Rounding the asphalt bend into Northport, “Peaches” by the Presidents of the United States of America could be heard intermittently over the traffic. It murmured out of a low-fidelity iPhone speaker held by none other than RoadRunner — once my companion in Polebridge.
Short updates
• I’m about a week away from entering (and then leaving) the Cascades!
• I’ve passed the 500-mile mark and have shiny-ish new shoes
• This trail may have the highest concentration of great trail towns
• RoadRunner took off again, so I’m not sure when (if) I’ll see him again. Meepmeep.
Long updates
While hiking the CDT, I remember talking to a European hiker (probably German, they’re always German). I had asked him why he liked hiking in the US so much. He stomped his foot on the ground, and then stepped to the side dramatically to admire his work.
“Do you see that?” He said, pointing at the perfectly formed footprint that legibly held the ‘Vibram’ label from his sole. “There aren’t other places like this. Most of the world is wet, so you can’t get footprints like these.”
The American West is defined by the hundredth meridian. This line divides the United States into land that receives substantially less than 20 inches of annual rainfall and into the East — a humid, subtropical climate. The exception is the Pacific Northwest.
Since starting in Montana, I’ve mostly traversed through a humid continental climate. A climate that promotes wet shoes and a wet soul. I worked my way into Idaho, and then dropped over the western edge of the Selkirks into the Columbia River Basin. I’m traveling a bit North of the Grand Coulee Dam and the Columbia Plateau, but nonetheless the climate has started to shift.
I’m only a few days outside of Northport, and I’ve already traversed ridges that are free from dense canopy. A fine silt adheres to my feet, truly making me dirty, as I tromp through this dusty, semi-arid region. One minute the intensity of the sun leaves me cherishing forest, and then quite suddenly I’ll descend into a canyon laden in huckleberries. I’ve found myself staring across the dry sage at peaks in the distance and I can’t help but smile. I love the west.
I’ll be leaving Republic and heading across the very top of this arid region of Washington. There is some rain in the forecast, which will (hopefully) make for pleasant temperatures and reasonable hiking.
Until the Cascades,
Jeff