Tuesday September 3, 23.1mi/37.2km

Copper Creek camp (1046.5/4311ft) to Bear camp (1069.6/3878ft) (WA)

It was a cold night, as I expected, and I laid in my sleeping bag until the sun was up enough to warm the air. The 2000ft climb up to the pass was a nice warm up.

Up, and up…

And up…

I reached the top of Marmot Pass, and I could hear the little creatures everywhere. Good views too.

There was a brief ridgewalk, before I descended down into the trees.

And at the end of the ridge, I officially entered Olympic NP!

The trail crossed many small streams from the snowfields above.

I was up in the alpine almost all day, and I took way too many photos.

Home Lake:

Constance Pass:

I saw that someone had built an emergency shelter of sorts, too. It was windy up high, and I was above treeline for a few miles.

And then, the huge descent. I went down 4300ft in 3.9 miles, ouch! It was very wet and green at the bottom, near the Dosewallips River.

The last couple hours of the day, the trail was nice and wide all the way to camp. Even the bridges were wide.

An hour before camp, I caught up to another PNT hiker! His name is Seth, trail name “Calvin”, and we hiked together and talked for the last few miles to the shelter. It was so exciting to have company out here. And the shelter was brand new, so I actually decided to sleep in it.

This will be the first night (on this trail) that I’m camping in something other than my tent. Wheee!

Monday September 2, 24.8mi/39.9km

Snow Creek Rd (1021.7/748ft) to Copper Creek camp (1046.5/4311ft) (WA)

I heard a diesel vehicle go by on the road at 6am, and it was still dark. It stopped maybe a quarter mile away, and idled loudly, waiting. I was awake, so I packed up, and by the time I was ready to go it was 6:45am and daylight. Today started off with a couple of hours of dirt road walking. It was nice and relaxing, and no cars whatsoever.

Then, I got on the Snow Creek trail, which climbs Mt Zion. The trail was really steep, gaining 2000ft in only 1.7 miles.

On top of the summit, I had a view down onto the clouds below. Neat!

A better view came along a few minutes later, on the descent.

The trail was immaculately maintained, and really soft to walk on.

It also had many cool little side streams that sounded very gurgle-y.

I crossed paths with a group of people out for a dayhike to the summit, it was fun explaining to them why I had a backpack, and how this trail went all the way to Montana.

I hiked all day on nice trails, and my surroundings became greener as I went.

There were a few trail junctions, and because PNT markers are so scarce, someone had drawn a helpful “PNT” on the sign.

A few hours later I came to a trailhead and a small parking lot. As usual, there were the miscellaneous lost items at the info board. The single lost shoe was amusing, though. It was covered in moss! Also, how does someone lose a shoe and not realize it?

The ground and entire forest were mossy too.

I passed by an old AT-style shelter, but with a dirt floor. It looked like people camp here, but there was also evidence of mice activity. Moving on…

At the end of the day, I entered the Buckhorn Wilderness.

I hiked uphill a few miles to Copper Creek, and set up camp. It’s pretty high up, so it will probably be a cold night!

Sunday September 1, 21.4mi/34.4km

Port Townsend (1000.3/10ft) to Snow Creek Rd (1021.7/748ft) (WA)

I was up early, to finish planning the Olympic coast section of this hike. The tide cycles add quite a bit of complexity! When I was packing up, I saw my new tent stakes (thanks Valerie!) and got excited for camping tonight. They are so nice and non-bent, sharp, and so… functioning!

I walked out of town on the main street for a mile, it’s a nice little town.

And then, as I was walking down the sidewalk near the edge of town, I hear “hey Recon!”. I don’t know anybody who lives in this corner of the state, so I’m quite surprised to hear my name. And even more surprised that the person is Quickham!

We hiked most of the CDT together in 2016, and now he’s working on a trail crew in the North Cascades NP. Holy cow, what a surprise, it’s always great to see trail family!

I had to continue on, as my camping locations and dates are now set, by the Olympic NP permit. The next three hours were on the ODT (Olympic Discovery Trail), and it was a nice rail-to trail.

Some interesting graffiti. Are the Simpsons still on TV?

Quickham had given me a beer for the hike, it was delicious on a hot day of hiking. I believe it’s pronounced “Ran-yay”.

The rail-trail even had tunnels, instead of road crossings.

Then, there was a two hour roadwalk on State highway 20. At least there were farm animals to keep me entertained.

And a reward at the end of the roadwalk, a pub called Fat Smittys. I was excited to have a snack and drink, but they decided to be a cash-only establishment. In 2019. Weird. So, I continued on.

The last hour of the day was on a trail, yay!

I got to my camp spot quite late, at 7:30pm. Sunset around here has now progressed to about 8pm, so I still had daylight.

Saturday August 31, 13.7mi/22.0km

Happy House (986.6/80ft) to Port Townsend (1000.3/10ft) (WA)

I had probably the best night of sleep on the entire trail, in a really deluxe bed! John and Rebecca fed me a huge breakfast, I packed up, and then said my goodbyes. Including Rex!

I was being visited by friends from Seattle later this morning, and I had a couple of hours of hiking to our meeting spot. It was a nice beachwalk.

As I got closer I could see a beach access road, with lots of people.

We met up and drove to the small town of Coupeville, and explored the area and all the small shops.

We had a pretty spectacular lunch, fish & chips, and then pie Ala mode. And then, we got ice cream! I was impressed with the way the shop applied the sprinkles, between each scoop. Maximum sprinkles!

Four hours went by way too quickly, and it was so much fun catching up and making jokes. Next time, I’ll go to Seattle!

The rest of the beach walk was nice, and then the trail went by an old fort.

I arrived to the ferry terminal at 4:45pm, which turned out to be perfect timing, the next one was departing at 5pm. The next six miles of the PNT are officially on a ferry, which is the only way to cross from this island back to the mainland.

The views from the ferry were pretty cool.

I walked off the ferry 45 minutes later, and into downtown Port Townsend. I had reserved a room at the Water Street Inn, and it was a huge historic building!

I grabbed a quick dinner at Pizza Factory (meh, chain food), finished planning my camping itinerary in Olympic NP, and went to bed.

Friday August 30, 21.3mi/34.3km

Deception Pass State Park/Quarry Campground (965.3/75ft) to Happy House (986.6/80ft) (WA)

It rained most of the night, and I packed up a wet tent at 7am. It was a nice, cool morning to hike, and for the first hour I was on trails.

Then, the paved roadwalk started. Good scenery, but hard on the feet.

No wildflowers today, just a floral shop.

Whidbey island is home to a Naval Air Station, with loud jets practicing aircraft carrier landings.

Another mile down the pavement was a cluster of food establishments, including a taco truck. Easy decision!

My feet were beginning to complain about the 4 hours of pavement walking so far, and I had another 3 hours to go. There was a short respite on a beach walk section.

The Alfred Hitchcock movie came to mind with all these avian crowds…

There was a strange abandoned stone structure in the trail thru Whidbey State Park. I think it used to be a fountain?

After two more hours on pavement, I arrived at the “Happy House”, where Rebecca and John have been helping out PNT hikers since 2012.

We had a fun night of conversation, planning the upcoming section thru the Olympic National Park, and enjoying a delicious taco salad dinner. And, dessert – homemade apple pie and ice cream! (In my world, each of these is a food group).

Thank You, Rebecca & John, for all you do for hikers!

Thursday August 29, 28.3mi/45.5km

Bayview State Park (937.0/36ft) to Deception Pass State Park/Quarry Campground (965.3/75ft) (WA)

I started walking at 7am, since I wanted to do at least 26 miles today, so I could hit a legal place to camp tonight. The first hour was on the Padilla Bay shore trail.

The mud flats are visible at low tide:

I saw a few other people out, walking their dogs before work. Then, there was a two mile roadwalk down state highway 20. I crossed a massive bridge, and I was on Fidalgo Island!

I turned off on a side road, and for two hours I walked around a peninsula that had two refineries. When I was downwind of the smokestacks, it smelled like an auto repair shop. Gross.

And nearby there was a farm. Poor cows!

I finally left the peninsula and crossed over to the city of Anacortes, via a rail-trail.

It had a neat view of Mt Baker in the distance, though it was strange seeing the juxtaposition of it next to a refinery.

I walked into the city via a bike path. There were so many boat storage facilities!

I stopped off at a BBQ place for lunch, and of course ordered chicken and waffles.

I relaxed for an hour, then got back out to cover more miles. The PNT went thru the Anacortes Community Forest for a couple of hours, which was nice.

There were dozens of trails in the forest, and my maps were extremely vague about where to turn. I definitely got some “bonus miles” in. I passed by some small lakes too, I think this one is Cranberry lake.

After a couple of hours wandering thru the forest maze, I emerged at a quiet road. These two trees look like guardians!

The next trail was easy to follow, and it had a creepy cave, or maybe mine shaft?

Some of the signage in the area was definitely not helpful. Which way is the PNT?

I guess I’m not getting drinking water anytime soon.

I walked a road for a mile, to cross a bridge into Deception Pass State Park. What a cool view!

View looking west to the Pacific Ocean:

I arrived to the campground at 6:45pm, setup, and made dinner. Long day!

Wednesday August 28, 23.2mi/37.3km

Alger Alp Trail (913.8/912ft) to Bayview State Park (937.0/36ft) (WA)

Today I descended to sea level, so I put some Lil Jon on the music playlist to celebrate. Ha!

I started off by doing a short roadwalk, to get across the I-5 freeway. This was the first, and only interstate crossing of the whole trail! The AT had like 15 crossings.

And then, onto some nice trail!

A few miles into the woods, I entered state DNR land, and they named it the British Army trail.

It went by a couple of “lakes”, which were more like shallow ponds.

There was a short climb up to 2000ft, and I reached the summit of Oyster Dome. It had amazing views of the Puget Sound, and the San Juan Islands.

I’ll have to come back here someday soon to explore those islands!

The trail down was nice, and very green with ferns and sea moisture in the air.

I got down to the trailhead at noon, and this flyer made me hungry, so I stopped and had first lunch.

The afternoon was a paved roadwalk. Not ideal, but the views kept me entertained.

A few miles later, I found a key on the road! I feel like I’m in a video game, maybe in the next level I find the thing it unlocks…

The route was mostly thru farm country, with the occasional store or business. This junction was an easy decision, always choose deliciousness over violence.

The PNT went thru the tiny town of Edison, where I stopped for 2nd lunch and had “the best fish and chips in Skagit County”.

Then, just 6mi/10km more roadwalking to finish the day.

Mt Baker is almost 100 miles away and still visible, damn its big!

I arrived to the state park, which had a campground, at 5pm. It had a beach too, which was nice for views, but the water was kinda gross. One of the campers told me there’s a refinery nearby.

Some historical plaque explaining the history of the beach.

After an hour at the beach, I setup my camp. I get oddly excited about being able to sit and eat at a picnic table. It just feels so right, rustic and civilized at the same time.

Tuesday, August 27, 13.5mi/21.8km

Route 9 (897.2/262ft) to Alger Alp Trail (913.8/912ft) (WA) (-3.1alt)

I emerged from bed at 8am, quickly showered and packed, and caught the 8:30am bus to town. Time for first breakfast!

The Woolley Market was tasty, and i enjoyed a breakfast burrito, then an hour later, a Buffalo chicken sub! There is a outfitter shop in the same building, so I went upstairs to buy tent stakes…and they didn’t have any. It was more of a technical mountain climbing shop, with ropes, crampons, helmets, and ice axes. So I went back downstairs to the do-it-yourself wine bar.

At lunchtime, Eric from PNTA (Pacific Northwest Trail Association) came and picked me up, and we talked about the trail for awhile. The trail was designated a National Scenic Trail only ten years ago, so there is still much to do with its development. And I love planning, trail building, and maps!

I also received a mystery package that a family member had mailed to me. Back in June during my AT hike, I had received an exciting phone call from my sister Katie and her (now-fiancee) Scott, announcing their engagement. I opened the package, and inside was a tasty beverage with a clever coozie. I of course promptly drank it, so that’s a definite “Yes!” to Scott’s question. Cheers!

(I’m just glad it wasn’t a Smirnoff ice, 10 years ago, haha).

We went downtown for lunch for Taco Tuesday, and we all stuffed ourselves with tacos. This day just kept getting better and better….

Eric was very nice and gave me a ride back to the trailhead after lunch, and I hiked uphill for two hours on a very full stomach.

I passed the 900-mile mark, and there were a couple of different markers, so I got a photo of each.

I got to the top and had great views in all directions, including back east, from where I had come. I finally got a view of Mt Baker! I had been hiking around it for the past week, but it had been too rainy and cloudy.

And looking west, I got my first view of saltwater!

I descended the 3000ft hill, and the trail went by a a pub, so I stopped in for a salad and a beer. This is beginning to feel like the Te Araroa!

I only made it another mile, and setup camp in the woods, on a hill above the I-5 freeway.

Monday August 26, 21.9mi/35.2km

Jones Creek (872.5/568ft) to Route 9 (897.2/262ft) (WA) (-2.8mi alt)

I slept great, and packed up by 7:15am. Unfortunately I broke a tent stake in the process, so the next few days I’ll have to be creative when setting up at night. After a very short (0.25mi) bushwhack, I was on logging roads all day. Active ones, too!

There was so much lumber coming from the forest, and it was being extracted with such frightening efficiency too.

Up near the top of the climb, the activity finally stopped, and things were nice and green again.

I stopped and had lunch, and had a great view from the top of Lyman Hill. Looking west, towards Lake Whatcom:

While I was checking my phone messages, I found out I had an unused travel gift card that was going to expire soon. So, I decided that I’m staying in a motel tonight! The descent was easy, and had good views since most of the trees had been cut down.

I got down to the road at 3:30pm, and did the scary 2-mile roadwalk to the next trailhead. I hitched into town from there, and got a ride dmfrom two dudes who just finished a trip in the North Cascades. Perfect! They dropped me off directly at the motel, about two miles out of town from Sedro-Woolley. There was nowhere to get food nearby, so I tried UberEats for the first time!

Not a bad way to end the day!

Sunday August 25, 23.8mi/38.3km

Pioneer Horse Camp (848.7/2090ft) to Jones Creek (872.5/568ft) (WA)

I woke to the sound of rain on the tent. I laid there, enjoying being warm and dry, and waited for a pause in the rain to start packing up. And it did pause, for 20 minutes. Off I went!

The first few miles of trail were brand new, and there was still excavating equipment sitting around. It was a drizzly damp morning.

And then, the surprise bushwhack started. There was a little arrow of sticks pointing left, into the brush.

After an hour of that nonsense, I was soaked from all the vegetation. At least it had stopped raining, so I had a chance to dry out… maybe? The next couple of hours were on a wonderfully clear dirt road, and I slowly climbed up to Mt Josephine.

Near the summit, there was a nice trail, and it became quite steep. There was even a rope to use as a handrail!

The wet weather had finally stopped for good, and the sun was out. Perfect timing for the summit!

Looking down on the Skagit River valley, and the highway 20 towns:

On the descent, there were sweet views to the north too.

The rest of the day was on old dirt roads, which I like. They are like wide, well-maintained trails, and have no cars! I could see a turn-off to an old PNT section… no thanks.

My planned camp spot wasn’t an option, as it turned out to be private property. So I kept going. Then a guy in a truck went by, and asked what I was doing. I explained the trail, and he offered me water! Armed with hydration, I camped at the next flat spot I found, regardless that it was dry.