Since Hwy 410 at Chinook Pass was closed because of the fires, I skipped that road's intersection with the PCT, and made plans to go to the next one further north on I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass. I relocated to Ellensburg to be somewhat closer. But the air was no better. Unlike White Pass, the smoke never cleared up when driving up the interstate to the pass. Once there, the ski slopes were hiding in the smoke, whereas in sunshine it should have been glorious. Hiking in the smoke didn't seem like a good idea, so I gave up for the day and went back to Ellensburg. It's a big disappointment because hiking north from the pass, there is a spectacular section of the PCT, named Kendall Katwalk which I won't get to see. In addition road works (unrelated to the fires) made the hour trip into a 2 hour ordeal.
Sunsets were unusually red in Ellensburg, but that did not quite compensate for the air quality.
There was one more possible crossing of the PCT with Hwy 2 at Stevens Pass, but discouraged with the air quality, and not wanting to wait additional nights in a motel, I decided to end this trip and go home. The next morning I drove south and it was only south of Bend that I started seeing my shadow again, although you could see a plume of smoke in the direction of Crater Lake. My last night on the road was in Weed.
This year was not good for attempting the PCT. As I write this in early October, the Norse fire is still burning away, and keeps a good chunk of the PCT closed. Several other sections in both Washington and Oregon are still closed due to wild fires. I was also not as prepared as I thought I was. We will see what next year brings.