Definition of toughness--PCT Re-Route--White Pass, WA

There was one dynamic of this hitch that couldn’t be matched by any other; that dynamic was mosquitoes. We were told coming in that they were going to be bad but we would be covered in, on average, 50 mosquitoes for every 5 seconds you would stop moving. Let me tell you something folks, it didn’t affect us one bit. Of course we would have the occasional stress outburst on the damn insect, but overall, we just had the same positive and efficient work ethic.

PCTA placed our camp at the top of the ski lift at White Pass Ski Lodge, just miles south of Mt. Rainier. We were at 6,300 ft which is the perfect snow-melt elevation for mosquitoes. Complaining aside, we were placed in White Pass because there are new ski runs being put in where the current PCT runs through. Our job for this hitch was to re-route this trail, avoiding the soon-to-be ski runs, and replace the current broken down and unappealing part of the trail. We worked with two great volunteers named Le Ann and Gabriel. Le Ann lives near Portland and recently retired from working in a hospital and wanted to come out and lend a hand. Gabriel just graduated from Evergreen University and he actually stayed the entire 9 days straight with us!!! Crazy dedication, any sane or “normal” volunteer would have left early, but Gabriel was crazy, and that’s why we love him.

We had to create precise and nearly perfect trail to meet PCTA guidelines. The attention to detail on this re-route was very specific, so the walk back each day on the newly-constructed trail provided great moments of fulfillment and satisfaction for the quality of our completed trail.

We worked with around 5-7 Forest Service peeps on the weekdays and they welcomed us into their region. We beat them in a pull-up competition by quite a bit. They bit off a little more than they could handle with that challenge…what what?!?!

Each day, I grew more exhausted from the mosquitoes and the heat, which was about 90 degrees every day. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. We had some frustrating times out on this hitch, but when the day is all said and done, we always came back the next day with a confident and accomplished attitude. We got to see a really nice sunset each night, and it would set just beside Washington’s tallest mountain, Mt. Rainer (14,000ft +). We got to enjoy a couple beers after work one day and it made me feel like the prisoners on Shawshank Redemption when Tim Robbins does the taxes of the jackass prison guard in return for beers. We drank them on the ski lift platform and forgot about our worries.

For how bad the dynamics were, it really wasn’t all that bad. We ate delicious food every night, I mean out of this world delicious, and watched the sunset every night before we went to bed. At least they weren’t horse flies, right?

Here’s another poem I wrote on this hitch:

Never ending Majesty

The citrus-shaded horizon beams evenly along the jagged-outlined peaks. The sun lulls out of view, but she crescendos, each minute, into newly created shades of brilliance. Daytime surrounds her with the sky blue and limited color diversity exists. The sunset paints the horizon the secret colors of the star. As she fades into the night, we dream of her beauty that is shaped through fiery shadows. The climax is not determined by any single view, for each minute the sun contributes a new pastel to our surroundings. She will disappear into the night and remind us of her pure majesty come sunrise.