Week 11: Pete’s Lake, WA to Hopkins Lake, WA

Week 11 Mileage: 203.3

“Not Without a Fight”

The rest of the day I wasn’t feeling great. Not sure if it was the heat or not—34.5 miles with almost 9,000 feet of ascent was no easy feat. Still without much of an appetite, I arrived at Stevens Pass at noon and thought maybe some real food would kickstart it. So I grabbed a steak and cheese and charged my stuff for a couple of hours. My plan was to do another 20 miles out from there, which would put me just under 90 miles from Stehekin, where I had a box waiting for me.

Also, my buddy and sponsor Geoff—with Mary Poppins UL sleeping pads—was just up the trail doing a section. I was looking forward to seeing him.

Leaving Stevens, I became really sick—twice—and realized pushing on 108 miles to Stehekin wasn’t in my best interest. It’s hard making those decisions knowing I’m racing the clock, but I couldn’t push that hard feeling like that. I pitched into Skykomish and got a hotel room, basically laid in bed for 36 hours, stayed two nights, and got back on trail Monday morning. I wouldn’t beat last year’s time, but a day and a half difference isn’t the end of the world. The rest was probably needed, and I felt great after flushing my system for two days: 32.5, 42.5, 43.4.

I skipped going into Stehekin—I had enough food to make it to the next town. I hadn’t eaten much of my stuff anyway, and dealing with the bus schedule into Stehekin would’ve cost me at least half a day. So I pushed hard and made it to Rainy Pass on Thursday. Got enough resupply to finish the trail and was back at the Pass by 2:30. Met a guy who knew me—trail name “Meat Hammer”—and I was able to do another 20 miles out.

The final day on the PCT. Bittersweet. Over four times doing it—I did the math, and it’s almost 12,000 miles of hiking just on this trail. The weather was perfect, but it was still going to be a hard day: 40.6 to the monument and another 3.6 back to camp. I made it to Hart’s Pass by 9 and met some volunteers who said they could get me to Wenatchee to catch my train on Sunday. So now I had my plan for after the trail. All that was left was to reach the end and get back.

I passed a lot of people starting southbound—no doubt they assumed I was doing the same. My week ended at 2:06 p.m. I still had 18 miles to go, but I figured I’d just write until the end. No doubt most of you know I’ve already finished by now, so I’ll keep writing.

I had met a dude named Coffee Break in Mazama the other day, and I ran into him just before the terminus. He said my hike inspired him to get back on trail earlier and knock out this section. That made me feel good. The trail for the last 5 miles was mostly downhill, which was great—except I’d have to climb that back up soon after. By 8 p.m., I saw the end. I ran to it and tagged that sucker! 77 days and 6 hours. About a day and a half slower than last year, but still pretty damn good.

This is my last time doing the PCT. I’ve met amazing people and enjoyed most of the steps. It’s such an unpredictable trail every year with fires and snow, but for the second straight year, I finished first and didn’t get rerouted for fires once—very lucky. To do the PCT over four times is very special—a rare accomplishment.

On to the CDT.