Day 11 (113) Miles: 26.1 Mileage: 2,349.1 The campsite was packed last night with families and crying children. I slept through most of it, though Richard heard some of the wails. We were up and out before most people roused from their tents. The morning was spent high on ridges as we walked north out […]
Day 10 (112) Miles: 24.8 Mileage: 2,323.1 It was another cold night despite the weather forecast that things were supposed to really heat up. We both heard the alarm go off at 6 a.m. and promptly ignored it. We eventually got up and packed and moving by 8 a.m. I ate a pop tart as […]
Day 9 (111) Miles: 16.1, plus half-mile each way to resupply Mileage: 2,298.3 Despite the cool morning we got moving, motivated by the prospect of town and eating. It was a ten-mile hike, with one climb, to White Pass where we picked up the box of food I’d mailed and enjoyed the Internet. The hike […]
Day 8 (110) Miles: 20 Mileage: 2,282.2 Today was, by far, the most beautiful day we have had in Washington. It was also the most rugged and physically challenging. Those tend to go together. We spent the morning climbing up through open tundra meadows overflowing with wild flowers. We had multiple views of Mt. Adams […]
Day 7 (109) Miles: 20.1 Mileage: 2,262.2 It rained all night. We were nice and dry in our tent, but our socks and shoes stayed wet. Oh, well. That’s why we each have at least one extra pair of socks. I decided to sleep with my wet dress and underwear. It made for a couple […]
Day 6 (108) Miles: 15.4 Mileage: 2,241.9 We slept in until 7 a.m., ate breakfast at the inn and caught our ride to town at 9. It started raining in the drive up to the trailhead, but we have the gear to hike in the rain with some semblance of comfort and certainly to sleep […]
Day 5 (107) Miles: 13.9 Mileage: 2,226.4 It was a chillier night and a chillier morning. I started today with my rain layer on as a vapor barrier. I kept it on until the first uphill. Occasionally the sun poked through the clouds but not often. Despite the clouds, I enjoyed the temperatures. It’s supposed […]
Day 4 (106) Miles: 21.6 Mileage: 2,212.5 After a colder-than-chilly night, we woke up in a fog. It took the sun a couple of hours to really start shining. I started the day with my gloves on and even though I took them off after the first 5 miles, it would have been nice to […]
Day 3 (105) Miles: 20.6 Mileage: 2,190.5 We started the morning before 7 a.m. with a big, long downhill to water. The air felt chilly but it didn’t take me long to start sweating, even on the downhill. The morning light trickled through the tall pines and made the forest glow green. At the creek […]
Day 2 (104) Miles: 21.6 Mileage: 2,169.9 It was a lovely chilly night. Not cold, but cool enough to put on a long sleeve layer and slip into my sleeping bag leaving it unzipped. We woke up around 6:30, having fallen asleep around 8:30 p.m. Traveling takes it out of you. Slowly, trying to remember […]