Steven's Pass to Seattle to Santa Barbara

Even after the end of our PCT adventure, we knew we'd be in for a whole new adventure of getting back home.  We'd made it back to Steven's Pass & with Pepper Flake & Shotput, hitchhiked to Skykomish for a place to rest, dry out & celebrate our safe return from the snowy madness.  We stayed at the Cascadia Inn & ran into other hikers, some who were anxiously waiting out the weather in hopes that they could soon get back out there & attempt this section of trail themselves.  Some were concocting plans of how they could take an alternate route because people were quickly realizing that this section of the PCT wasn't letting anyone through.

Click on this link to hear a fellow hiker's account of her experience through the snow:

Snow Stalks Hikers on Increasingly Popular Pacific Crest Trail

Although the class of 2013 had a relatively easy year for snow in the Sierra's, those of us who were still around for this storm experienced snow unlike any of us even thought possible.  There were others still out there, some with Search & Rescue teams out looking for them...our hearts & minds were with them & wishing them the will & ability to PERSEVERE.  That was the word that kept running through my mind when we were out there, unsure of what each moment was going to bring us.

We said our goodbyes, checked in with the Dinsmore's to let them know we all made it out safely & then walked out front to the highway & stuck out our thumbs, heading in the direction of Seattle.  We had met a previous thru-hiker, Daybreaker, & his girlfriend Sneaky Elf, doing trail magic back at White's Pass & they had given us their phone number & said if we ever needed a place to crash in Seattle, they'd hook us up.  He had returned our call & invited us over to his place for the night & said if we could make it semi-near his house, he'd pick us up.  We got a hitch from a very kind man & he gave us the scoop on local bus info. before dropping us off in a suburb of Seattle.  We then caught a bus & with the helpfulness of the bus drivers, we somehow managed to find our way to meet Daybreaker & Sneaky Elf in downtown Seattle.  They were unbelievably kind & generous to us & Sneaky Elf gave us the key to her apartment for the following night & trusted us to take good care, as they were heading out of town for the weekend.  We spent the following day navigating our way around Seattle on foot & checking out some fun local places.  Our train would be leaving the following morning.

They had CATS at the awesome local bookstore, Twice Sold Tales

Caught the Public Market early in the morning, but didn't get to see anybody throwing fish around...

Lunches packed & ready to spend 32 hours of relaxation on the train

When we got in line at the train station, we saw a guy with feathers sticking out of his hat & there was little doubt that it was anybody but fellow thru-hiker Apache & next to him was Sierra Bum, both of whom we'd met many miles ago on the PCT.  They were also in line...for the same train!  So it wasn't really goodbye until each of us got off at our stops...

Sierra Bum & Apache

I had envisioned tears streaming down my face first as we would be making it the Canadian border & touching the beloved monument, but when that didn't happen & we were persevering through the snow, I was sure tears would come when we made it out alive & well, but they didn't fall there either.  The tears were stuck somewhere deep inside me & even as we said our goodbyes to fellow thru-hikers as we headed out of town, no emotion came.  It wasn't until our train pulled up to the Santa Barbara train station & we saw Keith's Uncle Randy & Aunt Vicky that the emotion came.  I realized that it was really over.  We may or may not see any of these folks again.  Folks who feel like family.  Who have been our brothers & sisters for months.  This particular adventure is over. 

On to the next...

Keith's aunt & uncle have generously opened up their home here in Santa Barbara to us & offered for us to stay as long as we need to recuperate & re-energize for our road trip back east.  They are very good company and are spoiling us & fattening us up with delicious food.  They treated us to a concert last night at the Santa Barbara Bowl to see The Avett Brothers, one of our favorite bands.  I spent my birthday on the beach & Keith & I swam for the first time ever in the Pacific Ocean.  A seal popped his head up out of the water, looked around & then dove back into the water not too far from where we were swimming...amazing.  Couldn't ask for a more relaxing way to transition back into life in society.  Tonight, Keith's Aunt Shellie & cousin Alex are coming over to hang with us, too!

We'll spend this weekend here & then head out early next week to begin our travels across America.  Hopin' the National Parks re-open soooooooooon!

(Will post more PCT pictures soon.)