Reflections

 Trying to put words to this past summer's experience is just about as daunting as thinking about walking 2650 miles. The experience is both too big and too simple to express and I am sure I will continue to process it as time passes but I'll try to at least sum up the overall experience while it's still fresh in my mind and my feet still hurt (it's been ten days and I still hobble down stairs).

The trail was a huge growing experience for me.

People often say that the trail is humbling, being outdoors makes them feel small and insignificant. This is not the case in my experience. Out on the trail I feel big, accomplished, fulfilled, challenged, confident, competent and happy just to be exactly where I am, doing exactly what I'm doing. There is something special and powerful about interacting with other hikers and trail angels who are doing what they are doing solely because they enjoy doing it; because they want to be there, not because they have to be there. There is an immense sense of positivity and belonging, a real human connection that seems to be a bit lacking in our modern society.

Yes, there were hard days, cold and rainy days, hot and awful days, and exhausted, emotional, painful and hungry times but those moments were far outweighed by the magical moments. Finally reaching the top of ridge you've been climbing all morning to see another breath taking and awe inspiring view, singing around a campfire with people you just met, finding an amazing huckleberry bush, jumping in a freezing lake on a beautiful day, standing on the summit of Mount Whitney completely alone, making a huge mile day, running into root beer floats, apples or other magic when you least expect it and laughing until you can't breathe an uncountable number of times with a great friend who is there experiencing the same challenges and exaltations with you everyday. I found that sharing my adventure, with a hiking buddy, with family, friends and even some strangers on the internet gave it more meaning. The happiness more memorable, the struggles easier to laugh at and the experience more fulfilling. Because it was not only enriching my life but also reaching the life's of others and spreading the sense of community, adventure and excitement on and off trail.

A dove wrapper has never been so relevant

The astounding simpleness of life on the trail brought on a sort of calmness and clarity. The vast amounts of alone time in my head with only mother nature's distractions heightened my awareness, expanded my appreciation and gave more weight and meaning to thoughts and feelings. I had everything I needed and nothing I didn't, my daily life had a quantifiable purpose, it was full and complete. I could let go of worries and let be the questions I couldn't answer. Maybe in time answers would come and maybe not yet, either way that was okay. Everything will always work out.

The trail has been a very enriching experience that will continue to inspire me do more, see more, feel more, appreciate more, and learn more right now, not just in the mystical land of someday. I hope in sharing this experience here others will feel more inclined to get out there, leave their comfort zone and go on an adventure.

Next stop: Greenland

Interesting Numbers

Miles: ~2658
Days on trail: 133
Average miles per day (mpd): 19.9
Days in California: 91
California average mpd: 18.6
Days in Oregon: 19
Oregon average mpd: 23.7
Days in Washington: 23
Washington average mpd: 22.3
Longest day: 32 miles
Shortest day: 4 miles
Longest water carry: 26 miles
Longest without resupply: 8 days/150 miles
Elevation gained: 483735 feet (91.6 vertical miles)
Elevation lost:482741 feet  (91.4 vertical miles)
Highest point: Forrester Pass,13,153 feet (off trail: Mt Whitney summit, 14,505 feet)
Lowest point: Cascade Locks, 140 ft
Nights on trail: 117
Nights in a bed (zeros not included): 5
Resupplies: 25
Zeros: 6
Showers (with at least hand soap): 18
Longest without a shower: 18 days
National Parks traversed: 7 (Sequoia, Kings, Yosemite, Lassen, Crater Lake, Rainier, North Cascades)
State parks traversed: 4
National Forests: 25
Wilderness boundarys: 34
Mountain ranges: 10
Named passes traversed: 43
Blisters: 9
Wieght lost: 20 pounds
Pairs of shoes: 3
Pairs of socks: 5
Days with rain: 12
Nights with rain: 9
Days with hail: 3
Days with snow: 2
Bears: 2
Times I ran out of toilet paper: 2

Emily is very eloquent with words and her reflections post is great, you should read it. I'm working on mine, I'll post it eventually. 

Day one post trail

 The lodge worker ended up being a guy from New Zealand! We had a nice chat on the drive to Hope. It's raining again and the forcast for the mountains this week looks bad. Freezing rain, thunderstorms, wind and snow, glad we aren't out there right now.

 He dropped us off at a Tim Hortons (Starbucks/dunkin doughnuts of Canada) where it took us two and a half hours to find a ride. And when we did it was only to Abbotsford, another hour closer but there would be more buses.

Booked a bus straight through to Victoria, where we are staying with a cousin of Em's.

Ferry was pretty. Haven't covered that many miles in one day in a long time. It has been a whirlwind of a day!

Day 133: Canada

2658.9
23.5

My first thought this morning was "uhhh that's not rain" as I was listening to something tinkle down on my tarp. The rain had frozen in the trees above and was falling down as ice.

And then it started snowing. Not sticking but it was still snowing. And cold.

Beautiful.

The snow was sticking above 6500 feet.

 Visibility was coming and going all morning. That's Canada right over there. Can't see it but it's there.

 Apple on the last up before the border.

Hopkins lake.

There were 30 blow downs in the last 2 miles. None of them were too bad at least.

 Canada!

People cheered us in. We even met some new people at the monument. Echo was there. And cheesy mama. And a few others we had met along the way. But the majority of everyone we've met are all behind, with bad weather rolling in for the next week. Glad I'm not them.

 Wow, we really did it. That was a lot of walking.

Reading the register.

Canada!!!

Still have another eight miles to do to get to a road. That's okay, it feels like nothing, I feel very floaty and fairly relieved. I really made it!

Woohooo! Canada! Looks the same as Washington but feels different and the squirrels seem a bit more vocal, maybe they are cheering.

 it started raining but I didn't care. Only a few miles to 4 walls, central heating, showers and dry clothes.

 Very surreal.

The lodge is at the end of the rainbow! haha!

Can't believe I won't get up and walk tomorrow!

Showered in the pool room of the lodge. No soap, oh well. Only took one shower in Washington so it feels great. The lodge is booked full for the night and the bus to Vancouver at 2 am is also full. So we are sleeping down stairs in the lodge on the game room floor with a few other hikers. We walked across the highway to a lost and found type hikerbox where the lodge puts all the things left behind in the hotel rooms. Its a little building they call the free store. All kinds of clothes and stuff. I found some jeans and shirt and a fleece jacket to change into.

I ran into the manager back at the lodge and we started talking and he offered em and me a ride with one of the lodge workers into Hope, a town 45 minutes closer to Vancouver where we would have an easier time hitching (the buses in from hope are full tomorrow too). I've learned so much from trail, but one of the biggest lessons is that things always work out. Wonderful, wonderful day.

Day 132

 Woke up to rain and a ton of mice foot prints all around my bivy. But the mice left me alone and bombarded Chips. He apparently left some chips out and once they got the scent they wouldn't leave him alone all night. It was kinda funny, but only because they weren't attacking me.

  2635.37
21.6

The trail was churned up by horses. And there seemed to be more horse poo in the mud than dirt.
Cold. Windy. Wet. Muddy.
My Camelback tube popped off so I had about a liter of water chilling in the inside of my pack too. Very cold. Very Muddy. Very unhappy.

Met Apple and Misty and Australian Chips again at the camp in 21 (we were all planning to do 25 today) but the rain and wind and awfulness made everyone grumpy and sad and want to hide in our tents.

The only things not wet are my sleeping bag, wool shirt and sleeping pants.

There are some hunters set up here in the same area and they brought us all some candy and hand warmers. Super nice of them.

Boiled some water and put it in a bottle and it's heating my sleeping bag. I actually feel remotely dry and warm. Yay!

Big bear and chapstick were also camped here after slackpacking to the monument for the day. They are heading back to Hart's pass because they couldn't exit through Canada (I think one of them doesn't have a passport).