[pct-l] Toughest time

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

On Sep 21, 2009, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>
> A question:  what was the toughest time for you out on the trail,  
> and how did you get past it?

The toughest time for me was at the beginning of Washington in the  
section before Snoqualmie Pass where you walk in and out of old clear  
cuts. It had been raining since I got to Washington and the rain was  
increasing. With all the heavily overgrown wet bushes I had to push  
my way through, I was feeling very frustrated, cold, wet and unhappy.  
I got through it by complaining bitterly, a tactic that didn't  
actually work very well because I never felt any better. I also would  
try to remind myself that as long as I kept moving I felt warm and  
safe, but that wore off once it started raining inside my tent. What  
actually got me through was the ability to hike 30 mile days if  
necessary. Miserable in the wet leaves, I hiked as far as I could  
each day to get to warmth. I took 4 days off, 2 in Snoqualmie Pass  
and 2 in Seattle. When I returned to the trail the weather was much  
better. I had only the anxiety of the Glacier Peak section to hold me  
back, but once I crossed that log over the Suiattle River, I was  
absolutely elated. I knew I was going to make it. Nothing could stop me.