When you hike on a stormy day, you better be prepared to get wet and cold! But we knew we were stronger than the storm, so we set out to enjoy the day. Nova had on a waterproof, fleece lined puffer suit that covered her well. I put five layers on my upper body and two layers on my lower with an extra puffer coat in my pack. I also wore my high-topped snow boots for the first time this season and had crampons and gaiters with me. I wore my hat and gloves right from the trailhead and attached my rainfly over my pack. We were not messing around. I knew thermoregulation and staying dry was going to make or break us today.
The plan was to get on a section of the PCT in Washington that I had not yet hiked. I would start from a section I had completed in my never ending quest to piece the trail together one boot step at a time. I knew this end of October hike would be the perfect time to really enjoy some of the last of the Fall colors. But I also knew this was an area well trafficked by deer and hunters alike. As we drove up the forest service roads to get to the PCT every truck we saw was full of orange-clad men anxious to find their trophies in the forests. My trophy would be some photos and memories burned into my synapses. Right from the trailhead we could see the leaves falling all around us, covering the ground and landing in the tree branches and on bushes. The yellows, reds and oranges took our breath away.
My goal was to stay under 4000 feet today so that we could be just below snow line. But some of the hunter's trucks driving out of the woods were already covered in the white stuff, so I didn't quite know what to expect. With our lower elevation, I knew that we would be hiking through ferns and ivy and not beargrass for a change. The moss was hanging from the trees like ornaments. We crossed a river and started to climb up steep switchbacks in the darkening forest. Mists swirled in around us as if they were themselves alive as the rain pounded us. I knew to expect thunder today, but was unsure I would even hear it over the rain hammering away at my gore-tex hood. I never hike with earbuds or music as I want to hear what is happening around me, but today's rains obliterated all other sound in the forest. Nova and I kept our heads down to keep the rain from running down our faces and necks. Josie, the Arctic Wolf, was loving every moment of it all however.
Every tenth of a mile or so, I would pause in our ascent and harshly bend forward in a quick and sharp bow to shake all the water pooling on the top of my jacket and rainfly off. Both girls would shake themselves at about the same timing to rid their coats of water. Josie at times would look absolutely saturated to the bone, but when she did her big shakes, all the water flew off and her fur stood back on end and appeared as dry as if she had gone through a clothes dryer. Nova and I were wishing we had that talent for sure! Oh to be a wolf I thought!
The mists continued to swirl all around us giving a real ethereal beauty to the forests. This was the first time in months that I would be only hiking in forests and not up on a mountain. Now my soul rises and sets for mountains. I adore their ridges and valleys, basins and cirques, scree fields and meadows, summits and buttresses. I even love the marmots and pikas who live there. The views from mountains bring me to life and I am always moved with the way they create their own weather. The mountains are very much alive to me and in turn breathe life into my very bones. But my heart still sings in the forests. There is a peace and tranquility that passes understanding deep in the forests. I know some people feel that standing alone in a world of trees is creepy. Not me. It is a place of such solitude, a true sanctuary really. While they are also alive, the forests are a reassuring stillness to the fast-moving and ever changing world we live in. The very air in the forests is fresh and new, filling my body with true calmness and joy. I couldn't help it, even despite the rain, I often found myself throwing my face up to the heavens, just like Josie. I would throw my arms out to my sides at the same time and just watch as the leaves would fall and swirl down around us along with the rain. It was like feeling a death and birth all at the same time. I couldn't help but smile as I was blessed enough to be a part of this moment. These same leaves would only fall once in their lifetime and we were the ones seeing and feeling them. I was awestruck in the moment.
The switchbacks through this section were ideal. They were long and slow allowing us to savor the ascent up the ridgeline. They had wide corners and felt more like an amusement park ride than a trail at times. They called for us to run them, but the ground was wet and slippery so we refrained. It seemed that every mile or so we would run into little herds of deer. They would scatter off to each side of the trail when we would startle them with our approach. I don't remember ever having had so many deer encounters on one hike before. With the fog and mist darkening our surroundings, I decided to kick on the girl's night lights early along with their orange scarves. I wasn't going to take any chances today with having a stray bullet pierce one of us. I had four extra colored lights in my pack if they ran out of juice mid-way through, so I felt like I could be extravagant. As we crested a ridge, we started to peak through the clouds to a few views. I knew from reading about this section of trail that we should be spying Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams from the ridge, but the clouds were too intense for that today, so I used my imagination.
It was interesting to watch the trees unfold as we moved through the forest. There were immense old growth firs mixed in with young new evergreens and all types of deciduous trees. But in a few pockets, there were even oak trees which reminded me of trails much farther east than this one. I enjoyed the variety and colors this brought to the forest. At one point, the trail split and we had a choice to make along the ridge. We could hike along the very spine of the ridge stepping over each individual rock vertebrae, or we could hike on the trail to the side of this spine. We, of course, had to hike the spine! Good choice Josie!
As the rain continued to pour down through the canopy above us, I could feel the icy trickles running down my neck and soaking my inner layers. No jacket in the world could keep me dry in this sort of weather. Between the downpours, the mist blowing into my face, the condensation inside my jacket, the saturated air, you name it, I was getting wet. Really wet. We stayed warm by continually moving. I knew that taking a break would put us in a purgatory of frozen digits and limbs. I was wearing a new pair of waterproof gloves that were doing their job fairly well. But I had to take them off every time I wanted to pull my camera out of it's waterproof holster to take a photo or blow my nose with my bandana. I was thankful that the wind seemed to be kept to a minimum while we moved through the water logged forests. Every now and then a brightly colored tree would shout out at us with its beauty. Nova liked this pinkish one that matched her rain suit and harness.
As one would expect, we found a lot of mushrooms along the trail. There were many that had concave tops which had completely filled with rain water. The girls thought these were very convenient water bowls along the path and would empty them out as we went. Some of the bigger ones could not take the weight of being filled with water and would topple over onto their sides. Nova was sad that this one fell and wasted the water inside.
The Pacific Crest Trail in this section was very well maintained and well marked. About every quarter mile we would find one of the metal diamonds attached to a tree trunk showing us the way. The trail crossed a couple of small dirt roads as we continued northward. I made note of one hoping to find it later and use it as an access road to the PCT for future section hikes.
In one particular section of the forest, Josie picked up the scent of a mountain lion. We had been seeing evidence that one was in the area and she was jumping and pulling at her harness until she was choking herself. I had to hold on extra tight to her line to keep from having her pull me flat on my face in her quest to catch the large cat. She loves all animals on the trail, but the big cats really get her worked up. We were virtually running for almost a mile uphill hoping to track this one down, but sadly, we lost him. Some day, my goal is to get a photo of the wolf with a big cat! Now that would be an awesome selfie! But since we missed that opportunity this time, Josie needed to do something to blow off some steam. So we took a few moments to play some trail games. First it was the "Let's eat Sissy's head" game and then it was the "Funny Faces" game. They did pretty good!
After a few more miles, the girls were telling me they were hungry and needing to have a quick resupply. I pulled out their bowls and food from Josie's pack, but noticed that Nova was shivering within just a few minutes of stopping. I pulled off a glove and reached inside her rain-suit, but found it dry and fairly warm. However, her body was telling me otherwise. Then I realized that if I was being honest, I was shivering as well. But I was, and had been, trying to hide it from myself for some time. Which is ridiculous I know. So I reluctantly decided that we would call our hike short. I had originally planned on hiking about 23 miles today, but with the rain and cold temperatures, I decided to shave 10 miles off that goal and be happy with a 13 mile hike. In the brief amount of time I had my gloves off for supper, my fingers became painfully cold so I knew it was the right choice, especially for my shivering NovaLeigh! I must say however that my supper was the BEST! In the morning before leaving for our hike, I had gone out into the orchard, which we call our back yard, and picked a fresh apple. It tasted more divine than any apple I have eaten in my life! Perhaps that was because it was only washed in rain water from Heaven!
On the way out, we decided to move at a very fast rate to stay warm. Not quite a run due to the slippery trails, but close to it. We weren't making any noise and the rain falling covered up what sounds or smells we would have created. When we did a quick hook around the corner of a tight switchback, we came face to face with a giant doe. She was maybe 15 to 20 feet away from us, standing right on the trail, and stayed stoically still blinking at us with her long lashes and gentle brown eyes. We were all surprised to be so close! I felt that I could surely see the ticks on her body should the lighting have been better. Even Josie was momentarily still with the shock of being so close. But when Bambi took flight and leaped into the woods to the right side of the trail, she was ready to follow. I grabbed her leash and leaned backward with all my might so as not be pulled off my feet. At the same time I said a silent prayer of protection for the beautiful creature out here among all the hunters ever searching.
I do feel I need to share with you that I fell in love with one particular switchback. I don't know quite what it was that made me feel like he was my soulmate, but I found myself taking photos of this switchback both on our ascent and descent. He was truly lovely. It was the particular way we could stand at the curve and see both the upper and lower trail snaking through the forest that got me I think. Everything about this one bend in the trail was perfection. He was chiseled and handsome in all the right places. If this switchback wore clothes, it was surely a flannel shirt! He moved things deep inside my heart. Even Nova could feel it!
The hike out was pretty fast all things considered. We made it back to where I had hidden the truck just before it was dark enough to pull out any flashlights. As usual, I got Nova stripped down and put in the truck first so she could start to warm up. Then the Wolf and I slowly stripped off our gear and loaded next. I filled the cap of my thermos with steaming hot cocoa and enjoyed sipping that as I still stood in the rain in my base layer and barefoot in my driving shoes surveying the misty forest for a long final look before climbing in my truck and turning on the CD player. I had been wet and cold, but never truly miserable. All in all, it was a really terrific day filled with immense beauty. This was the perfect transition hike for me to leave the mountains and re-enter the forests for the season. To share some more of this beauty with you, I will include a few more photos from our day for your enjoyment!
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