My plan for the 2018 hiking season was to complete the several non-consecutive sections I still needed to hike in Northern California between Donner Pass and Ashland, OR and leave the remaining 375 miles in Washington for 2019.

In preparation, the spring was spent making dehydrated meals and arranging transportation and lodging. This was made more complicated as a portion of trail that I had completed last year created a gap I'd need to circumvent.

I flew up to Alaska at the end of April with plane reservations to return to the NW on August 6th. On my return I would spend less than 24 hours at my house, pick up all my gear and take off the next morning to drive to Chico, CA. I had been watching the fires that were forming in N. California and checking the PCT site for trail closures. It was starting to look sketchy, but I was determined to move ahead. Two days before I was to fly out of Alaska, I had communicated with a Trail Angel in the Truckee area about a ride from the Truckee train station to the Donner Pass trailhead. The response was "Don't come, the smoke is really bad and the fire danger is on red alert". After 12 hours of pondering the situation I decided to cancel all my plans and think about a hike in Washington's Cascade instead. In the meantime the fires in Eastern Washington and BC Canada were creating lots of smoke in the Cascades. I arrived in Port Townsend not really knowing if I would be doing a hike at all this year.

While I waited for the smoke to clear in the Cascades, there was a really nice forecast for the Olympic Mountains. My experience of hiking in the Olympics has been limited to day hikes during the fall, winter and spring. The Olympics summer hiking season can be wet, so I decided to take advantage of the good forecast and hike a relatively easy 5 day trip into the Enchanted Valley. Hopefully when I finished the hike, a westerly wind would have cleared the smoke in the Cascades and I could take off.

When I got back into Port Townsend, the forecast for Puget Sound and the Cascades was for very poor air quality but was expected to clear in about 5 days. I had decided that I would hike from Snoqualmie Pass to Rainy Pass, a 200 mile section. So I waited and hoped that luck would be on my side. The Health Dept. in town was issuing four face masks for free so I picked up a pack with the idea that if I started out on a Cascade hike and it became smokey, I would at least have some protection.

On Thursday, August 23rd, I finally took off for Snoqualmie Pass. Andrea, who stays in my house during the summer, agreed to drive me up to the pass, a really big favor! We left Port Townsend at 5:00 am and I was on the trail by 9:00 am. If the smoke became really bad I had my masks and could leave the trail at Stevens Pass.

I had stopped for a short break about 3 miles up the trail when a woman came down the trail and asked if it was OK for her to stop close by. Then her husband approached and I decided to go over and be friendly. We had been talking for about 10-15 minutes when I had mentioned our boat and cruising Newfoundland and Labrador. The husband looked at me and asked my name. When I told him he said his name; we had worked together at the same firm in the late 90's. That would be the first of several coincidences during the hike. I later met a gentleman who owned (recently sold) a house just around the corner from me in Port Townsend and another older gentleman who grew up in the 50's close to my best friend's family candy store in Glendale, California.

I woke up on the second day in a cloud and would not enjoy the great views that day. Two miles into the day the trail began the climb along the flank of Chikamin Ridge, a four mile stretch of an extremely rocky trail with very few clear spots. I was glad to be hiking up the trail and not navigating some of the very steep, rocky, scree sections in the opposite direction. I ran into some senior hikers going in the opposite direction and they shared my frustration, saying they were lucky to do 1 mile an hour. I later encountered a young German named Robert who thought the rocky section was a great trail! I guess it's the difference of young vs old. I would run into Robert again later on the trail.

I reached Stevens pass on day six, not encountering any smoke. Those who began at Stevens Pass the week before and hiked south were not so lucky. It was looking good to continue on to Rainy Pass.

I had sent my re-supply box to the Ski Pass reception desk, not really knowing whether I'd hitch a ride into Skykomish and get a motel for the night or continue hiking. Earlier in the day I had learned that the Seattle Mountaineers opened their Stevens Pass hut to PCT hikers from August 10 to September 30. A bed in a dorm, a shower, dinner and breakfast was only $30. Clothes could be washed in large tubs and dried in the drying room. I headed for the hut. As I approached the hut I ran into 2 young women, a teenager, and a gentleman that turned out to be the father of one of the woman, Anna. He was picking up 2 of the hikers and had brought, and laid out, a feast of food. I must have been drooling because after talking to them for a few minutes I was offered to help myself! I was to learn that Anna was hiking the Washington PCT and had her neice and a college friend join her from Snoqualmie Pass. Her father was supporting her along the way.

As we talked it became clear that Anna and I had been hiking about the same daily mileage. We talked that night and decided that we'd not necessarily hike together, but would try to camp together. Seemed like a good plan. The next morning Anna told me where she planned to camp that night, and being better organized than I, took off an hour earlier. I left later because instead of taking care of business I was spending too much time talking to the other guests!

Since I headed out later, I wasn't sure I'd catch up with Anna. But I managed to arrive in good time at Janus Lake, her destination, where her camp was all set up. After I had my tent set up, we were talking when I heard someone call my name. It was Robert, the young German. He had also met Anna and her group about 4 days prior. I was liking having acquaintances to share a camp. Anna and I camped together, except for one night, for the rest of my hike.

It is 61 miles from Rainy Pass to the Canadian border, but a fire was making PCT hikers take a large detour requiring a special permit stating where they'd camp each night. Anna had the necessary Permit that would allow her to cross into Canada, but she was debating whether to do the detour from Rainy Pass to the PCT Monument at the border. It's an additional 10 miles into Manning Park. The fire detour would change several times as we approached Rainy Pass and the fire conditions changed.

My ride from Rainy Pass would not pick me up until Sunday, September 9th giving me a couple of extra days to complete my hike. In addition to the fire detour, Anna also had a reservation at the Stehekin Lodge for September 7th and she was trying to decide whether to keep the reservation or hike more miles and get to Rainy Pass sooner.

The weather was extremely nice and each day brought great views. The trail was lined with blueberry bushes bursting with berries. It was hard not to reach down and grab a handful, my mouth tinted blue. In the afternoon I would collect a cup full to add to my granola in the morning. Yum!

Anna and I decided to slow down, enjoy the hike and keep the reservation at Stehekin on Lake Chelan (where Anna invited me to share her room). Great choice! It was so nice to hike only about 10 miles a day, enjoy the views, and camp early if the spot had a good view, instead of feeling the need to push on.

I had been misplacing items, only to find them again later in the day or in the morning. I decided that I would change my trail name to Lost and Found. I like it better and it can have various meanings.

I like to read PCT hiker's trail journals of the section I'd be hiking to get a sense of any possible trail issues. I was interested in the Marble Mountain area and been reading the journal of a hiker from Portland, OR. When I had changed my plans to hike in the Cascades, I was curious where he was and if maybe I would run into him. The last I had read he was at Cascade Locks on the Columbia River and heading into Washington. I thought maybe he'd pass me on the trail.

I was hiking up the trail one day when a hiker came towards me who looked like the hiker who's journal I had been following, so I asked his trail name. Rocket. It was him! I told him that I had been reading his journal and hoping to run into him. He seemed a little taken aback to have this old lady say she had been reading his journal. He had decided to flip (when a hiker jumps ahead and changes direction) from the Locks to Canada and hike south so he'd end the hike close to Portland.

The Bannock Lake Fire, 20 miles before the road to Stehekin, created a detour from Suiattle Pass down to Holden Village where hikers could get the Holden school bus to Lake Chelan and the ferry to Stehekin. Holden is a Retreat and doesn't normally get the number of PCT hikers that were now coming their way this season. They did a great job accommodating the hikers with their normal hospitality. Hikers were able to get showers, wash clothes, and eat three meals for a small fee. They could camp 1 mile from the Retreat. Anna's father treated her to a room, which included meals and the bus, so I decided to spend the extra bucks for a bed, and we each had our own room.

The month of August is when thru hikers are making their way into the Cascades and heading for their final destination, Canada. We were now in a flow of PCT thru-hikers that we would be with until Rainy Pass. I was enjoying meeting Australians, Germans, Austrians, Belguims, Brits, but not many Asians. I was also observing their gear and noticing how much over the last seven years of hiking the PCT the equipment has changed. What was popular even two years ago has been replaced by better and lighter gear, i.e. tents and backpacks made from Dyneema Composite Fiber, an ultra light material. Smart Phones apps have replaced paper maps, cameras, and GPS.

Stehekin is the last stop for resupplying, showers, and a good meal out before the final 80 mile stretch into Canada. The fire conditions at Rainy Pass had changed and the detour was now just 10 miles, a 4 day hike for the thru hikers to the Canadian border. The last campsite before Rainy Pass, Six Mile, quickly filled up and when I left in the morning there were 10 other tents pitched. I reached Rainy Pass, my final destination and pickup point by noon. I had only just arrived when Bill and Lynn, my ride, pulled up. Talk about service. Thank you both. I had said my final good-byes to Anna who had been met by her dad, with her resupply, at a parking area a mile back.

I was flying back to Alaska in a few days to drive back down to Port Townsend with Mark. And if the section between Donner Pass to Hwy 36 was clear of smoke and fires, Mark and I, upon our return, would drive south so I could complete another 150 miles of trail.