Two Owls and Magic
This morning I woke to the sound of a Northern Pygmy-Owl outside my tent. I whistled it in to a small tree about 20 feet away, where the owl tooted furiously at me until I packed up and left camp. And, this evening, in fact while I write this very sentence, a Northern Saw-whet Owl is calling nearby in the darkness. Two new birds for the trip!
I hiked 29.1 miles today despite an unexpected 2.5-hour break at a smorgasbord of trail magic – a guy named Not Phil’s Dad had set up canopy, chairs, and stovetop with chili and hot dogs for PCT hikers. He’d spent three weeks sitting there already, at a random gravel road in the forest, and seemed a little disappointed to have seen very few hikers so far – not more than four in one day – so was very happy when nine of us converged there this morning (me, Turbo, Mr. Furious, Lovebird, Raven, Doc, Hercules, GQ, and Viper). Guess I’m at the front of the main wave, if there’s any herd left this year.
Noah, We have been following you blog since Southern CA. A couple of weeks ago we hiked up to the crest trail near Jefferson and ran into Hercules. We chatted a bit and found out that the last time he’d seen you was at Crater Lake. I think you were a day behind at that point. Congratulations on your long haul…and thanks so much for letting all of us in on it!
Hi Noah
I don’t know exactly where you are now, but it looks like me might meet on the trail. A friend and I are planning a section hike from Stevens Pass to Snoqualmie Pass, taking a leisurely 5-6 days, so we may see you heading north as we are going south. We are heading south on the 10th, 2 days from now. I have been a long time fan since your boybirder days, so it will be nice to meet you in person. If you are pretty sure we will meet up, I would be happy to bring anything (within reason) that you might need for the rest of your trip.
Dan
Stanwood WA
Noah,
You guys look like a motley crew. Glad to see that you made it through to Washington. By the way your bird photos rock! Have fun on the rest of the hike, the best is saved for last!
Malto
Legend made it to Canada today. I bet you can count the days.
I just spent a few hours reading through your whole PCT hike so far! You’re a great inspiration, and I wish you the best luck finishing Washington!