Skykomish, Washington

9/18-
Day 161 - Invariably, when people see the Menacing Vegetables, they ask how long we've been hiking together, and are sometimes surprised to learn that we've been together since Campo. Over 5 months now, without a single fight or disagreement that couldn't be solved amicably. Make no mistake - Ben, Jonny, and Maria are pretty darn awesome hiking partners! - Staggerin' Willie

9/19-
Day 162 - After many years and many hundreds of miles of hiking, it finally happened today. I was stung by a bee. The last (and only other) time I had this painful experience was 12 years ago and I ended up in the hospital emergency room with a severe allergic reaction. Since then I've scrupulously carried my Epi-pen on every hike. And the inevitable finally happened. But, much to my surprise and with the help of some Benadryl from a passing hiker, I had no such reaction. Which is a good thing because the sting is potentially lethal and we were a long, long way from anything resembling a medical facility. For a brief time I had one of those (thankfully) rare opportunities to contemplate my mortality. Now my ankle hurts like hell. - Krummholtz

Day 162 - Today, Krumholz was stung by a bee and there was an hour or so when we didn't know if his symptoms would set in or how severe they would be. I looked at some maps to see how we would get to civilization if an emergency situation developed, and learned that we are in the true middle of nowhere. To the east are a few small communities along lake Chelan like Stehekin, which lack roads to the outside world. To the west is a long hike through Glacier Peak Wilderness to dead-end dirt roads that are themselves miles from any town. This seems to be about as remote as it gets in the lower 48. - Staggerin' Willie

9/20-
Day 163 - Today my ankle hurts like double hell from the bee sting and is swollen like a balloon. But of greater note is the fact that today I turned more switchbacks than I ever before have in a single day of hiking. Using my map I have calculated that we walked 116 switchbacks. Using Squirrelfight's method of calculation, I counted 15 switchbacks in a single mile. If we multiply that by the total mileage of the PCT (about 2600) I estimate that this trail has roughly 39,000 switchbacks total. - Krummholtz

Day 163 - The clouds and fog in this landscape, like naughty clothing, can make the views even more exciting by concealing as much as it reveals. Here on the west side of Glacier Peak, most of our views have been through fingers of cloud. Pockets of clear between fog-filled valleys and mist-shrouded peaks, ghost-like wisps slowly rising through temperate rainforests of cedar and fir. What the day has lacked in comfort, it has certainly made up in splendor. - Staggerin' Willie

9/21-
Day 164 - Took our first side trip in WA today. A couple miles off the PCT down to Kennedy Creek Hot Springs. The spring was nice and we had it to ourselves. Unfortunately, the water was about 95 degrees, cooler than our bodies, so while it was a nice, warm bath, we could not stay in too long. The pool itself was nearly six feet deep and had orange water. It was a little strange getting in and not knowing how far down it went. A nice stop in our hot spring tour, but not one we would come back to again. - Squirrelfight

Day 164 - Ever since the Canadian border, Krumholz has been packing a clarinet. Now some of you, knowing how weight-conscious most hikers are, might ask "why would someone carry such a heavy, non-essential item?" Well, this is no ordinary clarinet. It's actually a magical "clarinet-o-plenty." When Krumholz plays music, food comes out the end - the quality of the food depends on how well he plays. By playing different styles of music, he provides different types of food; for example, when he plays Klezmer, Matzo ball soup and gefilte fish come pouring out the end of the clarinet. We're trying to get him to learn some Mexican tunes so he can play us up some burritos and tequila. - Staggerin' Willie

9/22-
Day 165 - September 22. Either yesterday or today is the first day of Autumn. Last night we had our first frost. Today is a beautiful, crisp, clear, view-filled day. We've had great views of Glacier Peak all day and now, from up here on Red Pass, we can see Mt. Ranier for the first time. What a view. If the weather were bad on this exposed section of trail, the hiking would be treacherous. How lucky we are. - Squirrelfight

Day 165 - It got cold a couple days ago and all the blueberries froze and turned to foul tasting mush. It's a damn shame, after gorging ourselves silly on so many berries, to see all of them sitting on the bush, so pleasing to the eye and so nasty to the taste. Woe. - Staggerin' Willie

9/23-
Day 166 - Well, we've been waiting and wagering where "the pack" is and today we found 'em. It started with a long expected reunion with Llama at our morning camp and ended 6.4 miles and 28 hikers later, camped on a ridgetop with Iron John and Bluefoot. Bluefoot is one of the few trail gourmets out here and is particularly fond of our potlucks, so I was particularly happy to camp with him. The morning reunion slowly grew to a party of 12 including old pals Drew, Sundance, and Tapeworm. After 4 hours of hanging out around a fire we hiked a startling half mile before seeing Pretzel, Stitch, and H. So we again dropped packs and spent four hours chatting while an endless stream of hikers dropped through. By4 PM we realized we wouldn't be hiking our 15 miles today. - Krummholtz

Day 166 (AM) - Feelin' pretty dumb this morning. I awoke to sub-freezing temperatures and decided to heat up my breakfast Grapenuts. Still in my sleeping bag, I set up my stove, grought breakfast to a boil, and started eating over the still burning alcohol flame. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself until I smelled a foul, smoky odor and realized that my beard was on fire!I escaped without serious injury, but my poor facial pelt, never that majestic to begin with, is now all curled and charred. - Staggerin' Willie

Day 166 (PM) - What an awesome day! On Saturday, September 23, the Menacing Vegetables (heading south) met "the Lounge" (heading north), and there was loafing of epic proportions. Today we encountered over two dozen thru-hikers (many of our dearly missed friends), didn't leave camp till noon, hiked less than seven miles, relaxed shamelessly, and finished the day by potlucking with fellow gourmet hiker, Bluefoot, on a warm, clear, view-filled day. Hooray for life! - Staggerin' Willie

9/24-
Day 167 - Did our first twenty mile day today in , well, lets just say more than a month. We hadn't planned on doing any twenties this week, but yesterday got a taste of our own menacing. After having met two to four people a day since Canada, yesterday we met the entire "pack" of nearly 30 Thru-hikers planning to finish around October 1st. We knew nearly all of these people and were only able to hike six miles the whole day because of this. Before we left camp a group of eight good friends slowly filed in and we did not end up starting our day until noon. The next group of friends was only half a mile up the trail and after a few hours with them, a twenty mile day became unavoidable. We reached the very end of the pack at a beautiful sunset and sunrise crest. John and Blue foot spent the night with us around a small campfire. It was fitting that Bluefoot should be the first Thru-hiker to potluck with us since our return to the trail as we have potlucked with him more than any other hiker. It really was a perfect day. - Squirrelfight

Day 167 - Lessons learned today: 1) Too much refined sugar can actually have psychedelic effects. 2) When the only other option is running out of food in the wilderness, even the Menacing Vegetables will hike a 21 mile day. - Staggerin' Willie

9/25-
Day 168 - Squirrelfight and I have just arrived at Highway 2/Steven's Pass. It is the first road in Washington that we've needed to hitch hike to town and things are looking bleak. Krummy and Willie have already been trying for an hour. We will have to wait for them to get a ride before we can start. If we're still here in 2 hours a trail angel named Bob Norton should be passing by. A week in review: - Left Stehekin 7 days ago with extra heavy packs on account of the wonderful baked goods we packed out. It was well worth the extra weight to eat brownies. mmm. - Saw about 15 adorable marmots. - Ran into about 2 thru-hikers a day until day 5 when we saw 25. That was a great day of long relaxed breaks. We only managed to get in 6 miles. Which means the next day we had to act like real thru-hikers and bust out 20 miles. Haven't done that since the day after Rachel's B-day. - The hiking and camping has been glorious as usual. Washington is such an incredible state to walk through. Still no ride. I guess there's no love at Steven's Pass. - Pickle : )

As we've been hiking south these weeks we have had a lot of fun seeing thru-hikers who we met months ago. We have also been encountering many hikers who we have not met, who passed us during one of our off-trail stints. With these folks we have been passing as non-vegetables to find out what kind of stories are being told about this notorious group. "What can you tell us about these Menacing Vegetables who we've heard so much about?" This is what the rumor mill has produced:
- There is a pack of women trying to catch up with the Vegetables.
- Jonny is dead.
- They have never hiked thirty miles in a day and are averaging less than ten miles each day.
- They don't exist.
- The have cannibalistic tendencies.
- They have skipped sections of trail.
- These are the people who started Burning Man.
- Squirrelfight also writes "Dear Abby."
- They carry cast iron.
- Krummholz wears a beard wig.
- Staggerin' Willie is fathering a string of illegitimate children along the PCT.
- Pickle has bionic parts.
- They are actually fruits, not vegetables.
- Squirrelfight will complete the trail this year.
- They are a disgrace.
- They are undercover narcotics agents.
- Staggerin' Willie will be in the ballot in at least 45 states this November.
- They hiked naked even after naked hiking day.
- They got off at Sonora Pass.
- They are campaigning for Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke.
- Pickle doesn't like pickles.

- Squirrelfight

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