Day 12 : nr Grizzly Peak

Start – nr Grizzly Peak
Finish – Steven’s Pass (hitch to Leavenworth)
Daily Distance – 26 km
Ascent – 900 m
Descent – 1190 m

Some carry hiking poles to aid their knees on lengthy descents, others appreciate the additional balance during river crossings, while still another point of view trumpets the extra uphill propulsion. All valid points, but the true value is in the enablement of a properly satisfying, profanity laden, foliage slaying, 2 year old laying on the floor beating the ground in your local grocery store, style on-trail meltdown. Not that I would ever do such a thing, I’m just, ahem, mentioning…

However, if I were ever to have such a moment, it would be shortly after 09:00 am in the morning, my prized pair of dry socks would have been almost instantly soaked by dew from wet foliage, I would have paused for 10 minutes to dry my socks in the sun, only to find that when putting my shoes back on, the right hand shoe would no longer go back into a configuration where it didn’t rub my toe. In that very particular circumstance, with the prospect of many more miles walking in unpadded sandals, an impromptu moment of “unscheduled trail foliage maintenance” could concievably transpire.

It may be a bold and shocking statement, but that last 2 days of hiking were not my favourite. The saving grace is that this was a 7 day section, so to encounter issues at a late stage, and where the trail was easiest, was fortuitous. But it did make me less inclined to stop and relax at the pretty lakes which I passed en-route, rather just wanting to be in a place where I didn’t need to walk anymore. Frustratingly, these issues could have been avoided. Having not suffered with blisters or rubbed feet for years, in all honesty, I was complacent with my packing of blister treatment items and in safeguarding the dryness of my feet. Something I will remedy now I am in a town with shops and a sports store.

In terms of arriving in Leavenworth, I was relatively fortunate in my hitchhiking efforts. The PCT brings hikers to Steven’s Pass, a 4 lane highway, petrol station, and parking area for a ski/hiking area. After only 20 minutes of trying to look presentable and non-threatening, I was lucky enough to be picked up by Anthony, a ski-lift engineer, who was heading home from work. We spoke about his psychotically dangerous love of mountain biking, that Washington State is a very large producer of apples, which accounts for why a surprising amount of the population has basic Spanish knowledge from talking with the immigrant laborors, and the history of Leavenworth (more of that in a later post). Arriving in Leavenworth a day before my hotel reservation I made the decision to elongate my stay by one night. An expensive choice, but I want to undertake the next section in good physical order, so the responsible choice. I also really wanted a room with a shower and not to have to sleep in my tent for a few days.