Passing through Seattle

I've written lots of notes in my little notebook since my last post here, but of course no time now to transcribe... so just a brief catch-up:

I did take the plunge and continue onto the trail at the Sauk river trailhead, to clearing skies though still soggy ground and underbrush, of course. Took me a day to climb out of the mushroom-sprouting forest to the crest at White Pass, but what an exhilerating contrast with spectacular views especially crossing the crest at red pass, getting first glimpses of Glacier Peak though the to me anonymous lesser peaks were at least equally worthy of gigabytes of repeated snapshots and panoramas from ever-changing perspectives.

The trail did it's usual alternation between river crossings at 3000ft and ridge-passes at 6000+ft, as I passed by the other trailheads that aI would have preferred entering this section from, which, as mentioned in my last post, were closed from slides now several years old. Some, such as the White Chuck trail junction, seemed passable from the PCT end, others, such as the Milk Creek trail that had been my first choice, was obviously completely overgrouwn just a few yards from the junction.  The Suiattle River trail, which from the west end was still closed due to unfinished road construction, but due to open this fall, seemed to be well maintained at the PCT trail junction.  I suspect I could have walked the road past the construction, as someone in Darrington had suggested I could do.

But as it turns out, many of the views of Glacier Peak from the southwest were in that section between the Sauuk river and Suiarrle river trails, and since the weatehr was good for the first few days, it was good that I got to this section during that time.

The weatehr did deteriorate after the firstt few days, so my views of Glacier from the northwest were probably fewer, although I did get some glimpses through occasional breaks in the clouds.  More than half the time the trail went through forest and there would have been few views of distant peaks anyway.  In fact, at some times I found myself grumbling that I had sunny skies while slogging through the creek valleys, unable to take photographic advantage of the clear skies.

Approaching the "High Bridge" junction with the bus going east to Stehekin on Lake Chelan, I had set myself up the night before to catch  the 9am bus, by pushing on a bit past dark to make it to 4 miles south of the stop, setting my alarm for 5am to hopefully be walking by 6am, but it was still deep dark in the deep woods and steady drizzle at that time, and I was a bit sluggish getting myself out of my sleeping bag , packed, dressed for the rain, dripping rain fly packed, etc, and as a result I missed the bus by about 10 minutes.  No big deal though, the nearby campground had a lean-to shelter and I took advantage of having the camp all to myself by hanging things out to "drip" off some of the excess weight of water - no chance things would "dry"...   Did make it on the neen bus along with a few otehr hikers.

In town, recognized a few otehr hikers that had passed me in the last few days.  Had a chance to chat with then over meals. They all seemed to be in ratehr reflective moods, this being towards the end of their through hikes...

There wasn't much productive work I could do there besides do my laundry - no internet, no computers to copy files, very little resupply options - no peanutbutter!!!??? (though the lady did me a speial favor by grtting some from the restaurant next door...  So I ended up taking the next noon bus back to the trail.  The bus was full of hikers, with a smattering of weekenders staying at the "ranch".

It was still raining at midday, though forecast called for clearing, and it did clear toward the end of the day. Made it to the junction of the spur trail to my assigned CG just after dark, and decided to plop right there in a nice camping spot at the junction, ratehr than going down to the actual campground.  Technically a violation, I guess...  Next morning to sunny skies I made the last 7 miles to my bicycle at Rainy Pass, took about two hours to rearrange myself onto the bicycle, and coasted down to the base of ross lake, to a campground who's name escapes me at the moment. Chatted over a fire that night with anotehr "walker" on some slightly different quest - a roadwalk encircling the continental us - he would be heading west into Iowa this winter. I did wish him to stay warm and dry when I left the next morning.

It was a strenuous peday the net day along the mostly level stretch next to the river but with an increasing headwind funneled through that valley. Spent a second night at a campground just short of Concrete.

Made it into Concrete the next morning. I had been asking around for a good place to stash my bike in that town before boarding the busses to Seattle.  The Community Center came highly recommended my the girl at the gas station in Rockport.  That gas station, by the way was going out of business, it was their last day, shelves were empty, pumps out of gas, a big "card" at the counter  with best wishes notes from well wishers, the girl would be out of a job.

At the Community center, the response was no - sherrif's office, was their suggestion.   I did, caught the sherrif as he was leaving, he was agreeable, emptied my bicycle of my baggage, left it there in his office, and promptly caught the bus going west.  Managed to quickly make connections twice into Seattle, stopped at the central library, got a reservation for the Green Turtle Hostel, walked there from the libry, and here I am the next morning.

Now I need to make some arrangements to stay anotehr night or leave.  More later.

Rats! weather deteriorating...

I've been trying to wat for an optimal time to hike past the Glacier Peak area, which wshould have awesome photoops in clear weatehr.  Looks like I would have to wait anotehr week. Maybe I should consider skipping this section for later, maybe even for next year, in which case the Suiattle TH would be open and I could do it much easier.

But I am getting very restless sitting here, again with a few sunny days and I'm not ready to do anything to take advantage of them.   I'm inclined at the moment to push on, despite facing clouds and rain during most of the 6 days it will take me to get through this section.  I really should reconsider.  But again if I do that I'll need to fetch my bike back at Rainy Pass, research the specific logisticts of a Stevens to Snoqualmie or Chinook to Snoqualmie Pass loop, which will wast two upcoming sunny days.  Hate such a dilemma!

Here's the current forecast,discussion, just FYI.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
900 AM PDT WED SEP 19 2014

.SYNOPSIS...A WEAK UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE AREA TODAY WILL KEEP
SKIES MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MORNING SHOWERS. CLOUDS WILL
GRADUALLY DISSIPATE TONIGHT AS A STRONG UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS
OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THE STRONG RIDGE AND LOW LEVEL OFFSHORE
FLOW WILL BRING SUNNY SKIES AND A WARMING TREND THIS WEEKEND. A
WEAKENING FRONT ON MONDAY WILL BRING INCREASING CLOUDS...A FEW
SHOWERS...AND COOLER TEMPERATURES. A LARGE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL
MAINTAIN A WETTER AND COOLER PATTERN ALL NEXT WEEK.

&&

.SHORT TERM...A WEAK SURFACE TROUGH EMBEDDED IN WLY FLOW IS
DISSIPATING ALONG THE N WA COAST THIS MORNING. MODELS SHOW NO
REFLECTION AT THE SURFACE BY THIS AFTERNOON AND NOT MUCH UPPER LEVEL
SUPPORT. RADAR DATA DOES SHOW A FEW RESIDUAL SHOWERS FROM THE N
COAST EWD ACROSS THE STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA AND OVER THE N INTERIOR.
THESE SHOWERS WILL DECREASE THIS AFTERNOON. THE REST OF THE AREA
INCLUDING THE PUGET SOUND REGION SHOULD BE DRY TODAY ALTHOUGH CLOUDS
WILL HANG IN THROUGH THE AFTERNOON GIVEN THE MOIST ONSHORE FLOW.
HIGHS WILL AGAIN BE COOL...AROUND 70 FOR THE SOUND AND LOW 70S
ACROSS THE SW INTERIOR.

THE 500 MB RIDGE RAPIDLY AMPLIFIES OVER THE REGION TONIGHT THROUGH
SATURDAY. LOW LEVEL NORTHERLY FLOW DEVELOPS TONIGHT...THEN BECOMES
MORE STRONGLY OFFSHORE SATURDAY AS THERMALLY INDUCED LOW PRESSURE
FORMS JUST OFF THE COAST. DRYING SHOULD TAKE PLACE TONIGHT IN THE
MID/UPPER LEVELS. HOWEVER...A STRONG SUBSIDENCE INVERSION WILL TRAP
SOME AREAS OF LOW CLOUDS AND FOG IN A THIN LAYER BELOW 2 KT
ACCORDING TO NAM-BUFFER SOUNDINGS. ANY FOG/STRATUS SHOULD BURN OFF
RATHER QUICKLY BY MID-LATE MORNING. WITH THE PICK UP IN OFFSHORE
FLOW AND THE DRYING AIR MASS...HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL WARM A GOOD
4-10 DEGREES SATURDAY. THE COAST MAY SEE THE WARMEST TEMPERATURES
GIVEN THE LOCATION OF THE THERMALLY INDUCED TROUGH AHEAD OF THE
STRATUS SURGE.

UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE WILL START TO SHIFT FURTHER INLAND
SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. THIS WILL ALLOW THE THERMALLY INDUCED
TROUGH TO SHIFT INLAND OVER INTERIOR WRN WA. SUNDAY SHOULD THEREFORE
BE THE WARMEST DAY OVER INLAND AREAS. HIGHS IN THE MID 85S WILL
PROBABLY BE COMMON. THE NAM MOS SHOULD AGAIN DO BEST IN THIS
SCENARIO BUT THE GUIDANCE IS STILL LIKELY HANDICAPPED A BIT BY
CLIMATOLOGY. THE FORECAST IS ALREADY TRENDED 2-4 DEGREES ABOVE THE
WARMEST MOS WHICH SEEMS REASONABLE. MERCER

.LONG TERM...NO CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...ALL FACTORS ARE
IN PLACE FOR A SW MARINE PUSH SUNDAY NIGHT. STRATUS SURGE UP THE
COAST ON SUNDAY...UPPER LEVEL RIDGE AXIS SHIFTING OVER W MT...AND
WEAKENING COLD FRONT APPROACHING THE COAST. THE SW MARINE PUSH
SUNDAY NIGHT SHOULD PUSH STRATUS UP THROUGH AT LEAST MOST OF PUGET
SOUND BY MONDAY MORNING. EARLIER NAM RUNS WERE LESS EXTENSIVE WITH
THE BOUNDARY LAYER RH MONDAY MORNING...BUT THE LATEST 06Z NAM COVERS
ALL OF W WA. THE NAM TIME-HEIGHT SECTION SHOWS A MARINE LAYER AROUND
4000 FEET DEEP MONDAY MORNING. IF THIS WORKS OUT THEN CLOUD COVER
WILL HAVE TO BE INCREASED FOR MONDAY.

THE MODELS HAVE BEEN FAIRLY CONSISTENT WITH MONDAYS APPROACHING
FRONTAL SYSTEM. MODELS SHOW THE FRONT REMAINING INTACT UNTIL IT
MOVES E OF 130W MONDAY MORNING. AT THAT POINT MODEL CROSS-SECTIONS
SHOW THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH SHEARING AWAY FROM THE LOW LEVEL
FRONT...LEAVING IT TO STALL ALONG THE COAST. THE MODELS HAVE BEEN
DRY FOR W WA ON MONDAY...BUT WITH A DEEP MARINE LAYER IT IS POSSIBLE
THAT SOME DRIZZLE COULD DEVELOP MONDAY MORNING...CAUSED BY WEAK LIFT
FROM THE UPPER TROUGH AS IT CONTINUES MOVING INLAND.

BOTH GFS AND ECMWF HAVE A LONGWAVE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH DEVELOPING
OFFSHORE OVER THE NE PACIFIC BY TUESDAY WITH SW FLOW ALOFT OVER W
WA. THE TROUGH WILL DOMINATE THE PATTERN ALL NEXT WEEK FOR PERIODS
OF RAIN OR SHOWERS OVER W WA. BOTH MODELS SHOW A COLD FRONT REACHING
W WA TUESDAY NIGHT OR EARLY WEDNESDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL PROBABLY
SCOOP UP THE REMNANTS OF MONDAYS STALLED FRONT AS IT MOVES INLAND.
KAM

&&

.AVIATION...WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT TODAY AND TONIGHT. AN UPPER LEVEL
RIDGE WILL BUILD TO THE SOUTHEAST OF THE AREA ON SATURDAY TURNING
FLOW ALOFT TO THE SOUTHWEST. AT THE SURFACE...A WEAKENING FRONTAL
SYSTEM OVER THE COASTAL WATERS THIS MORNING WILL DISSIPATE AS IT
MOVES INLAND TODAY. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER SOUTHERN
BRITISH COLUMBIA ON SATURDAY GIVING INCREASING NORTHERLY FLOW AT THE
LOW LEVELS. THE AIR MASS IS MOIST AND STABLE.

SATELLITE IMAGERY AND PILOT REPORTS SHOW MULTIPLE CLOUD LAYERS WITH
TOPS OVER 8000 FEET. FROM ABOUT KSEA SOUTHWARD IN THE INTERIOR...THE
LOWER LEVELS BELOW 3000-5000 FT ARE CLEAR. MVFR CEILINGS ARE FOUND
IN THE INTERIOR FROM ABOUT KSEA NORTHWARD WITH LOCAL IFR CONDITIONS
OVER THE KITSAP PENINSULA. CONDITIONS N OF KHQM ALONG THE COAST ARE
LOW IFR IN STRATUS...LIGHT RAIN AND FOG.

CONDITIONS WILL GRADUALLY IMPROVE FROM THE SOUTH AND EAST TODAY WITH
MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED AFTER 22Z. CEILINGS WILL BREAK THIS
EVENING AS FLOW BECOMES MORE N/NE IN THE LOWER LEVELS AND THE AIR
MASS DRIES SOMEWHAT.

THE LATEST NAM12 SOLUTION SHOWS A LOW STRATUS AND FOG LAYER FORMING
BELOW A DEVELOPING LOW LEVEL SUBSIDENCE INVERSION IN THE INTERIOR AS
LOW LEVEL NORTHERLY FLOW INCREASES AND IS PRECEDED BY RADIATIONAL
COOLING. THE NAM12 MOS GUIDANCE AND TIME HEIGHT SECTIONS SHOW IFR
CONDITIONS THROUGH MUCH OF THE INTERIOR FROM KPAE SOUTHWARD 08Z-20Z
SAT...AND LOW IFR VIS IS POSSIBLE IN LOCATIONS WHERE THE STRATUS
INTERSECTS THE GROUND. THIS IS TYPICAL FOR THE EARLY FALL SEASON AS
OFFSHORE FLOW DEVELOPS BEHIND A WEAKENING FRONT. THIS CHANGE WILL BE
REFLECTED IN THE 18Z TERMINAL FORECASTS FOR KPAE...KSEA...KBFI AND
KOLM. THIS STRATUS AND FOG IS ALSO LIKELY TO FORM IN THE CHEHALIS
VALLEY AND IMPACT THE KHQM TERMINAL DURING THE LATE NIGHT AND
MORNING HOURS. ALBRECHT

KSEA...CEILINGS HAVE IMPROVED TO OVER 3000 FT AT THE TERMINAL AND
LOWER CEILINGS ARE LIFTING NORTH OF THE TERMINAL EXPECT CIGS TO
IMPROVE TO 050-060 LATE THIS MORNING WITH CLOUDS BREAKING DURING THE
LATE AFTERNOON OR EVENING HOURS. AS MENTIONED ABOVE...EXPECT LOW
STRATUS WITH CIGS 003-005 TO DEVELOP AROUND AND TO THE NORTH OF THE
TERMINAL ABOUT 09Z AS A SUBSIDENCE INVERSION DEVELOPS OVER THE AREA
AND TRAPPED LOW LEVEL MOISTURE CONDENSES WITH RADIATIONAL COOLING.
THE STRATUS WILL RAPIDLY SPREAD/DEVELOP SOUTHWARD ONCE IT FORMS.
THERE IS ABOUT A 50 PERCENT CHANCE THAT VISIBILITIES AT THE TERMINAL
WILL DROP TO BELOW 1/2SM FG IF THE STRATUS BASES ARE SLIGHTLY LOWER
THAN CURRENTLY EXPECTED. THE STRATUS WILL LIKELY BREAK UP AROUND 20Z
SAT. SOUTH WINDS TODAY 4-8 KT WILL BECOME LIGHT IN THE AFTERNOON
THEN BECOME NORTH 6-8 KT AFTER 05Z THROUGH SAT MORNING. ALBRECHT

&&

.MARINE...A WEAK AND DISSIPATING FRONT OVER THE COASTAL WATERS WILL
MOVE INLAND TODAY. BEHIND THE FRONT...SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL
DEVELOP OVER SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND WILL STRENGTHEN SATURDAY
AND SATURDAY NIGHT. THIS WILL INCREASE LOW LEVEL NORTHERLY FLOW
TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.

FLOW WILL BECOME MORE EASTERLY LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY AS
THE HIGH OVER BRITISH COLUMBIA MOVES SOUTHEASTWARD. SMALL CRAFT
ADVISORY EAST WINDS ARE LIKELY AT THE EAST ENTRANCE TO THE STRAIT OF
JUAN DE FUCA AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL ZONE LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO
SUNDAY MORNING.

A WEAKENING FRONT WILL APPROACH THE COASTAL WATERS LATE SUNDAY INTO
SUNDAY NIGHT. THE APPROACH OF THE FRONT WILL LIKELY INDUCE A
SOUTHERLY SURGE OVER THE COASTAL WATERS SUNDAY INTO SUNDAY NIGHT. A
MUCH STRONGER FRONTAL SYSTEM WELL OFFSHORE WILL BE APPROACHING FROM
THE WEST ON TUESDAY. ALBRECHT

well... White Chuck was also closed... Hmm...

Just to account for my last few days since my last post...

So the White Chuck road looked promising but ended abruptly at a bulldozed barrier just beyond a turnabout with a campfire ring... no signs, no clue as to why it closed.  Walked beyond the barrier for about a mile, no slides or washouts.  Just before the closure point I had taken a right turn at a "y", so I decided to explore the left branch of that.  That drive looped me back north to the Suiattle River trailhead at a point just before it's closure. {I should be more specific about the road names/numbers here - future editing task...]

Returned to Darrington library, I did find ref's on the web concerning these closures.  The Suiattle River TH would be reopening later this fall.  The White Chuck trailhead is being permanently de-commissioned.  There was a third possible approach to the PCT from this (west) side - the Sauk River TH, although it reached the PCT only about 20 miles north of Stevens Pass, not very optimal for my intent to split the 120 mile section into shorter hikes. It being Sunday evening I decided to hang around town til the Ranger station reopened Monday morning, and just ask whetehr that was open, rather than waste more gas..  Headed for a nice FS CG just a few miles from town that would have cost me a Sr Pass discounted $4, but it was full.  Wandered across the road to a FS route and overnighted at the first turnout on that just a few 100yds from the main road.  Even better.

Talked to the ranger Monday morning, learning that the Sauk River TH was indeed open and the only waay to the trail from here. The Forecast called for rain within two days, and I had no other plans, so I decided to wait out the weather essentially at the Darrington library, which had ample table-space with power for me to work with my laptop. There was a decent grocery store and a nice little bookstore/coffee house, and a small RV campground with 6minute showers for $2, and a laundromat with quite inexpensive rates.  Very picturesque Mts surrounded the town.  A very livable small town.
Forecast gradually changed, pushing off the rain later into the week. Oh well, I was busy finally taking a close look at my tracklogs, Had found a good GPX file editor allowing me to easily split the month-long GPS log files into manageable files each covering just one day.  I still do have lots of gaps in my logs, though with the two logging methods I was now using (BCNav app on my phone and the Holux track logger) fewer than I had feared.  Still need to find or write a script that would allow me to inerpolate the picts taken during my log-gaps based on time/distance along Halfmile's published track of the trail.  

So today the forecast called for decreasing rain and sunny weather this weekend (though then another low arriving by Tuesday.  I was ready at the trailhead this morning, but it was pouring rain worse than at any time the last two days.  So I  decided to drive the 20 miles back into town to do this and a few other loose ends that my "packing/todo" list had revealed.

But rain or no, I'm determined to be hiking his afternoon for a week - actually longer, a week of solid hiking, starting from the N. Fork Sauk River TH that meets the PCT after about 10 miles about 85 miles south of Rainy Pass at WA SR20.  I'll hade the option to do a "layover" in Stehekin about 20 miles short of Rainy Pass, which I may do if the weather is bad.  At Rainy Pass I've stashed my bicycle, and I'll have probably a full day bicycle ride west of the Pass down to the town of Concrete, where I'll catch some local buses to Seattle & then an Amtrak bus to Stevens Pass on WA SR 2, where I'll have another two maybe three day hike back to my car.  This will take me into next month.

I then still hope to do the "two" sections of Stevens Pass, one to Snoqualmie Pass on I90, then from I90 to Chinook Pass on WA SR ??? northeast of Mt Rainier where I left off a few weeks ago before skipping to the "border" (Rainy Pass to the border) which I did a week ago.

That would leave about a 60 mile section just north of the Colombia Ruver Gorge to finish off Washington. 

But ,I may leave that for next year, depending maybe on the weather around mid-month October.  If it looks "bad" around that time, I may just decide to come back to CA in time for a family gettogether in Davis for granddaughter Kaylee's 3rd bithday party.  In that case, I may just call it quits hiking for this season, and would be looking for a place to over-winter.  I still have "most" of Oregon to do, but couldn't start that next year until probably mid-June assuming typical snowpack up there.  But there are also some sections in the Klamaths that I will probably want to redo, because I lost at least 1000 picts representing a few days hiking I think in the Marble Mts.  Depending on how my "book project" goes, I may also "redo" some other sections involving "bicycle loopbacks" in CA.  But also, in the back of my mind is the notion of looking for a parttime or temp job this winter..  Lots of options I'm trying to keep open.  
.



  

Whoops - suiattle trails closed. Try White Chuck TH

Big sign at road 26.  Rd closed from storm damage.  So, assuming the White Chuck approach is open, Ill be reaching the PCT at abt mile 2525, with 55 miles to the High Pass road jct to Sthekin, another 20 to my bike at Rainy Pass, then a remaining 45 from Stevens Pass ba k to car. Oh, but add another ten miles or so twice on access trl from car to Pct.  Had total miles off by abt 40 miles in last post. Total hiking miles abt 140.

setting up for Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass

I'm in Darrington at the moment (way too long a moment due to computer glitches trying to backup my last set of photos from Rainy to Harts passes.)

Yesterday I finished my hike from Rainy to Harts passes after a few more delays between my last post. When I was finally "ready", I left my car at Harts pass Thursday noonish, bicycled down to Mazama, leaving my bike at the Goats Beard Outfitters store there, hitched up hwy 20 to Rainy Pass, hiked 5 miles to Cutthroat Pass, then about 17 miles on Friday to the ridge above Granite Pass, then a final 5 miles back to my car at Harts yesterday morning, fetched my bike, drove back up to Rainy Pass and hid the bike in the woods there, then continued west on 20 towards Concrete, asking at towns along the way whether they had bus service, learning that Marblemount had a bus on Friday mornings for Sedrow-Wolley via Concrete. At the Concrete library I learned that there is daily and limited Saturday service to Concrete from Sedro Wooly.  Headed for Darrington which is near the Suiattle or White Chuck trailheads I'll reach the PCT from next. Did some more research at the library (while doing laundry & grocery shopping in town) to nail down the bus connections between Concrete and Stevens Pass via Seattle.

So, what I'll do is leave my car at probably the Suiattle TH, hike along the Milk River trail to the PCT, hitting it about 20 miles  south of the "High Pass" road junction where there's a daily shuttle to Stehekin where I'll probably resupply and possibly "lay low" during some forecast rain, then continue the remainign 20 miles north on the PCT to Rainy Pass, from where I'll bicycle 55 miles of almost pure downhill to Concrete (unless I get there by Friday morning in which case I can take the bus from Marblemount, saving myself the 20 miles that contain all the uphill. 3 or four more busses to either the Greyhound or Amtrak terminals in Seattle, then the Norwesterntrailways bus to Stevens Pass, then about 60 miles back to car.

Unfortunately today I've wasted one of two remaining fair weather days before the next low comes thru,  but oh well, gotta deal withit...  

Brief update from Winthrop.

I've been out of wifi connectivity for a while - I guess since Enumclaw.  A bit ironic that is, because I've been trying to stay out of the rain, and usually I try to do that with wifi to pass he time...  This time, I'vve been passing much of the time just in my car, taking notes in steno books.  Oh, also, I've been starting to take audio notes more regularly on my smartphone - this gave me yet another thing to have to backup at the Winthrop library, along with my picts, and track logs from three gps devices, and .

Eventually I guess I hope to transcribe all those those detailed notes to this blog,  Um, yeah, really! Along with matching up those track logs with the picts, stiching all the panoramas, merging all the focus-stacks, ID-ing all the content, and posting that. And publishing my little e-book on my Bycyclooping the PCT.

But for now, just to broad-brush catch-up..  

I left Enumclaw  during an intensifying rainy spell, taking some wide west-east zigzags, first through the Puget Sound Urban highways, then east through Steven's Pass to Lake Chelan, then west up to Harts Pass (the northernmost road-crossing on the PCT.)  There I sat waiting for the rain (and snow to end, getting myself very cold and wet at one point by prematurely venturing out into weather that I assumed was clearing, only to get snowed on, and retreating back to my car for another day.

Finally the weather did clear and I had a pleasant photo-prolific four day hike out&back to the border.  I had planned to then leave my car at Harts Pass and bicycle down to the West Fork Methow River trail (near the town of Mazama) that meets up with the PCT, looping north back to the car, then  doing the same from Rainy Pass,(bicycling down to that trail then hiking south to my car at Rainy.   But that trail is closed, from a major slide last year.  I've talked to a number of people on the feasibility of pushing through a slide cross country, and have decided to take the easier solution, just bicycle down to Mazama, then hitch up to Rainy, hike that section of PCT in one piece. 

Then I'll then tackle the next, 120mile chunk, south of Rainy.  From Stevens Pass past Stehekin on Lake Chelan.  This may involve a long bike ride east to Lake Chelan, from both passes, or a bike ride from Rainy Pass to Winatche then a bus up to Stevens Pass (If I have the existence of such a route right - it's been a while since I researched the bus routes...

The section south of there, between Stevens Pass and Snoquaalmie pass, would be a "pure" bus ride wit ha transfer in Seattle.

South of there would be the Chinook Pass to Enumclaw bicycle ride followed by busses to Seattle then bus to Snoqualmie.  

Then to finish off Washington I'd do a bicycle loop-down to the Colombia from where I left the "middle piece" around Mt Adams & Mt Rainier, hiking back north to the car at Berry Fields at the north end of the Indian Heaven Wilderness.

So, why am I in Winthrop instead of just leaving my car at Harts Pass and having bicycled down to Mazama and Hitched up to Rainy Pass and be headed north on the PCT today?  Well, there was a threat of inclement weather tonight and I needed to resupply food and backup my camera cards, charge batteries, add maps to my BCNav app on my Android, etc.  (I already had drained my battery at one point trying to charge batteries from my car...)    Of course, I'm doing that now as I'm sitting in my car past the library close time, running my engine periodically.

OK, but now back up to Mazama. will spend the night at the bottom of the road up the pass, drive up tomorrow and hope to get my act together quickly enough to bicycle down in time to hitch not too late in the day.