cathieandrandy

Yesterday, day three of constant rain, we made it to Stevens Pass by 1:30 – 16 miles. The pass is named after John Stevens, who engineered the first railroad tunnel through here. Then he went on to other projects, such as the Panama Canal!

We stayed at Cascadia Lodge because we were concerned that with all the rain the trail angel’s home would be full.

But Andrea Dinsmore seemed disappointed that we didn’t visit. She came to see us at the lodge, bringing our resupply box to us. We picked up other mail at the Post Office, including lots of letters from friends and family. We love hearing news from people.

One letter was from Achilles who finished the trail on September 3rd, and wrote us a detailed description of the route he took between here and Stehekin. He reported that the official PCT route is passable and worthwhile, though dangerous if the weather is wet.

Andrea made the same recommendation, but suggested we allow an extra day because all the blow downs and river crossings (fords or fallen logs) will slow us down. She said the winter of 06-07 wrecked havoc on the already challenging US Forest Service detour established after 2003. No work has been done on the detour this year, but work has been done toward restoring the original PCT route.

There is a third option we were not aware of until yesterday. This is known as the equestrian route, and involves road walking.

Making a decision has been difficult.

The key is obtaining weather information. We have slogged through wet weather for three days, with no view at all yesterday. Reports on TV are primarily for the Seattle area, and not the mountains. A cold front has moved in and pushed the snow line down to 5000 feet, affecting us.

We have to make a decision within the next 30 minutes before our ride to the trail head. Safety first, or adventure?