Generally speaking, the game of "Outsmart the Weather" is a losing one. No matter how many times you check the Weather Channel app or consult the big green blob on the NOAA radar, chances are, you will still end up wet or cold or hunkering down under a rock outcropping to dodge the lightning bolts.
But every once in a while, no matter what the game, you are dealt a really good hand. And sometimes, you make some very good decisions about how to play that hand. And sometimes, you just get really lucky.
That's never happened to me.
Until now.
On the PCT 2.0 Tour 2016, I had the best luck with the weather.
In Oregon, it was really hot. Like 90's hot. But thankfully, Oregon has lots of lakes to swim in. The day it became 100 degree hot, I was hiking down into Cascade Locks. Where I could get an air conditioned room for a couple nights.
Washington was cooler, no need to swim multiple times a day. But Washington is notorious for rainstorms. The first big rainstorm rolled in while I was hiking into Snoqualmie Pass, the site of my double zero. The second big rainstorm hit as I hiked into Stevens Pass, site of the town of Skykomish, where I could wait out the rain. Timing could not be more perfect!
Skykomish is located 15 mile off trail; Digger and I were able to get a ride into town with a couple of hikers from North Carolina who had just completed the Wonderland Trail. (Hikers are always so good to other hikers)
Skykomish is the very definition of "small town". It is essentially 2 streets. One street has a small inn, a restaurant, a candy shop and a toy store. The other street, perpendicular to the first, has a deli, gas station, a bridge across the river, a laundromat, the library and the post office. There are train tracks cutting across the second road, where both freight trains and Amtrak pass by a few times a day. That's it. That's Skykomish.
Digger had been smart enough to call ahead and reserve a room at the inn from Stevens Pass. My phone had died, so I had to wait for a room to be cleaned before heading up. I used to time to eat (again), resupply at the deli/general store, and dry out my tent on the fence by the railroad tracks. (The weather had cleared a bit on the drive down from the pass) The inn had very basic rooms-- bed, dresser, chair. There was a shared bathroom with multiple showers and toilets down the hall. There was a common room in the basement with a TV and small efficiency kitchen. Basic but warm and dry.
After showering and changing, I headed to the laundromat where I washed the clothes and enjoyed a giant helping of huckleberry ice cream. Huckleberries were having a great year in Washington. I was having a great time eating them. And in ice cream form? Even better!
So clean, dry, with clean clothes, food for the next stretch, and a dry tent, I went to bed excited to head out the next morning. My alarm went off at 7 and I bounded out of bed for the decadent-morning-shower-prior-to leaving-town. It was only when I got back to my basic room and looked out the window that I realized it was POURING out! Not just raining, POURING. I sighed, put my sleeping clothes back on, and went back to bed.
Skykomish would keep us in its basic accommodations for another day. S'ok. The common room was taken over by Digger, myself, and another Massachusetts hiker -- Good Will Hunting and Ted. Not a bad way to spend the day. Much better than getting wet and cold.
The next morning offered much better weather. Digger, Frost, and I had breakfast at the inn, packed out a sandwich from the deli for lunch, and got a ride back up to the pass. The frozen, wet hikers coming into town showed us exactly how lucky we were to have won at the game of Outsmart the Weather.
But every once in a while, no matter what the game, you are dealt a really good hand. And sometimes, you make some very good decisions about how to play that hand. And sometimes, you just get really lucky.
That's never happened to me.
Until now.
On the PCT 2.0 Tour 2016, I had the best luck with the weather.
In Oregon, it was really hot. Like 90's hot. But thankfully, Oregon has lots of lakes to swim in. The day it became 100 degree hot, I was hiking down into Cascade Locks. Where I could get an air conditioned room for a couple nights.
Washington was cooler, no need to swim multiple times a day. But Washington is notorious for rainstorms. The first big rainstorm rolled in while I was hiking into Snoqualmie Pass, the site of my double zero. The second big rainstorm hit as I hiked into Stevens Pass, site of the town of Skykomish, where I could wait out the rain. Timing could not be more perfect!
Skykomish is located 15 mile off trail; Digger and I were able to get a ride into town with a couple of hikers from North Carolina who had just completed the Wonderland Trail. (Hikers are always so good to other hikers)
Skykomish is the very definition of "small town". It is essentially 2 streets. One street has a small inn, a restaurant, a candy shop and a toy store. The other street, perpendicular to the first, has a deli, gas station, a bridge across the river, a laundromat, the library and the post office. There are train tracks cutting across the second road, where both freight trains and Amtrak pass by a few times a day. That's it. That's Skykomish.
Digger had been smart enough to call ahead and reserve a room at the inn from Stevens Pass. My phone had died, so I had to wait for a room to be cleaned before heading up. I used to time to eat (again), resupply at the deli/general store, and dry out my tent on the fence by the railroad tracks. (The weather had cleared a bit on the drive down from the pass) The inn had very basic rooms-- bed, dresser, chair. There was a shared bathroom with multiple showers and toilets down the hall. There was a common room in the basement with a TV and small efficiency kitchen. Basic but warm and dry.
After showering and changing, I headed to the laundromat where I washed the clothes and enjoyed a giant helping of huckleberry ice cream. Huckleberries were having a great year in Washington. I was having a great time eating them. And in ice cream form? Even better!
So clean, dry, with clean clothes, food for the next stretch, and a dry tent, I went to bed excited to head out the next morning. My alarm went off at 7 and I bounded out of bed for the decadent-morning-shower-prior-to leaving-town. It was only when I got back to my basic room and looked out the window that I realized it was POURING out! Not just raining, POURING. I sighed, put my sleeping clothes back on, and went back to bed.
Skykomish would keep us in its basic accommodations for another day. S'ok. The common room was taken over by Digger, myself, and another Massachusetts hiker -- Good Will Hunting and Ted. Not a bad way to spend the day. Much better than getting wet and cold.
The next morning offered much better weather. Digger, Frost, and I had breakfast at the inn, packed out a sandwich from the deli for lunch, and got a ride back up to the pass. The frozen, wet hikers coming into town showed us exactly how lucky we were to have won at the game of Outsmart the Weather.
RSS Feed
