Pacific Crest Trail - Von Mexiko nach Kanada, zu Fuss

Montag, den 20. August
August 20th Clare, Tom, and I were up and on the road by 4:45am. We arrived at the trailhead at White Pass at about 7am, bid farewell to Clare, and hit the trail. We entered into the William O. Douglas Wilderness and had a smooth day of trekking.
The trail in the morning stayed fairly level and followed through open forests with a multitude of lakes along the way. We enjoyed some homemade banana bread that Maggie had so kindly given to us yesterday and continued on. We stopped at a small creek to filter some water and there was bright green algae all over the rocks that followed the flow of the water as it passed by. It was a lovely sight, especially with the sun sparkling off of the water.
The trail climbed to 5690ft and followed open ridgelines with a cloudy view of Mount Rainier which looked massive at only 12 miles away from us. The skies continued to cloud over and dinner at Anderson Lake was brief and chilly. Just a few miles after Anderson Lake on a ridge about 50ft above us we saw our first mountain goat of the trip. He looked amazingly strong and I'm sure I saw him shake his head as he watched us stumble and trip over rocks on the path as he stood precariously balanced on the rocks above us.
We trekked on to a small tarn just before Chinook Pass and found a cozy little place to set up camp (including the tarp due to the looming dark clouds). We trekked approximately 28 miles for the day and hunkered down in our bags under our tarp for a chilly and possibly stormy night.

Dienstag, den 21. August
August 21st we awoke at about 6am to a chilly but dry morning. We had no rain over night, although the sky continued to be grey and cloudy. We hit the trail by 6:30am and crossed Chinook Pass at 5432ft. The trail stayed up high in the subalpine and followed along a high open ridgeline for most of the day which offerred great views. It crossed into Norse Peak Wilderness and we passed by Crystal Mountain with glimpses of Mount Rainier in behind, although most of it was hidden by cloud. We could see back to the Goat Rocks mountains and could even see Mount Adams in the distance.

The clouds continued to loom above us as the afternoon passed. We stopped to filter water at a small spring just past Big Crow Basin. We looked up onto the trail and saw a hiker booking along and as he came closer, we recognized him as Doug (trailname Skywalker), another thru hiker. We had met Doug at Castella weeks ago and it was great to see him again. He had heard that there was a storm moving in in the afternoon and so he was hightailing it on to Camp Urich which was a small shelter along the trail about 13 miles ahead. We joined him and we all motored along to Camp Urich. We arrived at about 4:30pm at the shelter and the storm had not yet arrived, so we cooked dinner and did some more socializing. Doug decided to hunker down in the shelter while Tom and I decided to continue on (although the skies continued to look threatening, we had arranged to meet Maggie at Snoqualmie Pass at 1:30pm the day after tomorrow, so we had some more miles to put behind us for the day).
We trekked on to a small spring and set up camp, punching in at 28 miles for the day. We set up the tarp and just as we crawled into our sleeping bags, the rain began to fall. We couldn't believe our luck in timing and fell asleep cozy and dry as the rain spattered off of the tarp.

Mittwoch, den 22. August
August 22nd we awoke at about 6am to a wet misty morning. Our tarp worked its magic and we stayed dry all night, but unfortunately we couldn't hide under the tarp all day (although we did entertain the thought!). We donned our ponchoes and ventured out into the wet world.
The morning trek took us along some ridgelines with rumoured views of clearcut sections on the surrounding mountains, but the mist was dense enough that we had views of mist and that was about the extent of it. Eventually the trail led into old forested sections with alot of undergrowth that got our legs and already-wet-feet drenched. We decided to detour onto an alternate route that followed a logging road for about 10 miles and then connected onto another more travelled trail. We concluded that we would still get soaked by the rain, but at least we wouldn't have to walk through the wet underbrush that overgrew onto the Pacific Crest Trail.
We began the alternate route from Tacoma Pass which connected up to the Iron Horse State Park Trail, an old railway bed that had been converted into a trail. By 5pm, we had approximately 10 miles to go to reach Snoqualmie Pass which was where Maggie was to meet us tomorrow. We decided to book it on in, and we reached Snoqualmie Pass at about 9pm. We dashed into a local pub connected with the hotel at the pass and sipped on Bailey's and hot chocolate while the rain monsooned down outside. Steve came to rescue us and we went back to the Raider's house to shower and collapse into a cozy, comfortable, sheltered bed.
We trekked about 32 miles for the day and our ponchoes did a great job of keeping us dry. Although it was a completely exhausting and soaking wet day, we were glad that we decided to trek on to Snoqualmie Pass rather than spend another night and half of a day in the rain.

Donnerstag, den 23. August
August 23rd and we managed to crawl out of bed by 9:30am ... ahhh, the indulgences of layover days! Maggie whipped up some yummy eggs and english muffins, and I think Tom and I finished off a whole package of them. We topped off the feast with some fruit and cereal and then did some laundry, lounging, and playing with Joe and Gwen (Tom's nephew and niece).
We all piled into the family van and headed to REI in Redmond to get my trekking poles replaced. I had somehow managed to bend one of them over the last few weeks -- I suppose it was my brute strength and power that did the damage! I'll have to be more gentle with my new pair of poles. We piled out of the van at Burger King and enjoyed some fast food, then headed back to the Raiders' house for some backpack rearranging, finishing off with laundry, and getting ready for the Seattle Mariners baseball game (hey, we have to take full advantage of being in the big city on a layover day you know!).
Maggie dropped Joe, Tom, and I off at Safeco Stadium where we met Steve. We sat and enjoyed watching the Mariners play the Detroit Tigers, taking a 5 - 1 victory. It was great to people watch as well as sit and take in the game ... it was quite a switch from trudging along the trail in the rain with our backpacks full of smelly clothes and days worth of trailmix, energy bars, and Lipton's Noodles and Sauce dinners!
We headed back to Tom's place and did some lounging with beer in one hand and popcorn in the other. Rich, a friend of Tom's, stopped by and it was good to see him again and visit with him for a bit. Ed also got home later in the evening and was very polite about our stenchy belongings strewn about his clean and tidy apartment. We crashed at about 11pm in a comfy bed with the relaxing knowledge that we would not be hiking tomorrow. Rather, we would be enjoying another full layover day in Seattle with only 11 days of hiking left on the agenda. Yep, the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight!

Freitag, den 24. August
August 24th we leisurely got out of bed by about 7:30am. We had some bagels, yogurt, and fruit for breakfast and spent some time cleaning the packs and doing the regular layover day tasks. We had the opportunity to flip through the paper as well as do some channel surfing which was mindlessly enjoyable.
At about noon, Barb, a friend of Tom's, came and picked us up and we all went out for lunch and a deliciously expensive yummy coffee. It was good to see Barb -- she had alot of entertaining stories and it was a fun visit. We got dropped off at the apartment and did some more puttering about and a little bit more channel surfing and magazine page flipping.
At about 5pm, Mark, Tom's older brother, arrived and we drove over to the Raiders' for pizza, beer, and the Seattle Mariners vs. Cleveland Indians game which, of course, the Mariners won. I darned some socks with the hopes that they will last me to the end of the trip and Tom performed some surgery on my shoes with some all-purpose duct tape. We watched the movie "Thirteen Days" which was about the Cuban missile crisis. Between the Mariners' game and the movie, it was pretty much an "American theme" evening.
We jumped into our comfy bed at the Raiders' by about 11:30pm for a good, sound night's sleep.

Samstag, den 25. August
August 25th we were up and out the door by about 6:15am with Steve as our designated driver back up to the trailhead at Snoqualmie Pass. We bid farewell to Steve and began our trek at about 7am, entering into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The sky was clear and the sun was shining, but the temperature was cool enough to make for a comfortable day of walking, and the day was full of spectacular views. For the most part of the day the trail was either climbing or descending and the walking terrain was rough with alot of loose rocks and shale to tromp over.
The trail began with a climb of about 3030ft to reach an elevation of 5930ft, which took us up to high, open ridgelines with great views of craggy, jagged granitic mountains with patches of snow and numerous deep blue lakes scattered about below us. As well, we had magnificent views of Mount Rainier for most of the morning and we could even see the peak of Mount Adams to the south and Glacier Peak to the north.
We fine dined on some homemade zucchini bread that Maggie had so kindly baked for us and had live entertainment throughout the day by the local pikas and marmots. The pikas look very much like large mice and they make a "peep, peep" sound, whereas the marmots make a shrilling loud whistle sound. The pikas are more pleasant to listen to, but the marmots are much more entertaining to watch. There were also tiny frogs along the trail, hopping about haphazardly and randomly boinking their heads on objects. I would put money on the fact that those dumb frogs must go through several concussions per year. Regardless, they were still incredibly cute little creatures.
We went through a very difficult few hours in the afternoon when Tom discovered that he had left his Leatherman Micra behind. It was one of those multi-gadgets/tools that he treasured dearly and he continually mentioned how fantastic of a little device it was (only occassionally would I be permitted to use it). It was a tragic loss, but Tom did eventually recover and reach the "acceptance" phase of his grieving process.
We trekked about 27 miles for the day and set up camp on a small semi-flat patch of ground alongside the trail as it switchbacked up the mountainside. We had a great view of the mountains across from us as nighttime approached and the half moon created mountain and tree silouettes against the night sky as the darkness settled in.

Sonntag, den 26. August
August 26th we awoke to a beautiful sunrise on the snow capped mountains across from us. We were on the trail by 7am and began by climbing up about 1000ft to 5600ft elevation. We entered into a subalpine area with distant views of Mount Rainier and Mount Adams. We ate breakfast with a view of Stuart Mountain in front of us beyond the closer forested mountains and deep valleys. We descended to Waptus River at 3020ft, a beautiful crystal clear river, where we decided to enjoy some delectible trailmix and with a side of water.
We continued on, once again gaining elevation, through a forested section leading up to Deep Lake where we indulged in a freeze dried dinner-in-a-bag of teriyaki turkey with noodles and snow peas. We thought that we had invested in some gourmet meals for the trail, but we actually discovered that they weren't that impressive. As a matter of fact, as crazy as it sounds, we preferred the Lipton's Noodles and Sauce dinners with dehydrated veggies which are about one fifth of the price -- go figure! Deep Lake was gorgeous and it was surrounded by huge, craggy granitic mountain peaks. We had a quick rinse off in the lake after dinner and then continued on our merry way.
We once again climbed, this time to Cathedral Pass at 5610ft, and enjoyed some more incredible views. We then made our final descent for the day to our camp site beside a small creek at 4400ft. One thing we have discovered about the Pacific Crest Trail in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness is that there is no such thing as flat and the wilderness is much more rugged than we had experienced up to this point -- the trail goes either up or down and the walking terrain is littered with rocks which makes it hard on the feet.
We arrived at our camp site at about 8:30pm and we had to pull out our flashlights for the last 15 minutes of the trek since the light offerred by the bright half moon was blocked out by the tall trees of the forest. The evening was calm, the temperature was comfortably cool, and we settled down to sleep with no difficulty.