Day 21 - So Near Yet So Far — 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.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, this year’s version of Walking People out of Poverty is officially over. This is very unfortunate as we were so very close to reaching the Northern Terminal which is the official end/starting point of the PCT, depending on which way you are walking.

The reason for calling off the trip was made on the evening of Sunday 20th August, due to the smoke that has pervaded the area, plus a section of the PCT is closed causing a 105 mile detour. This change means the walk from Stevens Pass to Stehekin, which would normally take 4 days is now extended to 6 days. This causes me a problem personally as I don’t believe I will have enough of my daily medications to complete the journey, even though I brought extra meds with me.

The fires are at Sourdough, Airplane, Blue Lake, Huckleberry Flats and Dome Peak and we first noticed the smoke on Saturday morning. We had arrived into Leavenwood around lunchtime on Friday, and unlike the cold and misty weather we had endured going up to the summit, prior to dropping down to Stevens Pass, the weather was much better. We had a clear blue sky and the sun was shining brightly and it was extremely warm. On the Saturday morning, (August 19th), the sky had changed and there was a definite haze hanging in the valley, and the smoky atmosphere got progressively worse as the day wore on.

Woody and I took a walk down to a store at the far end of Leavenworth and on the way back decided to check the fire conditions with the Park Warden’s office which was situated on the other side of the road. Unfortunately the office was closed but their were three guys working close to one of the equipment maintenance areas and one of them was an off duty fire fighter. We asked lots of questions about the conditions and when push came to shove the fire fighter advised he would not venture out in the current conditions.

Do bear in mind however this was a full 3 days before Payday resumed his journey and conditions may very well have changed for the better by the time Payday left Around evening time we could just about make out the outline of the furthest mountain, whereas the day prior it was very prominent.

We were due to get back on the trail on Sunday, 20th August, which was the day Dan and John we’re leaving, but decided to postpone getting off due to the smoke which appeared thicker than the day before. Woody and I bid farewell to Dan and John, at around 9:45 am, and wished them safe travels. We then returned to our rooms to finalize our packing prior to Mary picking us up around 11:00 am. We decided it made more sense to be closer to the trailhead in order to get an earlier start, rather than Mary make the 70 mile round trip to collect us on the Monday morning.

Mary arrived shortly after 11:00 am and after running a couple of errands we were on our way to the campsite Mary and Payday were hanging out with their Boxer/Husky cross Lucie who is a very fun puppy. The campsite was amazing and was located in the midst of an Old Growth forest with some very impressive ancient trees. It was an absolute pleasure to be there. It was probably the earliest I have ever set up my tent and bedding and by 2:00 pm I was lying on my sleeping bag having a well deserved rest. Woody and I made dinner around 5 pm and Mary and Payday invited us to join them at their campsite to eat, which we did once our dinners had cooked.

We had a lovely visit and after dinner Payday pulled out a large container full of watermelon which was delicious. Mary then produced a smaller container that had cheese and pretzels in it and we had a veritable feast.

I cannot speak highly enough of Mary and Payday as their kindness has been overwhelming. Our journey would have been that much more difficult without them that is for sure. Once we arrived into Snoqualmie, and after checking into our hotel, Mary ran us to REI in Issaquah, which is the US equivalent of MEC, to pick up new gear, in my case a stove, to replace old equipment that was either causing a problem or not functioning as expected.

At Stevens Pass there was Mary once again, ready and willing to help out by running us to Leavenworth which was about 35 miles away. I know both Dan and John will agree that Mary was a godsend as without her our journey would have been a lot more difficult.

Payday and Mary are perfectly matched and it was a great pleasure to meet them and I would close by saying thank you both, most sincerely, for all your help along the way.

It would be remiss of me not to mention Bubblehead, who I prefer to call Woody, who also became an integral part of our team. Woody was so laid back and calm, and he always set the perfect pace when we came to the big climbs, and so Woody, just like Payday and Mary, the OIC team salute you.

Another of Woody’s great qualities was his “magic bag of food” which seemed inexhaustible. Last night Woody offered me a chocolate chip cookie which was amazing.

Also last night, Sunday evening, Woody let me know that if it was still smoky in the morning he intended to return home hence the reason for the early finish. During the evening of our dinner in Leavenworth on Saturday 19th Payday announced he would be returning to walking the trail solo, and with Woody making his decision I had no other choice but to leave the trail. Interestingly just 90 minutes ago, as I write this sitting in a cafe in Seattle close to Lake Union, (around noon on Monday 21st August) Payday let me know he was still sitting in the lodge close to the trailhead waiting for the smoke to clear. As you clearly can see it’s going to be a problem moving forward if the smoke continues, and so I believe Woody, and by default moi, have made the right decision not to carry on. That’s not to say Payday has made a wrong decision. There’s a saying on the PCT that everyone has to walk their own walk and their are constant, individual decisions that have to be made. Our health is the most important gift we have and the trail is dangerous enough at times without putting ourselves at risk with the poor, and deteriorating air conditions that currently prevail.

At the time of writing this I just heard from Payday’s wife Mary that Payday finally got away this morning, (Tuesday 22nd August), and so I wish him well on this next leg of his journey. By using Payday’s schedule that would have put me a good 3 days behind schedule, making it very difficult for me to get up to Canada based on the schedule I had set.

Woody and I have chatted about meeting up next year to complete the Stevens Pass to Stehekin, and the Stehekin to the Northern Terminal sections. The latter leg of the trail marks the official end of the PCT for those hikers heading North. We figure we can complete the last two sections within two weeks.

In closing I would thank each and every person who has opened their hearts and made a financial contribution to this years walk. I cannot thank you enough for your kindness and support and your generosity is overwhelming. It was during the tough times, like the 4 1/2 day stretch from Snoqualmie to Stevens Pass, that the thought of the impact all our donors and their financial “muscle” will have on the recipients of the funds in Nicaragua that drove us on.

I look forward to completing that section of the PCT from Stevens Pass to the Northern Terminal and invite you to join me on this next leg of Walking People out of Poverty. Then I will be turning my attention to filling in the missing gaps in between. Thank you again for your support it’s what continues to drive me on.

Last photos of this year’s campaign.