This may have been one of hardest things I
have done. I was a girl scout when I was younger. I did lots of outdoor things,
walking and camping, but this was not nearly as hard-core as the Wonderland
Trail. Wonderland trail is in Washington Sate around Mt. Rainer, about 3 hours
drive from Seattle. The total distance is about 150 kilo meters.
Last summer, M.FR was just completing
another trail in Colorado, and he invited me to join him on this “back-packing”
as how they refer it in the US. Another American couple from California, whom
he befriended the previous year also during another backpacking trip has
organized it and invited us. He told me “it’s not going to be easy, but I would
normally walk twice the distance of what we will walk everyday. Besides, the
other couple will go slower, so that is not going to be so bad.” I still didn’t
know what I was getting myself into, and I thought “sure, why not? I like
hiking and trekking.”
M. FR and I met up on my birthday last year
in Seattle. We went gear shopping. The first shock came when he told me that I
was supposed to bring only two pairs of socks and two t-shirts (day shirt and
night shirt to sleep in.) I didn’t really comprehend the concept. I went
trekking in Nepal, but I had at least some T-shirts and socks to change
everyday. We had a porter too. He told me anything you bring would add to the
weight you have to carry, so keep it a bare minimum. The second shock was that
we had to pack food worth of 10 days, as there is nowhere to refill supplies all
along the route. Mostly freeze dry items, but it adds up. I was started to
getting scared but kept quiet as I didn’t want him to think I was not tough
enough.
Comes the day of our trip, we met the
couple at the airport and drove off. They kindly lent me a backpack and a
sleeping bag. My gear consisted of brand-new walking shoes (yes not the best
idea) downjacket, water bottle, food and some mujirushi treats, two pairs of
clothes, camera, gloves, water-resistant jacket and pants (borrowed from my
sister) inflatable mat for sleeping and walking sticks. M.FR carried a
two-person tent for us. When they were all packed in the backpack, I couldn’t
believe how heavy it was. I could barely lift it up to put it on my back! Then,
I remember the thing I hate the most is carrying heavy things!
This trail was particular in a way that you
need to book camping spots for the entire trip, and you need to go accordingly.
There is no freedom of stopping and pitching a tent wherever you feel like. The
first day was fine with a short distance. I kept up. The second day I also
managed, though I arrived exhausted. On the night of the second day, it started
raining with heavy thunder. We were in a forest, so I wasn’t scared. I never
knew lighting can come in a range of colors, white, yellow, pink and orange. In
the total darkness of the tent I could see all these colors.
After this day, it kept raining all day. We
got to a river crossing to find out that the bridge was washed away by the
heavy rain. I thought we were going to wait till it got fixed, even felt glad
that I can stop and rest. Then M.FR said “we need to wade.” I didn’t know what
wading meant. It means crossing the river on foot!! I was cold, tired and
scared. I just met a group who decided to wait since it will be dangerous to
cross. I started crying and begged M.FR not to make me do this. His answer was
“don’t worry. This is normal. We do it everytime.” I knew then that I had no
choice. Jack (the husband of the couple who is very experienced and so fit)
offered to carry my backpack. I used my walking sticks to balance and not to
slip in the river that came to my knee. The last part was the trickiest. It was
deeper, probably around till my waist with what it seemed like a strong volume
of glacier water rushing down... There was a log about three meters fell on the
river, and we were to balance and cross on this. One foot at a time, I managed
and kept going. Everyone was holding breath. The cold took away my energy and
it was the longest distance to cover that day of the whole trip, around 16
miles. I was wet, cold and backpack was getting wet and heavier and heavier. I
was quite miserable. At one point on this day, M.FR also carried my pack for a little while. We finally arrived in one camping site, which we did not
reserve. It was clear that we weren’t going to be able to go any further that
day and managed to find a spot. A half of my sleeping bag was wet, so we shared
one sleeping bag and kept my jacket on. I was freezing. The next day, I put on same
wet socks and continued…. On one sunny day finally, we spread all our belongings on a rock to dry them out. I could see steams coming off from my backpack, clothes etc etc.
Despite this, I also had beautiful moments.
There were lots of wild blueberries on this trail, and we would stop and munch
on sweetest blueberries I ever had until my tongue was all purple. We slept
outside one night, putting our mats side-by-side and fell sleep watching a
beautiful sky and stars. Peanut butter on trail bars never tasted so good in my
life, which was our lunch everyday. I could have eaten a half jar in one
sitting if I was allowed. M.FR, who is normally very slow in the morning, would
get up before me and start preparing breakfast (tea and oatmeal with honey.) Anything and everything I ate tasted delicious, as every calorie and sugar and fat counts (including things like cold rehydrated mushed potatoes, grill cheese sandwich in one cabin which stayed open). Saw some amazing landscapes and wild flowers, mountain goats etc. I was dirty and my hair was greasy, but we kept going. It was obviously the longest time of not showering. I learned some new backpacking vocabularies
like “of-course” wading, trailhead and switchback.
With encouragement and help from the group,
I managed to keep up for 10 days. At one point, my heels were hurting so much
from the new shoes, I wore flip-flops. I thought shoes are like a dictatorship
of feet!
After the 10 days, you know what M.FR said
to me? He said “I didn’t think you could complete the trail. This was much
harder than I thought and may be hardest I have had with the rain and going up
and down everyday.” !!!! So, yes I succeeded. I impressed him, and this was
just so worth it just to hear him say that. I passed the test.
I would like to do that again, but wouldn’t
mind it if it is a little easier. I was actually invited again this year, but I
didn’t go because he told me it may be harder than last year. It’s always good
to get out of my comfort zone. Carrying a heavy pack and wearing same wet socks
five days consecutively is not within my comfort zone. For that, I thank him
for always pushing and testing my limit (in many ways.) Now I fantasize going
on easier trekking with the boy on his back. I wonder how soon we can go on
such adventures again. Along the way, we met a nice group of older people in their early 70's. They were so fit and seem to enjoy life very much. My goal is to be like them when and if we are lucky to be live till then.
