For over a year, Andrew and I talked and planned a hike on the Pacific Crest Trail from Chinook Pass to White Pass. We purchased some equipment, figured out where to borrow big ticket items and went on a ton of prep hikes. On our final prep hike, we took all of the equipment on an overnight “test hike.” We overpacked, our backpacks didn’t fit and we got rained on. All of which served to get us ready.
Day One (Chinook Pass to Anderson Lake)
We woke up, had breakfast and loaded our gear. My father-in-law, Dale, drove us to the trail head and hiked the first three miles with us. It was a beautiful day to begin our hike. I was surprised how heavy my 48 pound pack felt on my legs as we dropped down into Dewey Lake. The first “thru-hiker” we met was a Canadian lady who started four months ago in Mexico. She said she was averaging 3o miles a day (it was going to take us four days to cover the same distance).
We ate lunch with Dale at Little Dewey Lake. The constant jumping of the shiny little fish looked like fireworks to my 9 year old. We finished lunch, said goodbye to Dale and hiked south, anxious to swim in Anderson Lake. Coming up out of Dewey was a long, sweaty climb, causing us to consume a surprising amount of water. We were surprised to discover how friendly and talkative every backpacker was.
Arriving at Anderson Lake by mid-afternoon, we were ready to swim! After setting up our tent and changing into our swimming clothes, we walked into the water…and back out in a matter of seconds…IT WAS COLD…way too cold to play, in addition, our feet kept getting stuck in the mud. It was not nearly as fun as we had hoped.
We enjoyed an early dinner of Beef Stew and finished setting up camp. After dinner, three very friendly birds came and hung out on a log just a few feet outside our tent! By 7 o’clock, we were inside writing in our journals, discussing plans for the next day and dozing off before 8 pm.
Day Two (Anderson Lake to Crag Lake) 
With full intent to cover 10 miles and spend the night at Bumping River, we hit the trail as quickly as possible. In a hurry to get on the trail, I incorrectly assumed that three water bottles would be enough to get us to one of the many “small seasonal streams.” To our pleasant surprise, our first mile felt as if we were in somebody’s garden. The water diversion logs placed in the trail were like steps as we climbed up out of the lake.
About a mile later, we stepped out of the garden and into full view of Mt. Rainier. It took our breath away as we found ourselves just standing in awe, gazing in silence.The mountain stayed on our right shoulder all day. At times it felt like we could almost reach out and touch it.
Re-hydrating the pre-packaged lunch food required half of our remaining water supply. Frustrated at myself for starting the day with one bottle full of air…I made a plan for us to ration our water.
Throughout the day, hikers stopped to engage in conversation and heartily recommend Crag Lake as the ideal place to camp. Stopping there would be over a mile short of our planned distance for the day and forcing us into a long 9+ miles on day three. Although I wasn’t excited about a long third day, we were slowly being convinced to change our plans and target Crag Lake for the night.
Eight miles into the day, on a hot, rocky, exposed, section of the trail we sipped the last of our water. Thus began the longest 1.5 miles of the entire hike.
Eventually, we found ourselves in a small crowd of thirsty hikers filling our bottles from the creek that feeds Crag Lake. We immediately emptied the first two bottles as they were filled. Words cannot describe how great the cold water tasted or how wonderful it felt to re-hydrate!
With our bottles filled and our packs on our shoulders, we walked the overgrown trail
down to the lake. To our delight, there was an empty campsite on the top of the rock that some of the hikers had spoken of. We dropped our packs, donned our swimming gear and hurried to the water. It was a perfect lake to play in.
After swimming, splashing, and setting a personal best time of 13 seconds under water, Andrew climbed into my lap to warm up and watch the sunset colors reflect on the rabbit and puppy shaped clouds.
Without being asked, Andrew 
set up the tent and its contents while I fixed dinner. I loved the Curry while Andrew thoroughly enjoyed his Mac n Cheese! Very few words were exchanged following dinner as we sat quietly on the rock. Nothing has ever been more relaxing as watching the beautiful lake and the jumping fish as the sun went down and the stars began to appear. We are so very thankful we took the advice of the hikers and changed our plans!
Day 3 (Crag Lake to Buesch Lake)
We woke to a beautiful mist on Crag lake. Andrew was in awe! We packed, ate and started on our way, with a short stop at the creek to fill ALL four water bottles! We had a long day ahead, and couldn’t wait to explore it together!
After a long mile of switchbacks, we finally came to the river crossing. There was a log, but Andrew was unsure of his ability to keep his balance. Most everybody was crossing right at the trail in a relatively shallow spot… so we gave it a try. The water was so bitter cold that it hurt. Andrew began to cry and struggle to not panic. It was hard not to pick him up and carry him across. However, as a dad, I knew that this was a challenge he needed to conquer.
The climb out of Bumping River was steep and miserable. We were hungry and whiny, but couldn’t stop due to the thickness of bugs. Here, we coined the term “suffering together.”
At the top of the climb, we ate lunch at a campsite along a stunningly beautiful creek. Andrew pumped four bottles full of water all by himself while I cooked the Mesquite BBQ chicken. Andrew had Ice cream for dessert too! Seven miles from our next stop at Buesch lake, I was beginning to really hurt. The left foot was developing a blister and my left knee was screaming in pain. With less than three miles covered, it was becoming a long, hard day. Late afternoon, time moved a little faster as we began to talk about a huge variety of topics. The conversation was great, and at times quite significant.
A few funny things: Within an hour of Andrew saying that it would be awesome to see a backpacking dog…we did. Within an hour of Andrew mentioning that it would be funny if a friend of mine were up there too…we crossed paths with Kelley Welsh & his wife! We also met a REALLY fun & funny British family.
We arrived at Buesch lake a couple hours before dark. I left Andrew at a second and much better site and went back to where we had left all of our gear. I returned to a sobbing boy whose walkie talkie had died leaving him unable to reach me. It was
a rough couple hours with his tears, my pain & a stale water source. We double filtered our water and hoped for the best. Too tired and miserable to fix dinner, we ate some applesauce and watched the sky till the stars became visible.
Sitting in the dark on the edge of a meadow, using a log as both a backrest and a pillow, we faced the sky to view the forecasted meteor shower. Andrew saw more than I. Not knowing what it was at the time, we ended up seeing the Space Station go overhead!
Day 4 (Buesch to White) Andrew began figuring out how to read a map and noticed that our first miles would have a 4oo foot gain in elevation. Since he discovered it, he seemed to look forward to the climb we were going to face getting out of Buesch Lake. Talking about the climb and the following long descent with other hikers earned him the trail name “Navigator” (I’m sure the name will stick).
We began to notice many heart shaped rocks along the trail that day. It was surprising to think back at how many we had seen throughout the trip. We love this trail..
We saw more horses and pack mules on our final day than we had seen in all of the other days combined…it was kinda strange how often we needed to step off of the trail to let them pass.
This was also the day that we experienced the most stale, smelly, mosquito infested ponds. Conversation shifted to the differences between lakes and ponds. Taking the application further, we talked about how our lives needed to have both an inlet (the Holy Spirit) and on outlet (serving others).
As we reached the Highway,”PeaceMan” from New York caught up with us. He was heading south, hoping to reach Mexico in a few months.
Although this final day was only about six miles, we were tired of walking..just wishing to sit down and relax. So, we did…often. We ate a lot of snacks hoping to avoid stopping for a big lunch..but our bodies were getting weak, my knee was hurting, and my foot was blistering badly. I cannot express what a relief it was to finally reach Highway 12 at White Pass, tap our poles of pavement and enjoy a celebration lunch (2pm) at the Kracker Barrell.
Conclusion
This will be the first of many hikes with us. It’s now a desire to section hike PCT for all of Washington before Andrew graduates from high school. We’re hooked on hiking!
This morning I was challenged to re-think Christmas.
Last night, I challenged the people to turn the focus from “What Christmas means to me” to “What Christmas means to God.”
Eight miles after taking Exit 106 off of I-90, I climbed onto my bike and started the twelve mile climb. For the first five miles, the climb was gradual. However, after that, everything changed. It got steep. Really steep. For the next six miles, we gained 2500 feet in elevation.
elevation and some of the greatest views imaginable. About a mile from the end of the pavement, the road levels out to a 2-3% grade through some thick woods that were damaged during the big fire a few years ago. Although it’s burned, it is still beautiful.
Luke 2:52 tells how Jesus grew mentally, physically, spiritually and socially. Those four sound like perfect guidelines as I set daily and weekly routines for the coming year. Future posts will show how I’m trying to do it.
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