Day 16 - Blow Down! — Walking People Out of Poverty

walkingpeopleoutofpoverty.ca is the personal blog of Peter Thorpe, long-time Opportunity International Canada supporter and Walking People Out of Poverty founder. For Dan Murray’s blog and information on OIC, please click here.

Start Time: 5:50 am
End Time: 5:30 pm
Start Mileage: 2425.20
End Mileage: 2442.40
Distance Walked Miles: 17.20
Elevation Gain Feet: 2986

We were up and out early again today as we wanted to knock off as many miles as possible before our arch-enemies the heat and Sun could start taking their toll.

We had a lovely downhill section to begin the day but the trail quickly turned gnarly and to add insult to injury there were lots of overgrown bushes to contend with. We had a long walk of 5 miles to reach water and so had to keep an eye on our precious liquid. I don’t think any of us have ever experienced such difficult hiking conditions before.

I always believed Washington would have an abundance of water, but I guess this is one of those rare years where water is scarce. I believe it’s made us all that much more aware what a precious commodity water is. After gathering our water we had a long walk along the valley bottom before stopping for lunch. After lunch we had a long climb of something like 5 miles to the top of the pass and so we put Woody up front to set a nice steady pace.

Off we went and it was quickly apparent we were going to be taking a series of switchbacks that go from side to side up the mountain. These switchbacks were also very long and we would be walking for minutes at a time before turning the corner. It was hard thirsty work but after Monday’s baptism of fire we all felt up for the challenge. We would stop every 30 minutes or so for a water break, and to allow the group to come together before setting off until the next break. Eventually we reached the top of the mountain and it is always exhilarating to achieve your goal.

At the end of the day we had a two mile, downhill, hike to the campground we were aiming for. We eventually arrived and had to hunt around for 5 decent camping spots. The reason being the area had been decimated by a large number of trees that had been blown down. What would have been an ideal camping spot was now serviceable and we were able to make it work. It was not easy though but it’s always good to get the tent up and your bed made up before turning attention to feeding oneself

Now for some pictures.