Like I said before: America, Fuck Yea!

(I was totally not crying in this picture)

Processing a lot, eating more. I love Canadians, but headed back soon... I'll do a blog proper when I'm 'home' (maybe Chrissy's couch/backyard?) and reliving the dream. Thanks and thanks again to all of you've who've helped and supported me along the way. I did not do this alone - Over and out on HCC, Haulin' Oates, Team Budget, Team Seize the Pants, W & LBs....til then, HIKE!

Reroute and detours: plans are one thing and fate quite another

Goldmyer Hotsprings: The Cave!

The views, reroutes and detours proved amazing as we followed the original pre-1971 PCT route. Just a quick blog from Skykomish - uploaded some photos to Picasa. Gonna hit the trail for the final run in this weather window!

-- Post From My iPhone

Washington: It rains here

This photo is one of a rain-free few: crossing Bridge of the
Gods into WA

7 days into Washington and we've been forced into town by unseasonably inclimate weather: it began raining three days ago, and pretty much hasn't stopped ( unless it was sloppily snowing above 5800"). After fording flooded "creeks", waiting out horribly windy nights in soggy, freezing tarps, and cursing endlessly, we' planned to haul a 33 miler yesterday to make it over the Knifes Edge and into White Pass. But after passing multiple parties that'd turned back from the Packwood Glacier due to highwinds, zero visability, and general crappiness, we succombed to reason and did the same, back tracking 12 miles into the town of Packwood. We're dry, fat and happy now, but I'll seriously have to re-assess my plans to thru hike if this weather remains: the point is to enjoy all this, and that's hard to do when you can't see anything and you're shivering, soaked, and exhausted.


On the more neato side of things, I saw my first mountain lion. While this didn't make me feel any warmer, it also didn't leave me with the sense of fear I thought it would; I felt strangely comfortable and a little more stoked.


-- Post From My iPhone

Package Sender Merry Makers

**be sure to send through your Post Office, since Fedex and UPS cannot deliver to P.Os***.
I've been lucky enough to get a bunch of requests for mail drop addresses. You guys are amazing and rock and I can't imagine life on or off the trail without you all. I love you guys (and cookies too!) If you could send it Priority (usually $0.50 more) that'd be great: in case I can't pick it up for any reason I can forward it to somewhere I can for free. Here's the beta:

Sept. 13th-ish: I should be arriving in Skykomish
Caitlin Burns (PCT HIKER)
c/o General Delivery
Skykomish, WA 98288

Sept. 18th: Rolling into Stehekin, the last stop before Canada!
Same
Same
Stehekin, WA 98852

Ashland-Portland: 14 days and the Beginning of Rain

Sunrise on glassy, lovely Crater Lake.

After living in Oregon for three years and a few other summer seasons, I finally feel that I've seen almost as much that I'd like to see. We started out from Ashland on the 15th, and found ourselves in Cascade Locks - the northernmost point of the trail - by the afternoon of the 29th. We took no zeros in this state, but she was kind to us nonetheless. After taking three months for the state of California alone, it seems rather strange to be finishing another in two weeks.

A taste of what's to come: rain heading down to Eagle Creek Trail

With 547 miles of trail left ahead, the reality of the impending "reality" that I and all of my fellow hikers will have to face once we hit the Northern Terminus in Manning Park, BC seems more present everyday. This is especially so here in Portland, where I write you now. We head out today with one hiker less and whole lot of awesome presence less: yesterday we took dear friend Bijan, "Mowgli", to the airport so that he could fly home to be with his family after suffering the worst loss of a sibling and friend. He will be enormously missed and I ask that, even if you never had the pleasure to meet him, please send all the love you can his and his family's way. Also please take every chance you can to get in contact with loved ones. One thing I've learned here on the trail is that when it comes to fundamental things: Don't Wait.

Berry season - something more delicious than mosquitos come to fruition with late summer rain. Thank goodnesses.

As we enter into moister climates, we've begun to reap some delicious benefits. For the first time since the Sierras we've been again finding edibles right on trail: huckleberries, salmonberries, second crop strawberries and all sorts of mushrooms (although I only trust myself to identify super obvious Chicken of the Woods and Chantrelles - which most deer get before we do). The wildflowers again enrich our color scheme, and make moist sleeping a little more bearable.

Typical knee brushers. Way better on so many levels than chapparel.

Heavy Weather hangs over Mt. Hood.

My body begrudgingly continues to hang with spirit here, and physcially and temporially I think I'm lined up to finish in less than a month. But Damn, I just cannot tell you how in love with all of this I am and how I, if I could, would keep this walking going endlessly. I've said it a million times and can say a million more how the people I've come to know and meet at random out here completely reaffirm what had been my waning faith in humanity. Time to hit the trail for one last dose of the good medicine.

Oh!regon

Testing out the blog via phone on trail.. More to come! P.s. Leaving Sisters by way of Santiam Pass this am... Lava is not your friend.


-- Post From My iPhone

Hot Creek Rim: Most people skip Section O...

Trying to keep it cool in 100 degree shade at Cache 22 along the Hat Creek Rim. We pulled 35 miles that day just to wake to water at the Crystal Lake Fish Hatchery. If the Poison Oak and heat wasn't enough, many times this section of trail went Southwest or due West. Canada is in neither of these directions.

I've spent over a week now away from the trail, and even though the last section I completed is the most commonly skipped (read: Hat Creek Rim, poison oak, no water, +110 temps, poison oak, forest fire smoke, poison oak) by "thru-hikers", I miss even it in comparison with "the everyday". That said, in order to walk into Canada before the weather turns gnar, I've made the decision to skip the 200miles stretch from Castella to Ashland. At this point I've hiked over 1595 miles, have gone through 5 pairs of sunglassess, am on my third pair of shoes, walk like an 80yo in the morning while my feet warm up, and cannot even imagine stopping.

The trail seemed to be the most trying here, and for the first time I felt the first sensations of the"Why am I doing this?" bummer - something it seems a lot of my fellow hikers have already gone through or are going through. Each person has their own personal devil, and section of trail that really doesn't do it for em, and mine is apparently heat without cacti. I did fine in the first sections of desert, but it seemed that without the visually stimulating flora, I didn't do so hot. Also, much of the terrain was tear-your-face-off -if-you-fall lava rock, which chewed what remained of my shoes (those babies made it 1000miles!) to bits. However, the self-questioning abated quickly, and I'm glad that I didn't yellow-blaze the notorious Section O, aka Section Oh-F*&^. Especially since it ended with trail magic from the underground trail angel Budesa family!

Things are hot all over: 106 degree heat in hometown Portland, 110 heat had me flying into the headwaters of Burney Falls, marking the end of doom. (i.e. Hat Creek Rim).

The light at the end of the heat tunnel: Molly Budesa cooks up a fierce stir fry. The Budesas: Paul, Tammy, Molly, Abby and Ian (and later Alex and Emily in Shasta) felt like a whole new part of my family and served up the most relaxing and as lovely as any trail magic.

.

I opted to leave the trail to climb Mt. Shasta, another +14,000 just south of the Oregon Border. Everyone we spoke to cautioned us about her, saying we'd need everything shy of the kitchen sink to make it up safely, and that our gear of shorts and questionable footwear, and ultra-light approach probably wouldn't fly. Turns out - as some of our crew flew past a team of 5, roped into each other and with about $5000 worth of gear each - the best piece of equipment you can really have is priceless and conveniently located on your shoulders. Shasta definitely dished out some mischief and was not a cake-walk, but was totally worth the blue-blaze. I'd probably wear a helmet next time though.

Left the trail last monday to climb Mt. Shasta, sans ice axe, helmet, and crampons. I did have a few holes in my shoes though, and gave them a vikings farewell as this was their last journey. This is the view up Avalanche Gulch.

The Bride and Groom's table.

After Mt. Shasta, I left the trail for good-friend's Kate & Pete's wedding in upstate NY. 40 hours or so of travel later, I happily arrived to the ceremony and got to visit, if however briefly, with some of the best people I can imagine knowing. This journey within a journey was a bit of reality check: I've been following one, sole, continuous path this summer and once in NY I found myself navigating every train in the alphabet going both directions. I had however, forgotten about the humidity of the east, and thought I might drown in the subway tunnels. I survived though, and so it would seem I've not lost all ability to live within society.

Almost full. The August "Strawberry Moon" Rises on the SE side of Shasta.

Despite my retention of civilized aptitudes, I can't wait to get back to that trail.

P.S: I've maxed out my Flickr account, but prefer Picasa anyway, so from now out all pic's'll be posted on my Picasa site. (You can find the link on the right side). I've also thrown up some video files, nothing huge, but something anyway. I apologize in advance for all the "Whoo!"'s you'll hear if you watch em.