Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Another of the books I've found browsing around the library catalog (I love those "similar books" lists!),  this was an interesting companion to Journeys North, which I reviewed last week . Title: The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind--and Almost Found Myself--On the Pacific Crest Trail Author : Dan White Publication Info : Harper-Collins, 2008. 427 pages, Kindle Edition Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: When Dan White and his girlfriend Melissa [note: her name, per the books, is Allison] set out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, which stretches from Mexico to Canada through boiling desert and snowcapped mountain passes, his parents wondered how two people who had never shared an apartment could survive in a tent in the desert. But when Dan and Melissa, dubbed “The Lois and Clark Expedition” by a fellow hiker, quit their doldrum jobs to set out into the wilderness, the hardships of the trail provided these addled adventurers with a crystalline view of the Ame...

Back in August, I spent 12 days walking an 80-mile segment of the Washington PCT (Pacific Crest Trail). So far I've featured the 1st three days and a bit, from our start near Crystal Mountain Ski Area to Chinook Pass, and a couple of days continuing south into the William O. Douglas wilderness. Last weekend we started into the Goat Rock s, and today we'll conclude the trip (so I can move on to the next one, and the one after that, and the one I'm about to do... I'm spending a lot of time in the wilderness and not so much working on that novel...). I left Hidden Springs, my 8th camp of the trip, fairly late. I didn't have a long hike planned for the day, so enjoyed my morning, taking time to contemplate the terrain I was about to hike through. The heart of the Goat Rocks. The trail promptly descended several hundred feet to Teiton Pass, deep in the forest (how wrong is that?), before climbing to a much more dramatic saddle with no name, but fantastic views. This...

  Back in August, I spent 12 days walking an 80-mile segment of the Washington PCT (Pacific Crest Trail). So far I've featured the 1st three days and a bit, from our start near Crystal Mountain Ski Area to Chinook Pass, and a couple of days continuing south into the William O. Douglas wilderness. Today we're on across White Pass and approaching the Goat Rocks--the scenic highlight of the trip. The fog that settled on my camp in the late afternoon turned overnight to a wet mizzle, maybe even a drizzle. I wasn't keen to get up, but it has to be done, and breakfast cooked and eaten, regardless of the weather. Happily, it wasn't really that wet, though the trees dripped on my tent something fierce. Starting out on a misty hike, but the sun is making a valiant effort/ The day began with a 1400' descent to cross the Bumping River, at this point little more than a creek and easily spanned by a log. This was a 7-mile day, with modest climbing and descending, but limited ...

Back in August, I spent 12 days walking another segment of the WA PCT (Pacific Crest Trail). Last week I featured the 1st three days and a bit, from our start near Crystal Mountain Ski Area to Chinook Pass. Today we'll hit the next couple of days, continuing south into the William O. Douglas wilderness. There should have been fantastic views of Mt. Rainier, at least in places, but alas, the weather continued to be uncooperative. I took off from Chinook Pass about 11 a.m, carrying just a little more weight than I like as I was prepared for 8 nights on the trail. The PCT actually crosses Highway 410 on the top of the sign marking the boundary of Mt. Rainier National Park. The clear morning was holding nicely, and lots of people were walking the mile to this pretty tarn. Continuing up, looking back across the Chinook Pass area to where I was in the morning. Having climbed 800' or so around the shoulder of Naches Peak (a hike around the peak is a decent 3-mile dayhike with views t...