Day: September 25, 2016

The rain finally let up today as the weatherman promised, and I made it to the lodge on time to get my package and ran into the trail angel Legend again.  I met him in Seiad Valley a month back and never expected to see him again.
I woke up around 5:30 and went through my usual music routine before donning ice cold wet clothes and socks.  The temperature was not actually that cold, but it was damp and the dampness makes everything seem colder.  I got packed up and on trail just before 7:00 and even though it was not raining, everything as soaking wet so from the waist down, it might as well have been raining.

There were four or five thousand foot climbs for the day, and the first came a few hours into the hike.  Another hiker passed me on the way up, and when we got to the pass, the sun was shining, so it was time for a break to dry things out, mainly feet.  It was 11:00 when I stopped.

I found a rock to sit on and took my shoes and socks off to let them dry and put my flip flops on to let my feet dry.  The bandaids on both feet had come off, so I wanted to dry my feet well and put fresh bandaids on and cover the right one with a layer of duct tape to help keep it in place.  I also put dry socks on, knowing they would be wet in less than a minute, but they would help the shoes dry out faster.  There was still a little dew on a few bushes, but my main goal was get my feet as dry as possible as soon as possible.

I ate a mini lunch while drying and was off again around 11:30.  I didn’t want to take too many breaks since I needed to get to the lodge at Stevens pass by 4:30 if possible in order to get my package before the lodge closed.  But I also had to take every opportunity to try and doctor my feet, since they are the most important part of my body to take care of.

Most of the climbs were not too steep, but some of them had some steep sections.  We were basically bouncing across canyons like in the Sierras, but the canyons were smaller and shorter.  There were all of lakes in this area, and the blueberry and huckleberry bushes are still full of fruit here.  I stopped once to pick a handful.  I have decided that I like blueberries better than huckleberries.

I stopped by a lake just before 2 PM to eat official lunch.  I mixed a black bean soup with a ramen noodle without seasoning to try something new and it was OK.  Probably not a future staple.  I also took my shoes off to let them dry and check the duct tape.  It was still painful, but the tape was still in place at least.

From that point on, I pretty much had to do 3 mph to be able to make the lodge by 4:30.  I still had two climbs in there, so that would be hard to do.  I still had some coffee left, so I downed it and that perked me up a little.

I ended either passing or getting passed by several hikers the last few miles into town.  Everyone had town fever at that point and just wanted to get into town as quickly as possible.  I ended up rolling in right at 4:35, and headed straight for the office.  I got my package, took my shoes and socks off, donned my flip flops and headed straight upstairs to the restaurant.  Two good local beers, a cheeseburger with fries and a salad later and I was satisfied.

It was cold outside and the bartender said it was fine to bring packs inside to divvy up the resupply boxes, so I dragged everything upstairs and started loading.  When you look at a box full of food, it seems like so much, but it’s amazing how fast you can actually eat it.   Had a bag of Skittles as well as Peanut M&M’s in this box, which is too much candy, so I immediately started in on the M&M’s.  

I needed to get rid of some things, so I squeezed a big dollop of honey into the coffee water bottle, out a coffee in it, and asked the bartender if he would put some soda water in there.  It fizzed quite a bit, but morning will tell if I have invented something wonderful or horrible.  I also ditched the ghee.  It makes everything taste so fantastic and at the cold temperatures we have had lately, it’s not messy.  but it’s bulky and heavy and I don’t use it every night, so at this point it’s a luxury and did not make the cut.  So I now have six days of food which should take me all the way to Mazama, my last stop.  I was hoping to stop at Stehekin to load up on one day of food exclusively from the bakery, but it looks like I have plenty and won’t need to stop there at all.  Bummer.

As I was almost ready to leave, I ran into Legend, who had fed us spaghetti and pancakes the night before Seiad Valley.  He was camped here in an RV and offered an invitation.  I had planned on hiking out four miles or so and camping, but an RV is almost like camping, right?  I accepted his offer and another couple did as well.

The four of us went to his RV and he made spaghetti and Cocoa and we talked quite a bit about lots of topics.  Legend was commenting that several of the facilities available to hikers were trashed this year and may not be available or next year.  The same thing has happened on the AT over the years.  One of his observations is that the hikers don’t police themselves like they used to, so bad behavior grows faster than it used to.  He could be right.

So at least I have a warm.dry.place to sleep tonight.  the forecast for the next week is for very little chance of rain.  I need a few dry days in a row to heal my feet.  I have already heard rain falling on the RV roof three times while blogging, so I’m not sure I trust the Washington weatherman.  But I sure could use some dry weather.

I was expecting it to rain today, but I would hoping it would break in the afternoon.  No such luck.  It has rained all day long, even while cooking dinner.  But I did get to see a small.blue patch about 5 PM while I was getting rained on while filtering water.
I got up just after 5:30 and listened to music for a while before stirring and getting ready.  I was on the trail at 7 am and none of the other hikers had even stirred yet.  I never saw them all day.  When I set off, it was not yet raining, but it was foggy and dewey.  I had my rain jacket on, but not rain pants.  There was plenty of moisture on the plants, so my pants and shoes got wet pretty quick.

Within an hour, it started to actually rain.  I found a thick pine tree that was dry underneath and out my rain pants on.  I made sure my phone was secure and dry and kept on going.  Every time I thought the rain was letting up and I could out my umbrella away, it would start raining again.

There was a.big climb up to a pass before lake Ivanhoe then a steep descent to reconnect with the PCT.  I always feel more comfortable when I’m back on the official trail.  It feels like home.

The rest of the trail in the morning and afternoon were more climbs up to high ridges, then descending to the next valley.  It feels.a little like the Sierra but the grades are much better and there are no giant steps to navigate.  There were quite a few stream crossings, too.  All of them could be traversed on either rocks or logs.

I wanted to get as far as I could today without going past dark.  I want tomorrow to be an easy day into town.  I also wanted to have enough daylight to set up and cook since I was soaked.  I found a campsite that looked like I could get there right at 7 PM, so that would have to do.  I ended up getting there right at 7:05.

When I got there, three other tents were already set up.  I found a suitable hammock site just outside the campsite and immediately went to setting up camp.  Instead of getting the hammock completely ready before cooking dinner, I got only the pad set up, then changed my shirt and got into the down jacket.  I took my shoes off, but left my pants and socks on.  

I sat in the hammock and cooked while sitting comfortably.  I liked this arrangement instead of going to find a log to sit on or sitting on the ground under the hammock.  And it was a good day for testing this out, because the rain came again while I was cooking.  I think I’ll cook this way from now on.

When I finally.got my.socks off, I discovered that both blister bandages had come completely off in the wetness.  No wonder my right foot was giving me so much pain.  I think I’ll.do just bandaids tomorrow because I am running low on blister bandages.  I’ll put those on once I can have a dry day and dry feet so they will have time to adhere to my feet well before the next rain soaks them again.  We’re supposed to have a few warm and dry days, but I’m not holding my breath.

While in town, I learned of an alternative trail that supposedly had less elevation change, was shorter than the PCT by nearly ten miles, and went right by a cascading hot springs.  That sounds like an easy decision, right?  Well, I ended up taking it, and I’m not sure it was the right choice.
I woke up at a leisurely 6:30 and packed up and headed for breakfast at the inn.  Three eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and French toast later and I was ready to hike.  I had a few things to drop in the hiker box on the way out and I was on trail by 8:30.  

The PCT left the I-90 corridor immediately, but the alternate started out as a mile and a half of road walk to a trailhead.  The parking area was full of cars, and the trail had quite a few hikers on it already this morning.  The trail started climbing steps immediately, then leveled off a bit before climbing some serious switchbacks.  I’m not sure how many feet the trail climbed, but it was well over 1000 ft.

Once at the top of the ridge, I could see snow lake on the other side which is the picture in the header.  It was pretty dramatic.  The trail wound around the east side then began climbing another ridge.  The trail was pretty rocky and a little overgrown in places.  The grade was quite steep in a few spots, too.  I kept forgetting that I was not on the PCT and their pack animal grades don’t apply here.

After crossing that small ridge, the trail began a descent that seemed to go on forever.  It was endless switchbacks back and forth over the same talus field for over an hour.  I was starting to get hungry and the trail and slope was so steep there wasn’t really any place to stop and cook.  I ended up going all the way to the bottom of the canyon before finding a suitable place to stop at about 1 PM.

I made some Harmony House soup that I found in a hiker box.  I have never had their soups before, so I was anxious to try it.  Well, it was not so hot.  And I have a few more of them coming in future boxes.  This one was beefish soup with mushrooms.  The predominant taste was carrot.  It was edible, but I won’t eat this one again.

I got rolling again, and the trail started climbing a creek bed.  It was probably an hour before coming to the hot springs area.  A sign said to check in with the caretaker first.  They charge $20 to camp and $15 for day use.  And apparently you have to lay $15 to just go and look.  Phooey, I just kept on hiking right by it.

The trail was now climbing up the Snoqualmie river.  The majority of the rest of the trail is following this river up to the mountains back to the PCT.  Some sections were quite steep and seemed to climb way higher than the river, but the river would always catch up.  There were a series of campsites coming up just before dark, so I decided to camp at whatever one I hit between 6:30 and 7:00.  And apparently that was number three.

Some weekend hikers had just gotten there and started setting up camp.  I found a spot for my hammock across the trail from them.  Three more PCT hikers came and one asked to put his tent next to theirs.  They wanted to cook there and long story short, the weekend hikers packed up and moved along.

I had hiked with two of the three hikers in the past.  One near Kennedy Meadows North and the other near Mt Shasta.  They had seen my name in the registers get further and further ahead and wondered how we saw each other again, so I had to tell them about being off trail for a week.  I saw two more in the hotel that I had not seen since Lake Britton and had the same explanation for them.  It seems like about half of the hikers I meet I have met before and passed before getting off trail.  It’s neat seeing these people again.  They all recognize me even though my clothes are different and my beard is shaved and I have a different hat.

There is about seven miles of this alternate trail left before I rejoin the PCT again.  The mile marker in the title is not truly where I am, I just did some math with what I have left on the alternate subtracted from where I rejoin the PCT.  I also did not do 28 miles today.  It was closer to 19, which seems short for the day but the hiking was a bit tougher than I had expected and I didn’t start until 8:30.  I hope I am able to keep relatively close to my schedule since I have purchased a flight home already.