We arrived at Gifford Pinchot National Forest, the home of Mt. St. Helens, on the 29th around 3pm. From the moment we entered the forest there was snow everywhere, a huge contrast to the 80 degree weather we had left a few hours earlier in eastern Washington.
We quickly started packing all of the things we would need to set up our shelter in the woods for a week. At this point, we knew it would be a long hike in, but had no idea exactly how long it really was. Our ignorance was bliss. We condensed our belongings to what fit in a hiking pack (thanks Meli!), a backpack, a small rolling suitcase, and a few items in a bag strapped to a luggage cart. Then we started walking.
After about a mile of walking on the road, we reached the beginning of the actual trail. We thought "thank goodness, we're almost there." Boy, were we mistaken. Before hiking in we asked one of the old timers nearby if he could direct us to a camp that might suit us. He must have pegged us as the devout religious type, as he recommended Bread of Life and Jesus Camp. We proceeded on in to find the Info station, to get their recommendation instead.
The trail was long, windy, muddy (some places ankle deep), and crossed streams and creeks several times along the way. Meanwhile, it seemed to be getting colder and raining harder each minute. Our best guess was that the trail to the info station was at least a (treacherous) mile, maybe more.
Though we weren't sure we'd make it, we finally arrived at the info station (Hallelujah!). Surely, they would point us neophytes in the right direction. But, alas, they were as helpful as the old timer who directed us to seek Jesus. The info station was located along the perimeter of what is referred to as "Main Meadow".
About 1/4 of the way around, we met a really nice guy who offered to help us find a place to set up camp. Our main priority was to be around similar people and to find somewhere with a big campfire. Did I mention how cold it was? With his help, we found an open spot in a camp that didn't have a theme or name, but was near "Crucial Kitchen" and had a nice big campfire. Along our trek one of the pillows had gotten very muddy and we needed a tarp for more rain protection so Jeremiah agreed to hike back to the car while Rebekah set up the tent, bed, etc. Jeremiah underestimated how much time the hike would take and 2 hours later, he arrived back at the tent, pillow and tarp in hand, but soaking wet and freezing to death!
By this point it was around 9:30pm, mostly dark, and even colder. We were both cold and hungry. We both put on some dry(er) clothes and stood by the fire to get warm. A pointless endeavor as it was still raining and we were soon wet again. We asked around and found out that the nearby kitchen was working on some vegan indian curry soup for dinner, which sounded delicious, but was on "Rainbow time", and would probably be ready by midnight. When they called out "HOT FOOD!" we grabbed our bowls and got our warm food, only to realize we'd left our spoons in the car! No worries, though, we had some chips in the tent, which served as adequate devices for getting food into our mouths. We were so hungry, we might've eaten it with our hands!
With our bellies full, and more layers of mostly dry clothes on, we were ready to go to sleep when we heard our neighbor in the tent next to us ask if we were home. We replied and he proceeded to inform us that we had set up our tent in the place that he pees at night, which would likely result in our tent getting peed on at some point during the night. When we tried, very nicely, to ask that he not do that, and try to go elsewhere, his blunt reply was that, due to his bad back (he was maybe 25-30), that's where he would pee, end of story, non-negotiable, then he quickly ducked into his tent. We were livid! Our first instinct, had it not been late, dark, and bone chillingly cold, was to pack up and leave right then. Our better sense convinced us to stay until morning. In the meantime, we unstaked our tent, each picked up one side of it, and with everything still inside, we relocated the whole thing about 10 feet away, out of the "pee zone".
That night was miserable! Our only saving grace was a propane catalytic heater we'd brought, meant for use inside a tent. Periodically throughout the night, we would sit up under the blankets, creating a tent around us, and fire up the heater to get us toasty warm. The bad part was turning it off. We couldn't leave it on, as the top was so hot it might melt the tent if it touched it, or burn one of us. In fact, Rebekah did get quite a burn on her leg from it, but it was worth it to stay warm!
After a long, cold, shivery night, we were up early and proceeded to pack everything up, much of it soaking wet, and get the hell outta there! We found a shortcut to the road, which helped, but it was still a hike of several miles, mostly uphill. We weren't the only ones leaving, either. We talked to several people doing the exact same thing as us, for many of the same reasons.
Once in the car, we made a beeline for Vancouver, with a stop in Bellingham, WA to enjoy a warm, dry room at Motel 6 and do all of our laundry that was wet and/or muddy.
Had we not suffered through our Rainbow experience we might have wondered if we should have gone. Now we know. I'm sure the weather got better after a few days and maybe the sun came out but with mother nature AND the nasty people we encountered, it was not meant to be and we probably won't try it again. I know from talking to others about Rainbow that the people we meant aren't the norm, but it is a place that seems to attract people who are escaping society, many of whom are vagrants or drug/alcohol addicts, or just plain assholes. There are the "family" folks who are all about peace, love, and happiness. Unfortunately we didn't find those people while we were there.
Vancouver was amazing, but we'll save that for the next entry. Stay tuned...
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