Day

Mile 1133.6 to mile 1144.4 via the unofficial Cat Basin Primitive track Alt

Despite getting on trail at 9am I am still tired as we begin a 3,400′ climb out and away from the Olympic Hot Springs. The beauty of today is that there is no need to rush with only 10 miles on the docket—though with 5,000′ of gain. The plan for today is to take the Cat Basin Primitive track from the top of Appleton Pass instead of sticking to the much less interesting official route. The Cat Basin Primitive track is about the same elevation gain and mileage as the official route but does so through a series of tightrope-thin use trails, scrambles through trees, and one notorious class 2 downclimb. In short, a more challenging, more fun route with epic views of Mt Olympus that toes the line between a good time and sketchy.

PNT Day 71 – Up and Way Down

Mile 1144.4 mile 1185 via the unofficial Hoh River Alt (minus 15 miles)

My alarm rings at 5:30am and I am not ready to be awake yet. Still, I dutifully deflate my sleeping pad and roll to Starman to break the bad news: it’s time to get up. Today we have 18 miles and a whopping 6,000′ of loss from our spot at Heart Lake to the output of the Hoh River.

But what would the PNT be were it not for some extraneous climbing. So first we climb 1,000′ before beginning the knee-jarring descent.

We can hear the mighty Hoh deep in the valley long before we can even see it. The roar of the powerful river cutting it’s way through the dense jungle as it makes it’s way towards the ocean. Around us the forest becomes ever more lush and vibrant with great garlands of moss clinging to the trees and carpeting the earth.  After hours of descending we reach the bottom of the valley where the river continues leading us on. I think about how only a week ago we entered the Olympic Peninsula and now we’re already on the far side of it. Next stop: the beach and then we’re done.

PNT Day 72 – Skookum

Forks, WA to mile 1209.1

A wiry frame shadows our table outside the grocery store in Forks, WA and I look up to spot Skookum! I figured we were going roughly the same pace through the Olympics but it’s good to see him again after meeting him at Olympic Hot Springs a few days ago. Skookum is half salty sea dog working as an engineer on an Alaskan boat and half total nerd. As we walk down Oil City road with the occasional double hauling trucks screaming past he and Starman chat animatedly about everything from cameras to 3D printing while I can take up my preferred introverted spot and hang out in the background.

We walk for ten miles, sharing the sorts of things that come up when you meet someone new. We spend time reflecting on the trail and Skookum says what Starman said on the Cat Basin track, that the PNT has redefined what an acceptable or good trail is to include any number of obstacles.

At night we camp together on the beach with the sound of waves crashing as our backdrop. Tomorrow is all about beating the tides so we’re in bed early with a 4am wake-up set.