Brett on Stuff

Barring some freak 10-foot snow-melting heat wave in the next week, we’ve officially selected a backup hike to replace our Wonderland trip.

We considered two hikes in the Pasayten Wilderness area: Eastern Pasayten Loop and Larch Pass/Hidden Lakes.

The Eastern Pasayten Loop is it. It’s a 65 mile loop that covers what appears to be some spectacular terrain.

Nigel called the local ranger station to get some trail updates. Here is what we learned:

- Currently a trail crew is working on clearing the trail and is moving from the East Fork moving West

- Start of trail #510 still has trees down and standing water in the parking area. They plan on opening the trail head by the end of this week….

- Fire Creek burned out in 2003 and is still a big mess – she said to avoid it since it has not been maintained since.   South of this is supposedly ok (especially the area around Four Point Lake)

A web page of snow conditions for each of the trails located here. Just last week it sounded like heavy snow still - today they are listed as snow free for the trails on Eastern Pasayten but heavy snow at Larch Pass still.

Map and trail guides courtesy of Backpacking Washington, available from Amazon for $13.46.

We’re searching for a replacement hike for our Wonderland Trail trip. So far we have narrowed the search down to 3 candidates:

1. A section of the PCT in Northern California (JMT maybe)
2. Olympic Coast
3. Boundary Trail

1 is challenged for us logistically at such short notice. 2 sounds fun - but too similar to our WCT experience last year and probably not "epic" enough.

3 is an interesting candidate. Its way out in the wilderness, with Grizzlies and Gray Wolves, and best of all - mostly snow free (so we believe). Sounds entertaining…

Length: 98.0 miles
Difficulty: Very Difficult
Overall rating: 10
Season: This trail is accessible July-September.

Boundary Trail is located in Okanogan National Forest.

Links:

nwsource Review

twohikers.org

Time to study the maps and see if we can make a loop out of it. With 6-7 hrs drive from Seattle, travel time will whittle our trail time down a little.

We are almost three weeks away from the start of our Wonderland permit.

Things aren’t looking good for us. The trail is still buried under the heavy snows from this season.

All of our designated camp sites have 100% snow cover still.

I’m holding off on calling the ranger station for fear of disappointment hearing him laugh at me on the other end of the phone, when I ask how likely will it be hikeable by July 12th.

Sarah posted a scary (to me) video today showing the current snow pack conditions.

Trail conditions can be found here.

We’re starting to evaluate alternatives. Hike the Olympic coast? Hop a plane to California and hike the John Muir trail?

Thanks to HikingDrews’s recent comment, I discovered eyehike.com. It’s a treasure trove of resources – especially for the Wonderland Trail.

I haven’t spent as much time as I would like on the site yet, but here are some of the things I’ve found so far:

• Movie about the flood-damage caused to Rainier in the 2006 storms.
• Spreadsheet with Mileage Chart
• Trip Overview Notes Document
• Elevation Profiles and other goodies

Check it out – handy site.

Longmire Ranger station called today to inform us that they were able to make one of our backup itineraries work. Score! We’re going to Wonderland!

The trip is set for July and our Camp sites are as follows

• Mowich Lake (Start, No Camp)
• Mystic Camp
• White River
• Indian Bar
• Maple Creek
• Paradise River
• Devils Dream
• Klapatche Park
• Golden Lakes
• Out at Mowich Lake

I’m really excited about it already.

Tips from the ranger:

• Summer->Indian will have lots of snow at that time of year.
• VERY deep snow pack currently; may make trail conditions hard
• a big section somewhere between "box canyon" and reflection lake is washed out - we need to walk the road for 4mi (or hitch) between trails

Trail permitting begins on March 15th (Tomorrow) for the Wonderland Trail. We have an application ready to go in the mail.

The Wonderland Trail is an epic 94 mi hike around Mt. Rainier. Aside from the distance, there’s quite a lot of elevation gain.

Some resources:

• Wonderland Trail Website
• Elevation Profile of Wonderland Trail
• Mt. Rainier Maps

We applied to take on the trail in mid July. Hopefully, we have a warm spring and a lot of the snow melts.

The adventurers on this trip will be myself, Bill & Tim (from our WCT Trip) and Nigel. Nigel is taking Theresa’s spot as she is pregnant and due in August, so won’t be able to make it.

We going to take a somewhat relaxed pace and do the trail over nine days. There are two points at which we can cache food for re-supply, so with only having to carry three days of food on each leg, we should be able to go pretty darn light.

The "Enchantments" are a breath-taking, endless sequence of lakes nr. Leavenworth, WA.

The area has a very strict permitting policy and only a few lucky people get a permit for overnight stays each year.

This picture was taken on our last trip there in 2004. If you are running Windows Vista - it’s pretty much taken from the same spot the default Vista desktop background is taken from.

If you’ve ever wanted to hike the enchantments and are thinking this would be the year to do it - the applications are due soon.

You cannot mail your application prior to Feb 21st (postmark) - but it has to be there before March 1st. Then at random, they will select applicants for a permit. There are several strategies around filling out the form to improve your chances.

Some good tips and more information can be found here:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/passes/enchantments/

Happy new year! It’s 2008, and I’m noodling on some backpacking goals over the next few years. I haven’t done much long-distance backpacking. Most of my long ones are in the 30-50 mile range. I’d like to expand my horizons (and mileage) a little…

Here are some hikes that get me drooling:

1. The Wonderland Trail
This is in my own back yard, so it’s a must. A 93 mile jaunt around Mt. Rainier. I think this might be my big trip next summer.

2. The John Muir Trail
This is supposedly one of the most spectacular sections of the PCT, that goes though Yosemite Valley in California. Its 211 miles in length.

3. The TGO Challenge
I already mentioned this one. 200 miles from west->east coast of Scotland.

4. The East Coast Trail
The antithesis of the West Coast Trail. This trail is still under development, but offers 335 miles of very pretty coastal hiking.

5. The entire Pacific Crest Trail
And finally… the mother of all challenges. This trail runs from Canada to Mexico down the west coast of the US. At 2,650 miles it would be a serious commitment - but I would love to do the entire PCT (continuous) some time in the next 5 years. It seems like one of these life-changing trails.

There are several long distance hikes I want to do over the next few years, and one of them I’ve had my eye on for a while is the TGO Challenge. TGO or "The Great Outdoors" is a magazine published in the UK.

The TGO Challenge is a ~200 mile hike from the west coast to the east coast of Scotland.

Of course… unlike hiking in the Pacific Northwest - Scotland has a generous helping of pubs to stop at along the way

Every year in October, TGO magazine publishes the entry forms for the challenge, which is held in May. It’s an oversubscribed event every year and space is allocated by lottery. The official challenge site is http://www.tgochallenge.co.uk/.

I may have missed the window to apply for 2008 - but hopefully I’ll I RESOLVE to be more on top of it next year.

Google just recently launched their "Terrain" overlay. Microsoft has had one for

a while over at maps.live.com, but I like Googles version better. It’s cleaner and more detailed.

I wonder if someone will create a website where hikers can start plotting out trails using a combination of the Google My Maps and Terrain features.

Here’s a quick sample one I whipped up for Copper Ridge Loop: Copper Ridge Loop Map.

Something like this for all the hikes in the US, with clickable pushpins showing photos at that view point. How cool would that be?

Heck - I’d even go a step further and allow people to collaborate photos taken from the same view point, combined with Photosynth to give a 360 degree view.

I read a blog recently from a guy who 2 weeks ago, ran the WCT in a single day!

Not only did he do the WCT, but he also “tacked-on” the near by 30m Juan de Fuca trail to make it more of a challenge.

His write-up is excellent - check it out:

http://garyrobbins.blogspot.com/2007/08/stage-one-75km-west-coast-trail.html

“Blisters & Bliss” is, by all accounts, the definitive guide to the West Coast Trail.

The best way to purchase it is direct from the authors - Dave Foster or Wayne Aitken - at their Official Website.

I recently exchanged a few emails with Dave, who was very helpful and more than happy to share a few tips about the WCT. Here is what he had to say:

Brett: “I’m not sure how familiar you are with the ultralight movement - but basically - our plan is to carry a ~18lb pack (including food & water) and do the trail in 5 days. with this light of a pack, we get the luxury of wearing trail running shoes vs. boots. i’ve done tons of hiking in washington and the homeland (uk), but very little beach hiking. how soft is the sand/beaches on the WCT - and would you consider trail runners to be problematic filling with soft-sand etc. my two thoughts to combat this are a) gaiters over the trail runners and b) a pair of sandskins ( http://www.sandskins.com/) to hike on the beach in. i’m not worried about water or mud - i hike for many many miles with soaked muddy trail runners. :)”

Dave: “I admire your move on the 18 lb pack.  I think that’s great. Beach hiking can be tough on the lower legs and feet.  Blisters often build because of the repetitive steps.  The soft sand lasts for intervals of 2 hours or so in a couple of places.  Same problem, ie. no variety in the step can cause tiring of thighs etc. Sand and grit in your trail runners will be a problem but gaiters should remedy it.”

Brett:  “we’re planning on setting out of gordon at 11am and making it to camper by evening (taking the high-trail as it will be high-tide at owen), perhaps squeezing in a back-trace to owen once we get down on the beach. how realistic is that? everything i read says people barely make it to thrasher - but they also seem to be carrying 80lb packs :)”

Dave: “Many hikers begin at Gordon and reach Camper late the first night. You should have no trouble.  Hiking back to Owen Point without a pack is a possible option.  You’ll want to play this as a last minute decision depending on weather and how your first day goes.  You could do part of the beach rather than all the way to Owen.”

Brett: “a lot of the camps sound quite crowded. to avoid the crowds and retain a bit of solitude on the trail, i’m hoping i can eat dinner at a primary campsite, fill up with water, then hike a mile or two beyond and find an more remote ad-hoc site on the beach (with no water source) to spend the night. how realistic is this in most places w.r.t terrain and tidal issues? i read a lot about a ’shelf’ vs. ‘beach’ and it sounds like i would not be able to pitch a tent on the shelf easily. any other tips for quiet or special camps spots?”

Dave: “There are several places where you can avoid the popular spots and move on to an equally nice site with fewer hikers.  This year hasn’t been very crowded so the choice can be a last minute one.  We’ve tried to mention most viable campsites in Blisters and Bliss.  The one’s to avoid if possible are Camper and Tsusiat.  Camper you might not have an option but Tsusiat  is a great place to stop for a  break and then move on.”

Theresa, Tim, Melissa and I were lucky enough to secure a reservation for the West Coast Trail this year - over labor day weekend.

I’m really excited about it. It has been called the #1 best hike in the world by some, and one of the toughest trails in North America by others.

The WCT is a 47-mile long hike along the coast of Vancouver Island. Here are some of the aspsects that interest me the most:

• The trail has some interesting history, and is littered with ship wrecks.
• It’s a combination of beach and forest hiking.
• Some exciting boulder and log scrambling at Owen Point
• Breathtaking views and sunsets
• Chance of seeing whales and sea lions
• Chance of not seeing bears and cougars
• Cable cars and suspension bridges
• Amazing old growth forests

There are maps available at: WCT Map Part 1  AND WCT Map Part 2.

Our current thinking is to fly from Lake Union to Victoria, stay over night - fueling up at Mountain Equipment Corp (as we can’t bring fuel or meat into Ca)., then take the WCT Trail Suttle Bus to the trail head the next day.

Most people take 6-7 days to complete the trail. The fastest it’s been done is in 2 days (1 night) by two triathlon runners. I’m thinking 5 days, 4 nights would be a decent goal.

Here is a link to the noaa weather service. It’s a good source of weather information for the North Cascades and elsewhere.

Noaa Weather Service for Mt. Baker

Here are some of my favourite stores to buy backpacking gear online. I would love to hear comments from other readers on where they shop and recommendations they have.
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