Hiking with views of Rainier

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 of Mt. rainier National Park.

It was nice to be up there in the morning because it was another hot day. Even under the trees, where we spent most of the afternoon, it was uncomfortably warm.

At this point, both Richard and I are dealing with sore feet for most of the day. Mine feel fine for the first few miles each day, then an ache sets in that gets slightly worse with each step. I have been listening to audio books to try to distract from the pain, which works pretty well. Richard’s feet are blistering again.

We both had similar issues last summer and thought we’d anticipated the problem this year with better suited footwear. Now I’m starting to think this is just the process our feet must go through on long distance hikes.

Mine will probably ache for another week, then finally resign to what I am asking. Richard’s blisters will harden into callouses and on we will go.

More Rainier from the ridge.
Richard and Rainier.

Ramping up the miles

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 we walked and watched the sky turn from pale to bright blue.

The first part of the day we dropped elevation until we crossed a large creek. Then it was up, up, up to a ridge line that afforded us more views of Rainier.

The alpine vegetation is in full bloom. We constantly pass Indian paintbrush (that is more pink than red), lupine and columbine. Today the lupine were more fragrant than usual, which was especially nice when we passed people on the trail. Both Richard and I smell terrible right now.

As forecasted, the day really warmed up by the time we were climbing and we spent the rest of the day sweating.

There have been lakes aplenty in this area, so bugs are a constant. Flies and mosquitoes are the most prevalent.

Tonight we’re camped at Sheep Lake, which is easily accessed from Chinook Pass. There are many other people here just out for the night. I’m looking forward to heading north and away from the popular spots.

The view on our climb out of the valley.
Mt. Rainier as seen from the top of the ridge.
Our tent at dusk.

Resupply at White Pass

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 in was made lovely by the clear skies and bright sun. We were treated with a full-on view of Mt. Rainier at the top of the only substantial climb.
The hike down to the pass was busy with weekend hikers who all smelled of fresh laundry.
At White Pass, we organized, ate and spent 5.5 hours. Most of our time was spent on logistics for our next adventure (info to come).
It was a warm day and we were happy to spend the heat of it indoors and sitting still.
After finishing up with front country chores, we put in another 6 miles to Beush Lake, where we cooked our most voluminous dinner (Ramen noodles) and made a fire.

Morning light through the trees.
Hiking along the ridge.
Sunset at Buesh Lake.

Goat Rocks Wilderness

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 to the south and east.

We woke up in a fog, but quickly climbed above it to clear blue skies. That was exactly what we were hoping for because we knew the trail would take us way above tree line on an exposed section that could be anywhere from unpleasant to dangerous depending on the degree of poor weather.

We had pretty good weather. So clouds did start to move into the area as we reached the top of the ridge and started down, but brought no precipitation and only a moderate breeze.

While the climb up resulted in heavy breathing and a lot of sweating, the climb down required careful footing. Going both up and down, I was hungry most of the day. Oh, hiker hunger.

It was nice to be down off the piles of slate and cantaloupe-sized rocks that made the trail on the ridge. Those conditions require concentration and reflexive footwork to catch you if you start to stumble.

With sore feet, we made it down. At camp, we made dinner and inhaled it. Tomorrow we resupply and indulge in a fried food lunch.

Richard and Mt. Adams.
Up, up, up into the Goat Rocks Wilderness.
That pile of rocks behind Richard? Yeah. That’s the trail.
Hiking on the Knife’s Edge.

Hiker hunger sets in

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 of uncomfortable hours, but eventually they dried and I slept. It was worth it, I feel, to avoid putting on wet clothes this morning.

When the alarm went off at 6 a.m., I didn’t hear it. Richard said he heard it but also heard the rain on the tent and so decided not to wake me.

We got moving after 7 a.m. and hiking after 8. It stayed cloudy all day, and chilly, too.

We stopped for lunch by a buggy lake and I had to put on all my rain layers against the bugs and chill.

We didn’t finish all our food at lunch and by the time we stopped to make camp 8 miles later, we were grateful for the leftovers.

I also ate wild boar jerky that Richard found for me online (if given the chance, I would eat sugar alone to fuel my hike) and a Snickers bar.

We made a fire to keep off the chill and Richard tried to dry out his socks.

We were in our sleeping bags by 7:30 p.m. and asleep soon after.

A rare slice of sun on a cloudy day.
Richard makes dinner by a lake.
The skies start to clear st the end of the day.

Off and on, rain

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 through it.

While the rain was cold, there was little wind, which was nice. The wind can drive the cold rain into the kinks in your rain gear.

At the beginning, we would stop to layer or delayer as the rain stopped and started. But by midday, it was raining full on and we were hiking heads down dreaming of getting out of our soaking shoes.

We stopped and quickly set up camp by a wide meadow full of blue lupine. Nearby was a twenty-foot waterfall. Most of the afternoon was spent in our tent rewarming.

When the rain stopped, we made dinner and a fire. When the rain started again, we dove for the tent.

Here’s hoping for a drier day tomorrow.

Richard in the rainy burned forest.
Rainy meadow. The shoulder of Mt. Adams is visible just below the cloudline.

Visiting Trout Lake

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 to get hot again this week, so I’m going to enjoy the 60-degree temps while they last.

Today, we walked past some of the largest trees on the PCT since the Sierras in California. (Sorry for a lack of photos; cold hands don’t take focused photos.)

By noon we were at the road crossing where a friendly hitch would take us into Trout Lake, Washington, our food drop, a shower and laundry facilities.

One of our new trail friends, Speedy, wasn’t planning on a trip into Trout Lake, so we were excited when she changed her mind and joined us along the side of the road. Speedy has a lovely perspective on her journey and I enjoy talking with her. She is predominantly calm and happy.

We got picked up by the second truck that drove past (the first driver stopped to apologize that she didn’t have room for us). Trout Lake has a reputation along the trail as being extremely welcoming and hospitable to hikers. My experience confirms that.

We got a ride from two guys who had just spent the weekend hiking themselves. They dropped us off at the General Store in town where we got our mail drop, some provisions, and made a reservation for the night at a nearby bed and breakfast.

Next, we went to the nearest cafe and ate grilled cheese, salads and huckleberry milkshakes. It was delicious.

From there, it was a .2-mile walk to our inn where we showered, started laundry and plopped down in the hot tub.

The rest of the day has been resting and organizing for our return to the trail tomorrow morning.

This is Richard’s impression of me when I wake up in the morning. I’m not a morning person. Editor’s note: This is actually what his hair looked like this morning.

Trail magic!

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 have had them on for a while longer.

After some fairly flat walking through old lava fields, we started to climb. It was warm in the sun, but cool in the shade as the wind picked up and we gained the ridge.

We passed by many lakes and decided to eat lunch by Deer Lake. I soaked my feet as they were aching again. Richard made noodles and we talked with another hiker named Speedy Gonzoles. She started the trail in March and has been plodding north ever since.

My feet felt better after a nearly two-your rest and we put in another 6 miles, spending most of it talking with Speedy.

When we were within a mile of our stopping point we ran into a day hiker we had met the day before and nearly 30 miles south. His name is Mileage Mike and he’s a trail angel with the goal of hiking the equivalent of the circumference of the earth (about 25,000 miles). Yesterday he gave us Oreos which fueled me up the last couple miles of our big climb. And today he gave us some more!!

After saying goodbye to Mike, we hiked just bit further and set up camp quickly. The mosquitoes are out and hungry.

Mt. Adams and I. For this photo Richard said, “Stand so your hat doesn’t block your face.” And so I did.
Hiking as seen through a stump by the side of the trail.
The carnage left by a wasp that ate a bee in our tent.

Big ups and big downs

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 we filled up on water and lamented how much water weighs as we shouldered our packs and continued north.

It was another five miles or so of relative flat as we circled around the base of Bunker Hill.

A few road crossings later and we took a break at Panther Creek, applying sunscreen, eating snacks and resting before a 3,000-foot, 10-mile climb at the heat of the day.

In preparation, I got my headphones out and ready for when I needed motivation and/or distraction.

It wasn’t long before I was cruising along to the musical “Hamilton.”

When the music stopped, and my attention was brought back to the present, I noticed how much my feet were aching.

Blerg! Last year I assumed my foot pain was from the heat of the desert and not-quite-right shoes. I do not have those excuses this time. We are in a lush temperate forest and I did everything right for my shoes. I bought a half-size up and made sure I had the right insoles and socks.

Maybe my feet just need to complain for a few hundred miles before they resign to what I’m asking of them. Oh, well. I have ibuprofen and only 450 miles to my goal. I will push this and eventually it will go away.

While the climb was long and steep, the view from the top was quite a nice reward for the work. Big rolling hills of green pine in front of a snow-capped Mt. Adams.

From there it was just another mile down hill to our campsite where I soaked my feet in cold spring water and spent a while rubbing them. We met a few south bounders while we set up our tent and then ate beans and rice for dinner.

We were in our tent and settled down by 7:30 p.m.

My new sun hat. While the polka dot hat from last year is still around, it has lost its stiffness and doesn’t keep the sun off as well anymore. I hope to wear it again soon.
Among the pines.
Richard and the woods.

First full day back

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 our systems from last summer, we packed up and headed north.

We made good time over our first big climb and things quickly warmed up. It was forecasted to be 90 degrees down in Portland, so it wasn’t as warm at 3,000 feet but we still felt the sun.

Lots of sweating meant lots of water intake. My two liters lasted until a mile before we stopped for a hot lunch. The last water for 10 miles, we filled up our water bladders and cooked the first of the new meals I made this spring.

Last summer, we went with store bought meals that were light on flavor. So, this year I took the store bought meals and used them as a base to build from. I added garlic powder, onion powder, dehydrated vegetables, textured vegetable protein, or dehydrated refried beans to every meal.

This was our first taste of how all that dehydrated stuff would act in practice. It turned out well. Our 1-liter pot held it all and we are with glee for the first half. Then things got tight as our stomachs filled.

That’s a good sign. We haven’t yet developed a hiker-sized hunger, so the fact that we struggled to eat the meal today suggests that it will be an appropriate volume for when we are super hungry.

The last five miles of the day were harder for me. With a full water bladder and a full stomach, I slogged up the last big climb. My feet are a bit sore, but nothing like last year. I just have to trade my biker legs for hiker legs and then we’ll cruise.

Tonight we’re camped closer to 3,000 feet, so I’m hoping for another chilly night so I can snuggle into my down layers and sleep hard.

Back-in-the-woods selfie!
Above the Washington woods.
Dinner time gear explosion!