I woke up freezing this morning. It was SO cold that I really hadn't slept much since about 2:30 this morning. I knew it was 2:30 because I woke up cold and checked the time. After hitting snooze about five times, I actually did go back to sleep for another 30 minutes. And is so often the case when that happens, it was good sleep. The only downside was that it kept me from getting the good early start I had hoped for. By the time 10 am had rolled around, I had only hiked three miles. Even though they were all uphill, I was still pretty disappointed in myself. That's the frustrating thing about this hike--regardless of the number of miles you went, it wasn't enough. I've made peace with the fact that there is so much on this trail that I would like to stop and savor for more than a few minutes, but it is still frustrating.
Anyway, I was surprised to get a intermittent, yet strong enough to get email, cell signal at Cathedral Pass, so I sat there and sifted through my messages. It is amazing how few a person gets when he has no way of responding! I suppose that will change when I get myself reintegrated with society. Until then, I'll enjoy the simplicity while I can.
The rest of the day was full of steep descents and climbs, but since I'm near a resupply point and don't have much food left, my pack doesn't weigh much and I really enjoyed the terrain. At one point I even got to look down on a fighter jet as it roared through a valley I was beginning to descend into. It reminded me of my very first day on the trail--May 5--when the Border Patrol helicopters were flying through Hauser Canyon and I was looking down on them then, too. It's just so weird to think that was nearly five months ago!
So now I'm officially less than 200 miles from the end. I think it is somewhere around 196, with seven of those being in Canada, so 189 miles to the border monument and 10 days to do it in. I was a little concerned about the terrain from Skykomish to Canada--I had heard nightmares about 400 "blowdowns" (trees fallen across the trail) and crazy river crossings. But today I met to thru-hikers going south and they gave me all the latest info on the situations. Basically, the river crossings were no big deal and the blowdowns were confined to about a 6-mile-long stretch. So I was encouraged by that. I'm just praying that the weather holds up. It has been absolutely gorgeous lately and I'm hoping it stays that way for 10 more days.
Tomorrow I've got a busy day. First, I'll try to hammer out the last eight miles to Highway 2 where I'll try to hitch a ride to Skykomish. There I'll shower, do laundry, and resupply as quickly as possible so that hopefully I can get a few miles in before dark. I'd love to make a dent in that roughly 100 miles to Stehekin!
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