miles: 0
The day has come for some decision making. The issue at the table? Whether or not to skip ahead to Stevens Pass (near Skykomish, WA) 76 PCT miles north of where we were, in order to avoid and beat the approaching weather systems to ensure we make it to the Canadian border. We aren't opposed to skipping ahead (we vow to come back next summer and complete the missing segment) but definitely do not want to...
We want to/need to finish by October 1st/2nd (3rd at the latest) in order to avoid being in a financial mess and we also want to finish with Dr. Slosh and Smiles. We've been hiking together off and on for the entirety of the trail, but have primarily been together non-stop through all of Washington. They are our family and we all want to reach the monument together. Smiles has family flying in on October 1st and although to outsiders this may seem like an arbitrary restriction to finishing, we care about finishing with them, so we have made this our official deadline as well. This is good because we should finish as soon as possible ANYWAY because of the worsening weather and the sooner we finish, the more likely we are to beat any early fall storms... Better play it safe than sorry.
So that is what we did - we decided to go ahead and hitch into Seattle and wait out the worst of the current storm (expected to bring heavy rainfall and the seasons first snow to the higher elevations, this particular day being the worst and coldest of all) and leap ahead to Skykomish in order to finish from there (hopefully).
We ate breakfast at Aardvark - the world's best food cart - and chit chatted with other hikers, touched base with some friends in Seattle (JUSTIN AND SARAH!) and everything fell into place from there. The only thing was: how easy will it be to hitch to Seattle, 45 minutes away?
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| Ben setting out towards the freeway onramp. |
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| Dr. Slosh, Slosh's aunt, and Smiles getting dropped off at the trailhead while we were hitching - only to turn back and do the same thing as us once they realized there wouldn't be enough time to finish by Oct. 1st, especially since the news about the weather, making it slow going, slippery, and treacherous. |
While hitching, we saw Dr. Slosh and Smiles getting dropped off across the on-ramp and we convened with them for a moment, wishing each other luck, promising to meet up at Stevens Pass... but later this very night we learned of their reversal. They ultimately wound up backtracking back to Snoqualmie due to the conditions and realization that we were running out of time to get to Canada. We'd be reunited soon!
Back on the on-ramp, Ben and I were not having much luck. Cars whizzed by as we tentatively stuck our thumbs out.
It turned out to be a nice day.
Hm.
Eventually a van rolled up and we were thrilled to see the owner of Aardvark! He just happened to be heading to Seattle and offered us a ride! The only thing he asked in exchange was for us to spread the word about his business, and I can say with confidence: THIS IS SOME OF THE BEST FOOD.
IF YOU FIND YOURSELF ON SNOQUALMIE PASS - EAT HERE!
So suddenly we were in Seattle, dodging hip college kids with laptop bags, weaving through Friday afternoon street traffic... it was quite overwhelming, but in a slightly exhilarating way? I was surprisingly pleased to be in a major metropolis, for some unknown reason. It was a gorgeous day in Seattle, warm, sunny, perfect puffs of clouds, everyone getting off work and buzzing around in excitement.
I've found that as long as I am able to remain outdoors while in a "bigger city" (while on trail) I can maintain sanity. It's when I'm crammed into a Target, Wal-Mart or Fred Meyer that I become overwhelmed. I think it's the music combined with fluorescent lights that makes me feel like a lunatic.
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| We were dropped off near Pike Place, where we eagerly grabbed beers and the last rays of sunshine before our ride came and got us... Thank you again Sarah! |
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| Best thing today/feeling good. |
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| The city! |
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