Washington's amazing forest: Mile 2233

Written 8-14-14

Posted 8-18-14

After four days of hiking in Washington we still have yet to see the sun unhindered by clouds or fog. We've been waking up to the sounds of dripping water on our tent from all the moisture that collects on the pine trees. It feels like we're hiking in a cloud until about noon when it's warmed up enough to lift the fog away. I really enjoy hiking in the fog in the morning because everything is so quiet and peaceful but it can be a bit eerie when I can't see more than 100 feet in front of me because the fog is so thick.

Last night we set up camp next to Blue Lake and had one of the most windy nights yet. A group of three guys camped pretty close to us and each had a very interesting and unique single person tent design. They were all ultra-light backpackers, as are most of the northbounders who have made it to this point so early. I love looking at other thru-hiker tent systems because we've been lucky enough to try two totally different designs and seen the costs and benefits of both. Our tarp tent has been doing phenomenally well in Washington so far. We haven't had any downpours yet but still there's a lot of moisture in the air and the tarp hasn't collected any condensation because it ventilates so well.

We hiked through Indian Heaven Wilderness area yesterday and it was beautiful! We got a few glimpses of Mt. Adams in the afternoon when the clouds had lifted. 

We were hiking along a ridge that was lined with wild berries and we picked all kinds of different stuff but huckleberries are the most prominent. I love eating wild stuff that we find on the trail, especially when there seems to be a never ending supply of it. We've been lucky enough to be finding some blueberries, blackberries, salmon berries, and thimble berries. Today we found a few strawberries but they were about the size of a pea and not ripe yet. 

We've been seeing a lot of snakes when we walk through the brush, mostly small gardner snakes. When we saw the rattlesnake in Northern California I was frightened but not startled because I could hear it rattle and knew exactly where it was. The snakes in Washington are cruel and sneaky and like to try to scare me. I'm pretty sure they wait until I'm about a foot away and then slither out of the bushes right in front of my feet intentionally to see how high they can make me jump. One snake looked like a small stick in the trail so I was about to step over it and then it started to move. To make it worse, Mike came up behind me and made a slithering sound right behind my ear yesterday! I think I lost three years off my life because my heart skipped a few beats. Oh how I love hiking with a partner...

One of the things that you observe on the PCT is a variety of hiking cohorts. Lots of people set out alone but there are few who stay loners for the whole trail. There are also a lot of people who start with partners, whether it be a friend, significant other, or a family member. People end up traveling in packs of 1-5 people as hiker combinations change and recombine. Since we started this as a couple, we thought we would share some insight into what we've learned for any aspiring long distance hiking couples out there.

We'll start with the obvious, you're around each other 24/7 and there is really no break. It's like a very intense version of living together where you never get to go to work to spend time apart since your job is hiking. Of course this is going to lead to disagreements, squabbles, and fighting but oddly enough we find ourselves bickering at each other more during the town stops than when we're hiking. We think that it's easier to get along on the trail because our attention is focused on common goals and daily accomplishments. It's easy to get along when you're working together and supporting each other, plus you're very aware of the other person's needs because you have open communication. However, as soon as we get into town our communication breaks down and all consideration for the other person's wants and needs goes out the window while you're trying to satiate you're own indulgences as quickly as possible. For instance, the first thing Chappy likes to do is figure out lodging and set his pack down whereas all I want to do is go eat a ridiculous amount of food and drink a cold beer. We've had numerous fights on this very topic even though they're both simple, easy, fantastic options. Despite our anticipation of the town-fight, it reoccurs at every town stop. 

Another sure fire way to get on each other's nerves is how you communicate about your aches and pains. You're going to go through a fair amount of pain and suffering on a long backpacking trip and how you choose to relay that information to your partner is important. There's a fine line between complaining and simply making your discomforts known. I think that it's important your hiking partner is aware if you have some pains, but choose carefully how you word it and how frequently you express it. For example, instead of saying "my feet hurt," say something like "let's stop soon so I can take my shoes off." I think by complaining too much it can really sour the mood of the trip so neither of you are having fun anymore.

Another area of contention for us has been hiking pace and mentality. Some couples like us will stick together throughout the day while others will separate and hike at their own rates until the end of the day. When we first started, Chappy wanted to hike hard and fast for most of the day while I wanted to stop and take more pictures. Also, I hike uphill way slower than he does. This really isn't an easy thing for either of us to cope with because he's frustrated at the frequency of stops while it makes me feel like a slow burden because I can't keep up. Through some trial and error, it took us a while to figure out how long or fast we can hike before stopping to take a break so that we're both happy. We've also realized that it's nice to hike alone for at least a small portion of the day. Sometimes I'll leave our break spot before Chappy does so that I can hike ahead. He'll always end up catching me but at least we'll get to spend a small part of the day alone which I think is important.

I hope these few relationship observations have made it seem less daunting to those aspiring hiker couples because these problems aren't necessarily unique to the trail. Overall this trip has been an eye-opening experience about how we treat each other and how we are able to communicate well enough to solve our issues.