Speak for the Trees

By Tyler Socash

IG: @tylerhikes 

The clearcuts went on for miles. After you walk through four wilderness areas and 267 miles of unadulterated forests, walking out of Snoqualmie Pass was kind of a shocker.  

We spent our previous day in North Bend, WA taking a nero (nearly a "zero" mile day).  During our brief respite from the trail, Wildfire's parents (I call them The Firestarters) took us to see Snoqualmie Falls after lunch.  The only thing I remember thinking was, "Man, this world is getting crowded."  The amount of cars, trash, noise, and the shoulder-to-shoulder standing room at the viewing platform to see a waterfall that had 90% of its flow diverted for Puget Sound Energy use made me wonder why I'd left the trail at all.  

Back in the woods things were suddenly just as disconcerting.  South of Snoqualmie Pass the land isn't protected.  In fact, I'd say it is abused.  Sure, trees are a renewable resource.  They grow back. But no one tells you that it could take over 100 years for a clearcut to grow back entirely.  I use paper products, but after this experience I promise to use less.  Nothing about walking through a clearcut looks or feels right.  The three of us walked through plenty of them for the next 3 days.  The same irksome feeling hits me when I see a hydrofracking complex.   Gross. 

The clearcuts were flanked by burned areas.  

Thanks for leaving one... Desecration of nature. Reuse your stuff!

When the last crackling power-line had been crossed and the last clearcut that The Lorax warns you about when you're a kid was finally behind us, we entered splendor.  

Our first close view of Mount Rainier. 

Our stay at Government Meadows at the entrance of the Norse Peak Wilderness was enhanced by elk bugles in the evening and by our stay in Urich Cabin — one of the only shelters on the PCT.  When we entered the wilderness the next day we were treated to ridgeline views of Mount Rainier!  I stumbled across a herd of mountain goats.  Half Jesus saw a porcupine.  The wilderness certainly felt more appealing every single day.  

When Europeans colonized America, there was an underlying fear of the wild.  Many New England Puritans thought that the wilderness was the natural habitat of the devil.  Where a wilderness existed, a garden should be made. The notion of Manifest Destiny made it seem that it was our God-given right to develop from coast-to-coast.  The natives were pushed aside, we annihilated the buffalo, and now we are only left with fragmented pockets of beauty.  If you look at a map of the United States, you'll notice that we did a pretty good job of modernizing this country, especially the east coast where few large wilderness areas remain. In fact, wilderness.net will inform you that only 2.7% of the conintental United States is designated Federal Wilderness. When you include state and tribal wilderness areas, you get to a meagerly 3%.  Combine all wilderness areas together and you've got the state of Minnesota out of the entire Lower 48.  That is pathetic.  This means that 97% of our country will be or has been altered by man.  

The good news is that the wilderness that does exist is incredible.  I'll walk through 48 wilderness areas from Canada to Mexico along the Pacific Crest Trail, and these areas are stunning.  Sometimes it just takes a short reintegration into the Cotton World (the world that you can wear cotton clothes in and not die) to remember how precious our wild spaces are.  They aren't something to fear.  Losing them is something to fear.  Here are some highlights between the Norse Peak Wilderness, Mount Rainier National Park, and the William O. Douglas Wilderness before I reached White Pass... (This is the positive stuff.  Sorry for being so controversial, I just really believe that we need more wilderness areas for all the cute animals and for our population that keeps growing and growing.)

A herd of mountain goats up the hill!

A rainbow around the sun in the Norse Peak Wilderness!

Mount Rainier National Park entrance

Spooky Lake Tipsoo!

The William O. Douglas Wilderness!

Just think... In 1803 President Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark across our great nation to explore the Louisiana Purchase.  Everything they saw west of the Missippi River was pristine and wild.  Just over 200 years later only 2.7% of the contiguous United States remains wild.  Edward Abbey once said, "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer cell."  I think it's time for more young people to get outside and to see how spectacular our country is.  Or maybe 2nd graders can stop singing "America the Beautiful," and instead learn "America the Paved."

A Series of "Calendar-Worthy" Events

By Tyler Socash

IG: @tylerhikes

When I turned seventeen I asked for one thing on my birthday, and whether you have been following the blog or not you know it couldn't have been a "2015 tangerine Subaru CrossTrek..."  Instead, it was a rather simple request.  I asked for a calendar. 

This blog is housed under the overarching title of "A Calendar Year."  Some people have pointed out that the term typically refers to events happening during the January to December window.  My yearlong journey is lasting from June 2015 - June 2016, which may be confusing so I want to clarify my wordplay...

Overlooking Spectacle Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.

Over the past 12 years I have been writing down my daily highlights in the squares of a calendar.  (Read: The secret is out!  Tyler keeps a diary!)  Unlike a diary, calendaring doesn't take long as calendar squares lack the room for complete sentences.  I simply take 3 or 4 minutes to reflect on the day that has happened, and I quickly record my favorite memories.  I have never missed a day, and I'm even cataloging life events while on trail.  I'll transfer all of my digital notes to my physical calendar when I return from my journey. 

Think about how much you actually remember about yesterday...  What about a week ago?  How much can you recall about the happenings of your life one month ago?  A year?  Many beautiful details are forgotten.  That's one reason why I "calendar."  

The other reason for my calendaring obsession involves The Awesome Principle.  My friend Zach King and I have been challenging each other to accomplish unique feats and to make every moment count since high school.  Essentially The Awesome Principle boils down to this: when given two options, you are forced to always choose the more awesome option.  

The Awesome Principle in full effect on the Kendall Katwalk. 

It's very easy to have an ordinary day.  I enjoy the challenge of mixing it up!  Friends and family are used to my incessant pleas to play more board games, to play one more round of water volleyball (we call it "walleyball") even when it's cold outside, why I tried to write my own stand-up comedy routine (huge failure - sorry again guys), why I organize miniature golf tournaments, why I create my own Adirondack-themed game nights at our annual New Years Eve Party (and why one year I want this to take place between Panther and Santanoni Peak at a place called "Times Square"), and why I have ever done anything that made you say, "What is Tyler doing?!?"

The Awesome Principle is to blame!  But at least these outbursts of energy have led to interesting calendar submissions.  I actually force myself to do something noteworthy every day — that way I always have something fun to write down in my calendar.  At the very least I'll try to play a Dashboard Confessional song (Read: very cool song) on guitar before going to bed. 

Pacific Crest Trail friends (Wildfire and Half Jesus) and me moving between Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie Pass in Washington. 

Jumping into the Deception Lakes... Because it was more awesome than not jumping in!

I have the tendency to message / email / call someone when I reach the 10-year anniversary of a fun experience that we had together (Yes, 2005 was that long ago).  Some of you may have received a direct message from me regarding an event from our past, or perhaps you've seen my reminiscent posts on the Facebook.  The resurrection of an old story elicits the best responses!  Oftentimes other details from that moment that I forgot to write down will emerge and make the memory more vivid for all parties involved. 

Half-way through Washington State on the Pacific Crest Trail!

I hiked all the way to I-90!  This could have been the road home, or a road to where Marshawn Lynch goes Beastmode, but instead I'll continue south through the woods until Mexico.  Hiking from Canada to Mexico has been awesome!

Even Bridget and Jamie, who hiked to the border monument with me during the first part of the journey, hiked up into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness to join the southbound trek for another day!

While this post revealed my calendaring endeavor and showcased the 78-mile stretch between Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie Pass, I really wanted to share why I'm hiking the PCT.  

In November I was exhausted.  I was working full-time, in graduate school part-time, attending two evening classes, writing papers, going to a two-days-per-week internship, and I traveled for work non-stop during an 8-week stretch without ever having a day off.  I was literally doing laundry and typing papers at 10pm, driving to Boston for work until 4am, sleeping on the side of I-90, waking up at 6am, splashing water on my face in that rest stop McDonalds before you hit the hellish Boston traffic, putting on my dress pants and tie in the rest stop parking lot, working all day, driving back to Rochester for work/internship/class, and repeating this while staying awake.

When it came time to decide if I wanted that 2015 tangerine Subaru CrossTrek a week later, I was basically at this impasse: do I want to buy-in to the standard lifestyle of school-work-family-buy boat-retire-die?  Or, do I want to chase my actual hopes and dreams?...

I dared to be different.  I jumped into something that I truly believed was awesome.  Now I'm stringing my calendar days into A Calendar Year.  (Oh man I just said it!)  Instead of driving back and forth on I-90, I walked under it in hiking boots.  I feel like I've lived more in the past month than I have for an entire year. 

To be clear, I loved my job and I loved my internship.  I feel incredibly privileged to have had the opportunities to work and study at a world-class institution.  I really miss the people and the work that I quickly left behind.  I miss them a lot.  When my feet were blistered and both Wildfire and Half Jesus slowed down for me so that I could hobble on my wounded feet for those last miles into camp, I remembered that I had it pretty good back home... But at the same time I am reminded of a quote that my sister Nikki sent me.  One quote that really pushes me onward to see awesome things every day, blisters and all...

"If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn’t cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers. You wouldn’t tell your friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the story you’d seen. The truth is, you wouldn't remember that movie a week later, except you’d feel robbed and want your money back. Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo.

But we spend years actually living those stories, and expect our lives to be meaningful. The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won't make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either." - Don Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

Instead of the 2015 Subaru, I've got a backpack, blisters, and million stories to tell.  Yes, I left a great career / family / friends behind, but I had to listen to adventure's calling.  While there is a lot that I miss about home, I'd like to think that this whole walk to Mexico was all started by something as simple as a calendar.  It feels like it was supposed to happen.  And even if it was propelled by a series of random coincidences... that's OK too because I'm having a blast out here! :)

 

What's in a Trail Name?

By Tyler Socash

IG: @tylerhikes

The Stehekin shuttle was arriving at 9am, and we had to make it!  After 5 grueling days on trail most thru-hikers get antsy for town food.  There are a few towns along the PCT that entice hikers to walk faster and dig deeper — Stehekin, WA is one of those towns.  

A view from the middle of Lake Chelan near the Stehekin village. 

While Brandon fell behind, the urgency to get to this fabled town pushed Matt and I onward.  He had been there before, and every story he told about Stehekin made the importance of catching the early shuttle grow.  Matt calls Stehekin, "The town that time forgot."  Situated at the end of ~60-mile Lake Chelan, there are only three ways to arrive at Stehekin: take the long ferry ride from Chelan, charter a sea plane ($100 per person), or hike there via the Pacific Crest Trail.  

In addition to hearing all about the iconic bakery, organic garden, impeccable swimming, and bountiful food, Matt also hoped to catch up to another hiker that he met earlier in his trip south.  They call her, "Wildfire."  Matt wondered if I had seen a hiker with a small turquoise pack and a French braid, but I learned that Wildfire started south before I returned from the border monument.  Catching your trail friends is a big deal on the PCT.  With zeros, neros, missed resupplies, injuries, etc. you never know when you or your friends' PCT plans will be thwarted.  Sometimes you never see a trail friend again... (Spooky.)  We had to make that bus to catch Wildfire, and we did!  

The Stehekin shuttles in "downtown" Stehekin. 

These shuttles were ferried out to this isolated town to take hikers and hotel guests up and down Stehekin Valley.  For $7 cash, the bus will take you from the High Bridge Ranger Station all the way down to town — a price you'd gladly pay to avoid the 12+ mile road walk.  The bus makes one mandatory stop on the way into town... The Stehekin Bakery. 

This is one of my favorite magical places :)

When the bus came to a halt, the driver said we could run in and grab something to go.  When we got off the bus, we found a lovely group of hiker trash (an affectionate term for thru-hikers who have evidently adopted a sub-standard way of living, i.e. wearing tattered clothes, drinking water out of a Denny's bathroom sink, and so on).  That's when Matt said, "There's Wildfire!"  

Wildfire, like The Man Matt, is awesome.  She was given her trail name (a significant alias given to all long-distance thru-hikers) when she shouted "Wildfire!" while sleep-talking.  Similar to Matt's hiking backstory, her best laid plans to southbound thru-hike the PCT were altered last year due to weather/injury.  She was back at it though, and she was already hiking over 20+ miles a day. 

Wildfire, The Man Matt, and Tyler — soon-to-be Southbound besties!

I didn't have much time to talk.  I needed calories and the bakery's scent permeated the air as well as my subconscious.  I ordered huge sticky buns and a Pepsi immediately to help replenish the food deficit that naturally comes when you hike 120+ miles.  When I finally came out to the hiker trash picnic table, I noticed Wildfire was with other friends.  Karissa and Seth were about to head south out of High Bridge in order to enter the Glacier Peak Wilderness.  It was daunting to think that the next town, Stevens Pass, was 100 miles south from here.  Two other people, Robyn and AJ, were also enjoying the Stehekin Bakery.  Wildfire seemed to be very confident within this group, as if she had known these other newfound adventurers her whole life.  With a mouth full of sticky buns I ran back to the bus screaming, "See you all in the Glacier Peak Wilderness!"  I drew laughs because of my enthusiasm... And partially because I accidentally spit everywhere when I yelled.  I was very excited to be eating at the historic bakery. 

 I will fail to effectively describe what this town and these people meant to me.  I didn't just leave Stehekin for the wild.  I enjoyed a wonderful nero with this clan.   Even though I was over 2,500 miles away from New York State, for a day I was home.  If The Man Matt, Wildfire, AJ, Robyn, Seth, or Karissa ever read this blog, just know that I love you guys. You, and the entire town, made me feel like I belonged.  Stehekin has character, and that beautiful, wild place was accentuated by the characters that I met within those 24 hours.  Perhaps I'll go into the details of our kayak heist, our harmonica songs, the turtle wrangling, and my "future wife" at the Ranger Station another time...

Another picture of said heist.  By the way, Lake Chelan is the 3rd deepest lake in the United States.  It just so happens I'll also see the two deeper ones next month...

Of the aforementioned people, I ended up giving three of them their trail names.  They all helped to give me ones to try on for size.  Turtle Wrangler almost stuck thanks to AJ and Robyn (seriously, you guys are awesome), and both Neil Patrick Harris and Doogie Hauser had a nice run.  The Man Matt, who is now The Man Half Jesus due to his ability to swim half-way out of the water thanks to his water polo days and his desire to wash thru-hikers' feet as a trail magic gesture, always says, "It's not your trail name until you introduce yourself as it."  Half Jesus is very wise.  

Big reveal: my trail name has become Future Dad. 

In order to remain in chronological order and to avoid a Memento storyline I'll save that story for later in this post.  

That night in Stehekin was one of the best nights of my life.  It reminded me of my childhood nights in Old Forge at the lakefront.  At one point, The Man Matt Half Jesus (he has a peculiar tendency to call everyone, "The Man") told Wildfire that she should team up with "The Man Tyler," in the Glacier Peak Wilderness.  Matt completed that section two years ago and had another adventure planned for himself off the PCT during the next 5 days. 

Just like that, Tyler and Wildfire became hiking comrads.  Spoiler alert: After three weeks the three of us still hike southbound together / near each other!  These characters will come up a lot in my stories. 

To accelerate a bit (I'm a storyteller and this really could go on forever) I'll show you what Wildfire and I accomplished in the Glacier Peak Wilderness (my second favorite wilderness area so far) and in the Henry M. (The Man) Jackson Wilderness during the next 100 miles.  Details will come out in my memoir. 

Hiking up to Suiattle Pass

Wildfire crosses the dangerous Suiattle River

At camp on the slope of Glacier Peak: Wildfire, Karissa (Darkside - I named her for her dark humor), Seth (Talent Boy - I named him this for he has many talents), and Future Dad (Seth named me this because of my conversations about finding a future wife and having a future child to take on the PCT on some future day. This name makes me happy because my old colleagues at the University of Rochester continue to speak about our impending fatherhood with reverence. I miss you guys too!)

Wildfire and I pressed on!  We appreciated these great views....

Glacier Peak!  Stratovolcano!  Remote! Wilderness is awesome!

I'm trying to break the SOBO lake swimming record.  I'm at 8 lakes so far. 

Last swim before Stevens Pass. 

And finally, to go all Memento on you, Brandon arrived at the Stehekin Bakery only minutes after Matt and I left.  He ordered sticky buns (like me).  Exhausted, Brandon laid down on the hiker trash picnic table and got his treats all over his back.  We now call Brandon, "Sticky Buns."

Trail Magic on the PCT

By Tyler Socash

IG: @tylerhikes

It hit me when Paul, Bridget, and Jamie waved goodbye and drove downhill from Hart's Pass... I was on my own.  Without cellular service in extreme northern Washington, there was no turning back.  Mexico was approximately 2,627 miles south of my current location, but you can only think about the PCT in sections.  The 2,650-mile journey is more or less a long series of 5-day backpacking trips.  Stehekin was slated as my next resupply point, so that became my focus. 

Before Paul left he graciously gave me his spare sunglasses.  I lost my pair within 5 minutes of embarking on our journey to the border, and we never found them on the return trip.  The clouds were threatening, so I began to set up my tarp tent (thank you Seth Jones) for the first time.  After a short conversation with some locals on a day hike, I sat down to rest my tired legs which had gone 66 miles in 3 days. *CRUNCH!*  Sorry about that Paul, I sat on your glasses only minutes after your departure.  That's when it started to rain...

A bit of much-needed rainy weather in a burned area south of Harts Pass

After a few solo miles the next morning I felt that I was in my element again.  I saw a grouse up close, (Paul, those four *thud, thud, thud, thud* sounds are grouse calls - you were right) which was exciting.  Shortly afterwards I picked up a dropped piece of hiking equipment, a wool buff, (I hadn't forgotten the pain of losing my sunglasses) in hopes of making someone's day down the road. When the weather broke I was high up on a ridgeline.  What beauty!  What splendor!  Mountains, as far as the eye can see, were shooting up into the sky.  It's exciting to see the Pacific Crest Trail ahead of you flying over exposed passes and around rocky crags.  Here's what I'm talking about...

The PCT winds its way down into Glacier Pass below Azurite Peak. 

My campsite on Methow Pass below Tower Peak. 

The next day was spectacular.  I contoured around the mountains until hitting Cutthroat Pass.  That's when the trail plunges down to Rainy Pass and Route 20, a roadway that I took only 5 days earlier to get to the starting point. 

Pristine valleys, the untrammeled wild!

My solo journey on the PCT wasn't permanent. During a water filtration break, a familiar face rounded the corner. His name was Matt and I met him briefly when I was hiking with Paul, Bridget, and Jamie.  

Matt was awesome from the beginning.  Our hiking friendship solidified when I asked him if he dropped his wool buff.  Indeed he did!  Matt told me how he experienced "trail magic" two years ago during his first attempt of the Pacific Crest Trail.  A popular trail angel, (someone who assists thru-hikers out of the goodness of their heart) named "Meander" resupplied Matt with fuel and snacks on the same sterch of trail that we were hiking at that moment.  Only a few miles later, Matt found pair of sunglasses in the bushes.  When no person claimed them after a day of asking fellow hikers, Matt reciprocated the trail magic experience.  

We entered North Cascades National Park and took another water break together.  While filtering we met our newest friend Brandon who exclaimed, "I've got some extra whiskey if you guys want some tonight."  Brandon was immediately welcomed into our growing hiking crew.  Together the three of us would make our way to the magical town of Stehekin.  I quickly realized that wasn't feeling so alone any more. 

Heading into North Cascades NP!

I learned a main credo of the PCT during this stretch: the trail provides!

NOBO before the SOBO

By Tyler Socash
IG: @tylerhikes

In the darkness, we had arrived.  Four-and-a-half hours after departing from Seattle, our hiking party made it to Harts Pass, WA.  This location is ten axle-crunching miles northwest of rural Mazama, and it takes you to the northern-most trailhead on the Pacific Crest Trail.  I encourage you to open Google Maps and search for it.  Switch to "Earth mode..."  Try to imagine yourself finding this location, which is on the highest road in remote Washington, during the dead of night without ever being there before!  (No cell phone service, no clearly marked intersections.)  It was nearly 2am, and without a cloud in the sky there was no debate... we were going to cowboy camp (no tent) under the stars.  After our third shooting star in the pitch black Washington State sky, we rapidly fell asleep. 

Over the next three days, my fellow University of Rochester alumni and I would hike 33 miles to the U.S./Canadian border and back (66 total) so that I could avoid a Federal charge and begin my southbound Pacific Crest Trail hike legally — you can't simply walk into the United States from Canada anymore!  Inherently, a southbound (SOBO) journey is "tougher" than a northbound (NOBO) trek, but only 33 miles harder out of 2,650...  In the grand scheme of things, both ways are unfathomably difficult.  Maybe the extra hiking is a subtle factor that causes over 1,000 hikers to attempt the PCT northbound annually while only 100 or fewer will attempt it southbound?  The 33 bonus miles are among the most scenic, and arguably among the most physically taxing (especially when you consider that your body is still in sedentary office mode) along the trail.

Tyler, Paul, Jamie, and Bridget on Day 1

This section of the PCT in the North Cascades boasts 14,787 feet of elevation gain from the border to Rainy Pass on Route 20.  Even for four fit and former University of Rochester Cross Country runners, these three days were grueling.  The Pacific Crest Trail has approximately a 50% success rate for thru-hikers attemping to go border-to-border (depending on the year), and after our 20+-mile days it was apparent why so many people leave the trail.  The first leg in the Pasayten Wilderness will humble even the strongest athletes.

Alpine flora in the Pasayten Wilderness

The difficulty of this first section is overpowered by its beauty.  I've hiked in many special places, but I already know that I'm experiencing my favorite life moment.  The Pasayten Wilderness, which brings you to the Pacific Crest Trail monument on the border of Canada, boasts remarkable views and wildlife.  The denizens of this region include deer, moose, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and the largest population of lynx in the Lower 48.  

 En route to the U.S./Canadian border.

That moment when a life-changing adventure begins!  

For the record: I made Paul, Bridget, and Jamie sing the National Anthem as we stepped back into the United States.  This was, perhaps, the finest rendition of the Star Spangled Banner ever sung while entering the country.  This will become a tradition!

Our backcountry campsite was on the other side of Three Fools Peak. 

I'm very excited to walk to Mexico!

Here are a few things that have surprised me so far:

• in 16 days on the trail, I have only used my tent three times. (A generous donation from my friend Seth - thanks Seth!)  The weather has been amazing, and cowboy camping has become my favorite thing to do!

• I only saw two Pacific Crest Trail markers during the 70+ mile stretch from the border to Rainy Pass.  That's it!  Nearly every tree has a trail marker on it back east.  You need your maps out here! 

• the U.S. Women's National Team won the World Cup!?!?  That's awesome!  It's also pretty cool that the only thing that matters on trail is self-regulation... and your happiness of course!  

I hope to have ~140 sunsets like this while on trail. 

I'll end this post with something from The Hobbit:

The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
Today and tomorrow are yet to be said.
The chances, the changes are all yours to make.
The mold of your life is in your hands to break.

Until the next time I have service... (only happened two times in over 280 miles of hiking) be well and thank you all for the support!  The trail is wonderful!  The first few days were blister-filled and physically demanding, but I'll get stronger every day on trail.  Advice I received from a friend: "The first two weeks are all mental.  The second two weeks are all physical.  If you make it through four weeks, you will make it to Mexico."