Solo hiker traverses the Pacific Northwest national trail

While hiking hundreds or thousands of miles, particularly all alone, is no small feat — between the weather, the physical exertion and the mental and emotional discipline — hiking little-traveled routes adds still more challenges.

Kelley Wiley Lane learned that firsthand this summer when she hiked the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, which meanders for 1,200 miles from the Continental Divide in Montana to the Pacific Ocean.

While most hikers go from east to west, Wiley Lane started July 3, 2014 on the Pacific Coast because there was still too much snow at Glacier National Park. She hiked down the Washington coast, through Olympic National Park, and walked along the perimeter of the Shell oil refinery en route to the Pasayten Wilderness. She arrived in the Pasayten in mid-July, just as the Carlton Complex Fire was raging.

From high in the mountains, Wiley Lane saw a blanket of smoke but had no access to information until she found a trail-closure sign near Slate Peak. She got a ride to Winthrop, where she planned her next steps — literally. With the uncertainty posed by the fire, Wiley Lane decided to head to the eastern end of the trail in Montana and start hiking back the other way. She finished her hike at Slate Peak on Oct. 4.

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