Healed toe and hot days

Walking from Eureka to Bonner's Ferry on the PNT

When last I wrote, Jessica was healing up from a toe infection and we were becoming friends with the amazing Kurt and Eve, who let us stay with them while she recovered. I can’t say enough about these folks, not just for their generosity, but for their knowledge, companionship, and overall stellar personalities.

Kurt had the same hat as me, and before they dropped us off at the trailhead, we decided to do a photo shoot to see who wore it better. What do you think?

Our route

Due to logistical considerations, we decided it wasn’t practical to go back and hike the miles we missed when Jessica’s infection set in. Although we did miss something like 20 pretty miles of trail, the majority of the 50-odd miles we missed was road walking. Instead, we plowed ahead up Mt. Webb, where an old fire tower has been converted to a rentable shelter.

Unfortunately for us, we had no reservation, and kept moving, commenting on how much we hoped to be able to stay in an old fire tower at some point. That night we ended up staying instead at the perfectly nice Boulder Lake. Although we had only come 10 miles, it had been beastly hot and we were beat.

The next day we had a number of climbs, and we were doing it in the rain. As we made the final ascent to Mt. Henry, we dared to dream the free first-come-first-serve fire tower at the top of that mountain would be free for us. By the time we arrived, we were in a thick cloud of mist and had a hard time even finding it.

Logic told us it would be at the summit. The map showed it shy of the summit, and navigation app showed it even farther from the summit. Jessica left her pack with me and heroically went up to the summit and had to get pretty much right on top of it to find it—but it was open! Again, we had only made 10 miles, but we were soaked to the bone and cold. We were glad to stop. We made a small fire just to take the chill off and hung our clothes as best we could. In the logbook, we saw a note saying the latrine was near the antenna, but we couldn’t see anything but clouds. Later the mist lifted and we located it. The picture below was taken on my way back from the latrine.

By 7:00 our fire had gone out and we were settling in for a chilly but beautiful night when the door flew open. At first we thought the wind had blown it open, but then a set of hiking poles appeared, followed by a hiker—the first we had seen in our two days on the tail! Chicken Fat had taken a “light” day by hiking only 20 miles. When he had started, he was attempting to set a record for the Fastest Known Time on the PNT, but after two 50-mile days, he had an overuse injury and now was taking it at the more leisurely 20-30 mile per day pace. He got a roaring fire going and although we were uncomfortably warm, at least everything dried out.

After Mt. Henry, we took a spontaneous side trip to the small community of Yaak. The heat was again intense and we needed a break. En route we met another PNT hiker, Cliffhanger. We saw him again in Yaak and he bought our dinner for us! Now we hope to catch up to him to repay the favor sometime. After camping at the Shameless Oasis campground, we caught a ride the next morning with a local named Jared. He had so much reverence for the land, it was a pleasure to hear him talk about growing up in the woods with his friends. I asked what people did for work in the area and he said that when the logging industry died, his family converted their equipment to firefighting equipment, which he enjoys more. He sounds like an ingenious fabricator and welder.

Back on trail, we made 20 very hot miles to Midge Creek. Earlier that day we hit the 200-mile mark! Jessica crouched for a photo next to a stone sign someone had made. She looks confident and strong here (which she is), but I’d be too nice if I didn’t mention that after this she had to ask for help getting out of the crouch position! We are by far the oldest people hiking out here.

The next day we made 15 miles through the really gorgeous Big Rock Candy Mountain area. Somehow neither of us managed to get photos, though it was one of our favorite sections of trail yet. It’s also the day we made it to Idaho!

That night, we camped at Canuck Pass. A paved road runs through the pass and we figured it wouldn’t be the most restful night, but not one vehicle came after 8 pm, and the views were absolutely wonderful.

The next morning we came down in the hot sun to Feist Creek Falls Resort, where trail angel Cliff lets hikers camp on the lawn. However, since there was major rain coming, he let us stay in an abandoned pool building instead. Later we were joined by two other hikers who were great company. Better still, the next day my dear friend Scott came to pick us up, and we are staying with him at his in-laws’ place near Sandpoint, Idaho. He has his dog Sherlock here too, and that is one good boy.

Our hiking philosophy

I wanted to say a word here about our approach to hiking the Pacific Northwest Trail. Everyone hikes their own hike. You couldn’t pay me enough to try for a Fastest Known Time, but I think it’s wonderful that this type of activity speaks to some people. For myself and for Jessica, we are mainly out here for the outdoor experience. Other things such as the athletic challenge or a feeling of accomplishment are secondary to just wanting to enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, and feels of being in the mountains.

For some people, it’s important to have continuous footsteps along the route, but for us less so. In particular, I asked Jessica if she would be okay with us actively avoiding as much paved or sealed road walking as possible. I know from experience that walking on hard surfaces is the way I am most likely to injure myself. Kurt confirmed this through his own experience too. He is a much stronger hiker than me, but ended up having to leave the PNT a few years back when prolonged road walking on paved roads caused an injury that ended his hike early.

On the PNT you can’t avoid walking on roads. Almost a third to the trail is on roads, but the vast majority of that is dirt or gravel. Even those are pretty hard and so far the only times I’ve gotten blisters or other aches that make me nervous have been after prolonged walks on gravel roads. I don’t expect to avoid all those roads, but I do hope to hitch rides or otherwise avoid paved roads to whatever extent I can. Jessica has kindly agreed to go along with this for our hike.

One other thing that is different about our hiking style from most others we’ve met is that we don’t use earbuds. We can see how it would help us do long miles if we could get into an audiobook or a podcast, but because we are mainly interested in being immersed in the outdoor experience, we prefer to go along with both of our ears attuned to the sounds around us.

Gear corner

Jessica and I each purchased new backpacks. Jessica has a Deuter and I have a Granite Gear. Jessica’s is a 55L capacity, which she has found to be too small. Otherwise I’d say she is happy with her pack. Mine is 60L, which is fine. I’m happy with the fit, but I strongly dislike the outer pouch. I like to put things there that get wet so they aren’t in my main compartment, but since it isn’t mesh they don’t dry out. More annoyingly, it tapers at the top, making it difficult to stuff items in or retrieve them again. I like a wide pouch that doesn’t pinch things inside. It seems silly to be so hung up on how much I dislike this one particular pouch, but it does change the whole way I organize my pack, so much so that if I had it to do over I don’t think I’d buy the pack.

Next steps

Scott is going to slackpack us for a day (drop us off at one end and pick us up at the other so we don’t have to carry full packs), and then take us back to the next section of trail past some road walking. We’ll then have about 6 days to our next resupply at Metaline Falls, Washington. In between, we have the dreaded 5 mile bushwhack at Lion’s Head. Not totally sure what to expect other than lots of tripping and stumbling. Oh, and of course, lots and lots of climbing. This is the PNT, after all.

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