Det var godt å være tilbake på Pacific Crest Trail. Selv om det var et slit de første dagene. Vi måtte komme inn i PCT rytmen igjen. Det var ikke lett etter å ha sullet på strender i tre uker. Nå var det tilbake til strengt regime, opp kl 6, avgårde kl 7. Snack kl 9. Lunsj kl. 11.30. Snack kl 15. Sette opp camp mellom kl 17 og 18. Middag. Sove kl 20. Sånn noenlunde dagsrutine.  Funker ikke alltid like bra…
Etter fem dager i skog med mygg og mye nedfall, fikk vi haik inn til første sted der vi kunne kjøpe forsyninger. Det var sheriffen selv som stoppet og tok oss med. Julia hadde fått allergisk reaksjon pga mye myggbitt og sheriffen stilte velvillig opp og var klar til å rekvirere sykebil som kunne møte oss halvveis.
Julia hadde ikke lyst til det, men etter noen timer i Trout Lake innså hun at hun trengte lege. Trout Lake er en koselig liten by. Det er ikke så mye å finne der, men den lokale matbutikken er knutepunkt og super “hiker friendly”. Og flaks for oss så var der en nyoppstartet mini klinikk rett over veien. Der fikk Julia den medisinen hun trengte. Helt supert. Vi bestemte oss for å bli der noen dager så hun kunne komme seg. Det passet bra for gnagsårene mine også.
Vi flyttet inn på et lite rom over butikken. Det var billig og klesvask var inkludert. Like ved var det en cafe som hadde burgere og pizza.
Gjett om vi koste oss. Sol og tredve grader. Mye god mat og masse kjekke folk.
Med nye godsaker i sekken og velduftende klær dro vi tilbake til PCT. Og nå ble det endelig ganske bra. Vi kom ut av skogen og opp i høyden til fantastisk utsikt ved Mount Adams. Myggen ble vi dessverre ikke kvitt, den må vi nok bare venne oss til.

Vi var litt usikker på neste område vi skulle. Det var mange ulike meninger om snø forhold i Goat Rocks Wilderness. Rangerene sa en ting, folk vi møtte hadde vidt forskjellige meninger, en sa at det var livsfarlige forhold og en annen sa at han hadde gått der uten problem i tennis sko. Ikke godt å bli klok på noen av dem. Men vi bestemte oss for å prøve. Var det for ille så fantes det noen alternativer.
Det var snø da vi kom opp i høyden. Men det var flekker som var lett å spasere over. Ingen var spesielt skumle etter min mening. Vi campet i 7000 feet med nydelig utsikt mot Mount Rainier.

Annonsørinnhold

Freshe sneakers: Dette er skoene som gjelder i vår

Neste dag gikk vi videre i dette fantastiske landskapet. Og så kom vi til Old Snowy mountain. Det så ikke så ille ut så vi bestemte oss for å prøve. Kim gikk først med stegjern så hun kunne trakke opp spor. Det var med hjertet i halsen vi kom oss over. Det var kjempe skummelt, men gikk bra heldigvis. Videre gikk vi over Knifes Edge. Det levde opp til navnet sitt for å si det sånn. Stupbratte fjellskrenter på begge sider. Høydeskrekken min ble rett og slett kurert og jeg nøt hvert sekund av den fantastiske naturen. Fantastisk opplevelse.

Nå har vi stoppet innom Packwood  for å kjøpe nye forsyninger før neste etappe mot Canada.

English:

It was good to be back on the Pacific Crest Trail. Even though it was though the first few days. We had to get into the PCT rhythm again. It was not easy after nice walking on beaches for three weeks. Now it was back to strict regime, up at 6 o’clock, departed at 7. Snack at 9. Lunch at 11:30. Snack at 3. Set up camp between 5 and 6. Sleep at 8 o’clock. Such a day-to-day routine. Does not always work well …
After five days in forests with mosquitoes and a lot of falldowns, we got into the first town where we could buy supplies. It was the sheriff himself who stopped and picked us up. Julia had an allergic reaction due to a lot of mosquito bites and the sheriff was eager to help and was ready to request an ambulanc who could meet us halfway. Julia did not want it, but after a few hours in Trout Lake, she realized she needed a doctor. Trout Lake is a cozy little town. There is not much to find there, but the local grocery store is the meeting place and super hiker friendly. And lucky for us, there was a newly opened mini clinic right across the road. Julia got the medicine she needed. Absolutely superb.

We decided to stay there for a few days so she could recover. It was good for my blisters too. We moved into a small room above the store. It was cheap and laundry was included. Close by was a cafe that had burgers and pizza. We had a great time. Hot and sunny. Lots of good food and lots of nice people. With new goodies in our bags and fresh smelling  clothes we returned to PCT. And now it finally became pretty nice. We came out of the woods and up the hill to stunning views at Mount Adams. Unfortunately, we did not get rid of the mosquitoes, we have to get used to them i guess.

We were a bit unsure of the next section.  There were many different opinions about snow conditions in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. The ranger said one thing, people we met had widely different opinions, one said that there were fatal conditions and another said he had gone there without a problem in tennis shoes. Hard to know what to believe. But we decided to try. If it was too bad then there were some alternates. It was snow when we got up high. There were spots that were easy to walk over. Nobody was particularly scary in my opinion.

We camped at 7000 feet with beautiful views of Mount Rainier. The next day we went on in this amazing landscape. And then we came to Old Snowy Mountain. It did not look so bad so we decided to try. Kim walked first with crampons so she could kick up tracks. It was with the heart in the throat we got over. It was very scary, but luckily went well. Furthermore we crossed the Knife Edge. It lived up to its name!. Steep mountain  on both sides of the trail. My scare of height was simply cured and I enjoyed every second of the amazing scenery. Fantastic experience.
Now we are in Packwood to buy new supplies before the next stretch towards Canada.