Goat Rocks, WA trip vs. Yosemite

Either way…..but wow, is it pretty from Chinook on ;-)

Forgive the false alarm, it didn't take long to realize we'd rather not consume all that gas not to mention cutting our hiking time short with a road trip. Yosemite will have to wait until we have sufficient time to long for it. Thanks Sarah, you reminded me how much I'd like to see Goat Rocks for myself.

So, the basic (yet alarmingly incomplete) plan is to start at Chinook Pass (this is where I left off last October) which is only 30 miles from White Pass where we can mail ourselves food to keep the first couple days light and easy. From White Pass, the next section is 150 miles–Todd wants to get off before sections end (Trout Lake?), I've considered continuing to the Columbia River alone, but this is the part we're still fuzzy on. We hike at a pretty good clip but lollygag too much to make big mileage and Todd wants to do some fishing.

The shy 30 miles between Chinook and White Pass are gorgeous and go fast – my friend Steve just did from White to Nannie Ridge (he hurt his foot) and the pictures are gasp….gorgeous!

I did from Wind River towards the Columbia with Steve earlier this year (in the snow!) and it does go fast but isn't…er….exciting. Good late fall hike. Doing Chinook to say the lava bed past Indian Heaven would be a nice section. Easy to come back and hike from there to the Columbia later.

It feels like I've left a ton of planning to the last minute, especially risk management. In an effort so save us from the monotonous fare we usually eat, I've been dehydrating some meals/snacks and making/freezing Energy Bars some, but have plans to do way more with major recipe testing from our Laurie March's " A Fork in the Trail".

The clothing in my kit is light, but Todds is heavy (frankly he likes his heavy pants!), Raingear/shelter/sleeping system is light, our first aid/survival kits are heavily bloated and need a serious diet, we're still making mess kit decisions but our choices are fairly light. (Nothing is SUL.)

Already scrambling to find Todd a digital point and shoot, we just got the news that the issue with my (35mm film) Minox GT seems to have turned terminal: now I'm actually considering taking 3 1/2 pounds of archaic camera & spot meter along…

Next day edit: This post may have been an effort to make myself more accountable for my hike planning or lack thereof, but perhaps a journal would be a more appropriate venue.

Had to ask…still planning on it?

It was gorgeous in the snow this weekend on the PCT :-) We were near Chinook here: