A Final Thank You. . .

(photos courtesy of award-winning photographer, Darth Raspberry, using Live Yeast's camera)


The trip has ended, and it would all be meaningless without a proper thank you, well, infinite thank yous, so here goes:

First of all, thank you to all the trail angels who make the trail as close to a utopian society as I've ever seen. I'm constantly awestruck and inspired by the selflessness and genuine care shown to us travelers while on and off the trail. My love for humanity grows and grows with each trip, and I have only the trail angels to thank for that. I still don't understand it, exactly, but it is beautiful, and I'm content with that. From loaning socks to telling stories, from opening your home to offering quarters for a shower, from picking up stinky, dirty hitchhikers without a grimace to providing huge feasts for any hiker who passes, thank you all. And Piper's Mom, I didn't properly thank you last year, but I am still humbled by my experience with you and your husband at the end of my hike last year. Thank you!!

Thank you my main man, Secretary Bison. I appreciate your willingness and contribution as you join me on another long-distance hike. It is hard to imagine long-distance backpacking without you alongside. You've done a fine job at capturing tone and mood of each post. You're a fine secretary. So thank you.

Thank you, friends from Marquette who now live on the West Coast: James, Kelly, Emily, Paloma, Howard, Becky, Paul, Shannon, and Shannon. Thank you for making such a sweet decision and for sharing your new West Coast adventure with me. And thanks for taking in a homeless man for a day or days. You're all just great.

Thank you, Paul and Melissa, who put up with me the longest. It's hard to express my gratitude, and a few words still don't suffice, but I enjoyed my time in Seattle more than you can know, and I have only you two to thank (and, of course, your great friends, but I was attempting embarrassing flattery). And Hamburguesa, I can't think of better way to finish the PCT than to return to stay with the one who began the adventure with me.

Thank you, fellow hikers, for sharing in the experience. The trail is not the trail without the hiking culture. And that is what calls me back year after year.

Thank you, BirdShot. You're a fine hiking partner, and I'll adventure with you anytime. The contrast seems great when I think back to hiking alone vs. with you. I would much rather have a hiking partner if given the choice.

Thank you, all who have followed this blog and have shared the experience in this way. Kind words and encouragement and sometimes hilarious insulting comments (H., I've missed you this year) make the trip even more enjoyable. Thank you for taking the time.

Thank you, family, for your continuing support. I love you all.



Goodbye until next time!!

Final Days

Three days to the Canadian border, and two days trying to find a way out of the woods, BoogieMan juggled the stunning Washington and British Columbian wilderness, unmaintained trails, trail magic, rain/snow, and immigration issues. The end had come. The town of Stehekin, a tiny little resort town accessible only by boat or by hiking, sent BoogieMan back to the trail with his best resupply yet: fresh fruit and vegetables (and goat cheese) from an organic garden, and sticky buns plus a cinnamon roll from the famous Stehekin bakery. If only Boogie had figured out this recipe for resupply sooner.

With 90 miles to hike to the border, Boogie planned for four days, hiking day one out of Stehekin up a river gorge in the blazing hot sun. The change was nice but presented new challenges. Like water--in the weeks prior, Boogie seemed to absorb water through his skin from all the rain. He drank maybe two liters a day, peeing as often as normal. With the heat and sun, he drank approximately a liter per hour. At the end of the day, although Boogie accidentally took the wrong trail, he stumbled upon a moose (a happy accident, but do they exist in Washington?), which convinced him that he actually chose the right trail (but not the PCT). He arrived to Rainy Pass at dusk and camped at the trailhead. 70 miles to go.

Day two Boogie planned to hike all day without pushing himself too much. Some gorgeous views, yellow larch, red huckleberry, and evergreens painted the Washington landscape, and Boogie enjoyed the blue sky and cooler weather as he climbed in elevation. Then around lunchtime, a southbound hiker mentioned trailmagic ahead, 35 miles from where Boogie awoke. Well heck, Boogie thought, what better reason could there be for pushing oneself? So push he did.

What did he find? The best trail magic yet, perhaps ever. Serpent Slayer, an experienced PCT hiker through Oregon and Washington, and his son Pyro were stationed at Hart's Pass serving magic to any hikers making their way to Canada. On this particular day we were four: Pacer, an older gentleman who Boogie had been running into since Etna, CA; JackRabbit and Hooker, section hikers who planned to finish the PCT this year; and BoogieMan. And the feast began: salad, chips and salsa, pickles, olives, potato chips, brats, burgers, whiskey, wine, beer, soda, oreos, M&Ms, s'mores (thanks Pyro), and in the morning, smoked summer sausage, eggs, pancakes, toast and jam, cereal, apples, more oreos, and the list goes on. All were stuffed, and all were grateful. This was all they needed for the last 35 miles. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Serpent Slayer.

With clouds coming from the southwest, Boogie fled the incoming storm on a full stomach. The thrill of the finish, along with the storm, kept Boogie moving, and by noon he had 15 miles done. He pushed for the last 20, meeting up with Freebird just south of the border. They congratulated one another and headed in opposite directions. Boogie arrived just before dusk, camped near the border, and woke up to realize he wasn't yet finished. Now he had to escape from the wilderness as his immigration papers were improper and he couldn't leave through Canada. Instead, he decided to yo-yo the PCT (for a whole 16 miles!) and then take what he thought would be a shortcut to highway 20--the closest exit point according to his perception of the maps. Fortunately (and sort of unfortunately) Hooker, another hiker to complete the PCT, decided to join him. The benefit: a buddy system for what they discovered on the "short-cut." The cost: stress for BoogieMan worrying whether he was leading another hiker to his doom, lost in the vast Washington wilderness. But all worked out in the end, after one bear encounter, the trail disappearing and reappearing in strange places, straight bushwhacking down 6,000 ft. mountains, dozens of fallen trees blocking unmaintained switchbacks, getting lost in the woods, stumbling upon squatters/homeless(?) in an old mining town, wading down the Canyon river because the trail was nowhere to be found, scrambling along scree cliffs by a jimmy-rigged safety rope, getting lost again, and finally, oh finally, Boogie and Hooker arrived to highway 20. Only 20 miles after hiking for 10 hours. As luck had it, a writer for NPR picked them up and was headed for Seattle, just what they had hoped for.

The wilderness adventure had come to an end, but with the writer dropping the two hikers off at Safeway to await Paul's (Hamburguesa, the Wave, stupid Paul, etc.) rescue, Boogie's Seattle adventure began--a full week of Seattle madness. And Seattle does it right. Homecooked food, breakfast feasts, Ballard locks, tons of salmon taking the fish ladder to Lake Washington, late night conversations with Paul and Melissa, dinner with Ali, Emily, Molly, Melissa, and Paul, boce ball with Jamie, John, Ryan, Chelsea, and Kyle, pick-up soccer, and a long-distance bicycle trip to Bellingham to visit Shannon left an exhausted BoogieMan comatose. But he wouldn't have changed a thing. It was a fine end to a fine trip.

Sept. 23rd - Sept. 30th Seattle, WA - Stehekin, WA

Un-Bear-ivable!!

First of all, and although it might sound redundant, never trust a New Zealander/Australlian, especially if he tells you there are no bears to be seen in Washington.
Boogieman thought he had seen it all in southern Washington when a herd of 20-30 elk barreled down Mt. Adams, straight up Planet Earth style. As it turns out, that was just the beginning. For, in northern Washington, Boogieman spooked up 9 bears in 2 days - 6 of which happened in the span of a half mile - 7 of which were mother/cub combos. Washington wildlife! Not to mention, rainy day whistling marmots and huckleberry munching deer eating on the trail on those beautiful September mornings Washington is reputed for.
But this all happened days after Boogieman's temporary reprieve from the rain while visiting Hamburguesa in Seattle - and the reprieve was just that, temporary. Hamburguesa dropped Boogieman off at the trail in much the same conditions as when he was picked up - rain, fog, cold. But boogieman realized that all a hiker has to do is hike 3 days consecutively. The reward? Sun, sun0shiny days! At least one. And then again on every 3rd day. He managed into skykomish/baring on the first sunny day to visit two great trail Angels, Andrea and Jerry, who let him stay in their garage for two nights, they fed him steak and potatoes, and they supplied him with movies which helped him cope with two rainy days as he waited for his resupply box. Oh, zero days. When Boogieman returned to the trail, there was, of course, more rain, but also, bears galore!! And there is no better way to enjoy some of the final days on the trail than majestic wildlife, sunny days (the 3rd and 4th day out (5th!?)), views, and one last town stop. To the Stehekin Bakery!

Sept. 12th - Sept. 22nd. Vancouver, WA to Seattle, WA

Secretary Bison: I had a great talk with Boogie last week and have decided to change the writing format back to third person. You're welcome Ben! As Ben stated, Anne, I think you and I are the only ones that read this, but it has been another fantastic voyage through the writings of Benjamin "Boogieman" Wielechowski. Thank you Ben for letting me be a part of your PCT adventures once again. You truly are one of a kind and I look forward to reading about your Korean adventure sans Bison once again.

On to the post....

Welcome to Washington! And how does Washington welcome (besides excellent Saturday football and delicious chili and the great Macdonald family)? With a 3300ft. climb, a 2000ft descent, a 1700ft climb and a 2200ft. descent, all in 30 miles, and at the end of the day, Boogie is only 750 ft highetr in elevation than he was in the morning - 940ft. Still have to make it to 4, 000ft. the following day.

Boogieman should have learned his lesson than Washington has a very unique sense of humor. But he didn't until the rain began to fall - a lot. Ten days of Washington, 6 days of rain. Not too bad, 60%. But winter approaches. The exchange: gorgeous geography. Oh, the views. And the huckleberries. And the evergreens. But the days have grown lonely. Boogie hikes alone, stuck in a gap without many thru-hikers, which makes every single encounter more precious. Like Boots, the southbounder who spent 30 min. chatting, taking Boogie's picture, and interviewing him in the pouring rain; Mike, the sweet survivalist who brings his electric guitar into the woods to practice for his trans-alternative rock band; jeep crew from Seattle who gave sandwich, tea, chips and chicken salad to Boogie one rainy afternoon (thanks); Adam from Portland who hiked through Goat Rocks (beautiful, even in fog, rain, mist, and wind) with Boogie when it felt like Mordor from Lord of the Rings; Pam and Sam, one with a rolled ankle, and one afraid of heights, who were two of three people on the trail the day hiking through rugged and intense Goat Rocks; and Tahoma, a 2010 thru-hiker, cool guy from Tacoma and who was one of the few hikers BoogieMan knew of to be out hiking on Sept. 20th, a tiresome and trying day.

But Boogie eventually reached Seattle and finally reunited with the one and only Hamburguesa ( the Wave, Stupid Paul, etc. ). Hamburguesa and his girlfriend Melissa rescued Boogie on his birthday (what a gift!) after 10 hrs hiking in rainy, cold, windy Washington weather. At least Boogieman spent the last 8 miles trudging up and down waterfalls (what the trail turned into). But the Snoqualmie?? Pass Mountain Cafe was sweet reward - pizza, pastries, and coffee - only to be followed by two zero days in Seattle with Hamburguesa, Melissa, their friends, great home cooked food, great restaurant food, laughs, and sunny weather. Thursday, Boogie thinks, he returns to the rainy trail!