Rewind!! 170 mile victory lap

   When we came to the Canadian border we had some friends who were ready to be done with the PCT and others who were not.  We found it to be rather serendipitous that we belonged to the latter group AND we had some more of the trail to hike!  The place in Northern California we got to go back to was not a favorite place among hikers due to heat and a long waterless stretch but we got to be here in the fall which made it feel like a COMPLETELY different place!  

   So after a few days exploring in Vancouver, British Columbia and visiting friends in Seattle we were excited to get back to Northern California. The last time we were there the whole region seemed to be covered in wildfire smoke and there is A LOT to be seen from Chester to Castella, CA!

Terminal Geyser in Lassen Volcanic National Park.  If you look to the left of the steam you can see Almost Awesome posing for the cover of Volcanic Monthly! This place was really fascinating to see as a boiling creek flowed from the rocks the quiet roar of superheated water filled our ears and the sulphur-rich steam filled our noses. Standing near the geyser, there was quite an increase in the air temperature and when the wind would stop it felt like we were in a sauna. Pretty cool!

Boiling Springs Lake is NOT a place to take a dip.....

....unless you want to end up like this kid!

And nobody wants that.

This is Mt. Lassen trying to wear a cloud as a toupee...

... and Lassen au natural!  Soooo much better. Lassen is the start of the Cascade Mountain Range which we followed all the way into Canada.

Hiking along the PCT there were subtle environmental changes as we gradually walked from desert to rainforest but going back to Lassen NP from Washington was drastic!  Lush and steep climbs to dry and relatively flat was a brain shakeup for us.

A.A. with the north face of Mt. Lassen in the background.  This is on the Hat Creek Rim section of the trail.  Some people call this the 2nd desert because it is a HOT 30 mile waterless stretch, with very little rainfall, and is pretty exposed.  Most thru-hikers hike this in July where the temperature is commonly over 100.  

    But for us it was a little different.  We stayed in a motel the night before because a storm was blowing through that dropped 3" of rain in a nearby town and the temperature dropped to the mid-30's.  We didn't want to be the first PCT thru-hikers to get  hypothermia on Hat Creek Rim.  Our hike on Hat Creek Rim was so beautiful with temperatures in the 60's, blue skies, no dust (due to the rain), and LOTS of views!

Looking down into the valley from Hat Creek Rim.

We could see how the rim could get pretty toasty in July!

Going from lush Washington to chaparral in Northern California was fun mainly because the weather was so beautiful!

AA soaking in the rays!

Possum enjoying the views of Hat Creek Rim.  We took a lot of photos here because A. It was really beautiful and B. We walked on the edge of the rim for about 21 miles and that's all we saw.

Thank goodness the sun is coming up because it was a little chilly.  We loved watching the sun rise  every morning.

Almost Awesome MIGHT be on the PCT or on the Serengeti.

We got "awe-stuck" here for a while! This picture does not even begin to catch the beauty of the rainbow in front of Mt. Shasta as the sun rose behind us... It was 360 degrees of AWESOME!

It can get rough out here!  Almost Awesome just had to take a picture with it but I think it was so that she could check to see if there was any meat left on it.  She has REALLY embraced carnivorism.

Possum is keeping an eye out for cool stuff.....

... like this ( Burney Falls)...

... and this...

... and this!  Mt. Shasta without clouds was elusive for us but we tricked her one morning and got this great pic!

Too bad this was our last few days because had he have known, Possum would have ridden this guy the entire trail

On our second-to-last night out we had these amazing views of range after range after range of mountains as far as the eye could see. This view was like the ocean going on and on.  Ridge after ridge, valley after valley. We soaked it up, so greatful that we were able to walk day after day in mountains as far as we could see! What an amazing experience. It was definitely a change in perspective.

Dang!  That would have been tough to climb over.

These ferns loved the scrub oaks and would cover almost their entire trunks like  a fancy coat.

What a beautiful day!

Here is the drawback of hiking this section in the fall.  Resupply. On our final leg of this trip we resupplied out of Burney Falls State Park camp store. It looked to be a great location to buy food in season, unfortunately we arrived 3 days before it closed for the season. Only remnants remained for us to resupply from. Our lunch consisted of hot dog buns filled with the sweetest peanut butter we had ever eaten, topped off with caramel popcorn, and a side of candy bar. Mmm, mmm, mmm. Sugar coma!

Our final dinner consisted of cold stove top stuffing and brown gravey ( and you guessed it) stuffed in a hot dog bun. Your typical B&B, bread and bread... I recommend you never try it.

It was nice to finish our hike with views of such a grand mountain as Shasta to admire. It had just gotten the white cap in the storm earlier in the week and it required sunglasses to look at it due to it's radiance!

On the left is Castle Crags State Park with Shasta to the right.

Our finish point! What a journey. We were together 24/7 for 4+ months and it is a good thing that we like each other so much, hiker stink and all. We are a so grateful for this time.

Two thousand six hundred and sixty-three miles, 25 national forests, 7 national parks, and a spectacular way to see the western three states at 3 miles per hour.

    Start at Campo    1332 mile midpoint

    Terminus in BC.    Final miles in NoCal

It was crazy to be on the road in our car (thanks to Trail Angels Emory and Joann) later that night headed East...headed to rehab!

Hiker rehab in Colorado. This is an exclusive program, run by the Noodleheads, for preparing hikers to re-enter society. Hygiene, food consumption, social ques, and appropriate conversation are focuses of this program. What a perfect way to end this trip!

Ohhhh Canada!! Miles 2550 - 2660

Washington keeps getting better and better!

With a sunrise on Glacier Peak and the full Moon still in the sky we could not help but to stop and soak in it.

The North Cascades were AMAZING and rivaled the Sierras with their ruggedness and beauty. 

    We have one last town stop before Canada so Stehekin here we come!

This is our amigo, Handbrake, who is modeling his rain gear which typically means a hiker is doing their laundry.  We are 83% sure he is going to retire those rain pants after the hike. They only have to hold together a few more days!

This is the Stehekin  bakery and it is renowned in the region for being one of the best places to eat, which is pretty impressive for a place that can only be accessed by sea plane, boat or foot! It was almost too much for a deprived hiker to handle. Notice Almost Awesome is staring at the bakery case as if there was a movie playing in it. They make gourmet hot pockets that you could absolutely roll around in!

     Stehekin cannot be accessed by road so Lake Chilan is the only way to get to this beautiful location other than hiking. 

     This is our view of Lake Chelan which is so beautiful!  It averages 400' deep and has a max depth of 1480'!

Almost Awesome and Handbrake, at Stehekin Landing overlooking Lake Chelan, discussing important things ... like food.

Logs. Keeping feet dry for centuries!

Our last few days on the trail were glorious with temps in the 60's and blue skies! 

     This is our friend who has one of our favorite trail names.  Early in the trail he packed out some bacon and other meats and a few days later cooked them with some butter in his cookpot.  Shortly after he became REALLY sick and was subsequently named "Ralph Butters".  His name later morphed to "Rancid Ralph Butters" which he would sign "R.R. Butters" in the trail registers as if he were some 19th century writer.  

     He still submits that packing out bacon isn't a bad idea.

 We quickly found that eastern Washington is MUCH more arid than the west which we didn't mind after being cold and wet.

Possum's beard is almost as big as that mountain!  Almost.

Hiking in the North Cascades is like unwrapping a gift at every pass. The beauty just unfolds revealing view after view. It is more of a feeling than a view. Almost Awesome was giddy with every new panorama!

Can you smell the maple syrup and poutine yet, eh?!

Awesome sunrise on some grand mountains. Look at how vertical the face is on that mountain!

Almost Awesome was glad to get into the sun because it was a chilly morning!

Where's all the trees?

Rock Ocean and Possum.  He is the owner of the VW van that we posted previously.  This guy is terrific and we think that he and Possum would make a great superhero duo or at least roadies for the band Alabama.

A view like this gives a nice perspective on things.

The sun lighting the landscape on our last day of hiking in Washington.

How is this for a spot to have some tea?  L-R Worm, Squeaker (in the shade), Sock Holiday, and Tank.

Monument 78.  The northern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail. It sits on the border of the US and Canada!

We made it! Border to border! It was an amazing adventure! This trail captures so much beauty and wilderness in so many different environments. We are so  grateful to have had the opportunity to encounter such a treasure together! We are also thankful that we don't have to go straight home but get to return to Northern California to hike the 170 miles we missed because of fire closures earlier this summer. Not quite finished, and thankful for it!...............