August 18, 2016

Lake Sally Ann (mile 2491.1) to Bushcamp (mile 2516.9)

Miles: 25.8

Our total miles: 2110.6

Andy woke up with a startle at 2:22am. He smelled something funny. He yanked out his earplugs and grabbed his headlight looking around the tent for a creature.

He saw nothing.

The smell was probably one or both of us farting in our sleep. Ha! 

A diet of primarily dehydrated food and bars lends itself to lots of gas. 

He went back to sleep laughing.

Today we managed to get going at 5:15. After a water and bathroom run we stepped onto the trail at 6:30am. 

We watched the sun poke over the horizon as we stretched. We hope that even 5 minutes of stretching will help our bodies.

It was already hot when we hit the trail. There was no wind and we could smell smoke. We had no reception and didn’t see any signs of a fire so we kept walking.

We walked up and down many rolling green hills. The climbs were short and relatively gentle. The sun was hot and intense but it nicely lit up the surrounding green mountains.

We walked through grassy slopes with corn lilies and white wildflowers. The views continued to get better and better as the morning progressed.

It looked and felt like we were walking through the Swiss Alps. All we were missing were the cow bells and the voice of Julie Andrews singing. 

We saw a lot of people today. Similar to the Goat Rocks, this area is a destination. Near White Pass we gazed down on a little tent city. People set up basecamps and explored from there. Someday we may be two of those people. This area is absolutely spectacular in good weather. 

We walked through hillsides of lupine and paintbrush until we got to Red Pass.

Here we stopped for a snack and shoes off break before a long 3200 foot descent. The 270 degrees views were amazing, but the flies, not so much.

Some guy we passed in southern Washington asked if we knew the secret to Washington. We both shrugged.

“Just keep walking.” 

We weren’t sure what he meant but now we do. The biting flies are almost as bothersome as the mozzies. But nothing has been as bad as what we experienced in Oregon. So we are still happy!

We crossed over Red Pass and dropped into a beautiful basin. We meandered down the alpine tundra taking in the views.

We continued to drop down into the trees, crossing a number of creeks – some with logs, some with rocks and others with bridges. The trail just kept going down. Both of our knees were sore when we finally bottomed out at Kennedy Creek.

We crossed a raging glacier melt river on a broken bridge. Andy remembered seeing pictures of said bridge in blogs over the years. It was a fun challenge for both of us. 

We made it across easily and climbed and climbed and climbed.

The trail initially went straight up – so steep in fact that our calves burned. It eventually mellowed out. Just in time too because Andy’s Achilles were beginning to burn.

We climbed switchbacks and wound our way around hillsides. We walked up Kennedy Ridge, a 4 foot wide spine with major drop offs on either side into deep canyons and rivers. Thankfully there were trees and other types of foliage around us so the drop off wasn’t as obvious or scary.

Around 6 o’clock we reached the top of the climb. We took a short break and enjoyed our daily chunk of cheese with fantastic views of Glacier Peak.

From here we descended down to Fire Creek. The trail lead us through swamps. Stagnant water lay on either side of the trail and we carefully stepped to avoid getting wet shoes. 

But the mud was unavoidable.

When we reached Fire Creek three people were already set up. We chatted with them and went back and forth trying to decide whether to push to Mica Lake, go partway there, or stay.

Mica Lake was only 3 miles away but by this time it was 7:15pm. We prefer to get to camp sometime between 7 or 8. This allows us time to eat, digest and get ready for bed before 9. If we get to camp later we stay up later, energized by food.

Guthook (one of the apps that gives info about the trail) mentioned a tentsite 0.8 miles up the hill. We decided to shoot for that.

But we couldn’t find anything flat that slightly resembled a tentsite.

So we kept walking. 

Andy’s left knee had been sore all day and was making him grouchy. He was tired and willing to keep going but was tired. He later said “that was the first I felt like the trail might break me. This section is really kicking my ass!”

Many thru hikers talk about pushing themselves past exhaustion. We have never done this and don’t plan to. We are here to enjoy ourselves.

For Andy, this evening had moments of pain and lack of enjoyment. But once we got to a saddle his pain dissipated as he was distracted by views. Glacier Peak shone in the evening light.

We walked on, stopping periodically to soak in the views.

The trail took us out of the trees and we walked along a ridge staring at the mountains around us. This may have been our favorite evening on the trail. 

We found a flat spot which probably used to house snow or at least was a drainage route. But given the clear skies and warm temperatures, we were not concerned about getting wet.

We set up our tent and enjoyed dinner sitting on the nearby rocks. The rocks were warm, almost like sitting in a car with a seat warmer, and felt good against the increasingly cool and windy air.

Laurie was giddy. She ran around taking photos and oohing and aweing. We are not sure if this sudden burst of energy was from excitement or a sugar high from the sour jelly bellies she ate while hiking uphill.

We watched as the sun dove behind the horizon. The golden blanket of light faded off the mountains behind us but the orange and pink sky remained.

The fire that we smelled yesterday is more obvious tonight. We can see the smoke coming from the east. It is very unfortunate but makes for a more dramatic sunset.

We fell asleep to the whapping of the wind against our tent.

Tonight we are grateful for stunning panoramic views and campsites not listed on any maps.

August 17, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 2464.1) to Lake Sally Ann (mile 2491.1)

Miles: 27

Our total miles: 2084.8

Hiker fatigue has set in. Andy deflated his air pad and promptly fell back asleep on the cold ground. Now both of us have trouble getting going in the morning.

While packing up we shared a bag of 18 Rabbits granola to both lighten our load and lift our spirits. 

We were hiking by 7 into the already warm morning air. Sunlight turned the tops of the trees a golden color. We hiked past many streams, slowly gaining elevation.

Andy’s knee has been bothering him for the last few days. Laurie thinks it comes from tight IT bands and the fact that we have totally neglected to stretch. 

Laurie took the tent poles to slightly lighten his pack in hopes that it would lessen his knee pain. The agreement was that she would carry them up the hills and he down the hills.

As we started hiking Laurie experienced a weird pain in her right hip and thigh. With a little stretching this too improved, but Andy took back the poles.

Our bodies have held up amazingly well but things are starting to hurt. Upon standing up we initially limp as our bodies work through the stiffness that immediately sets in upon ceasing to move. 

The trail took us up and down all day. In total we gained 7300 feet and lost 5700 feet over 27 miles. Every climb was rewarded with magnificent views of Glacier Peak and the North Cascades. We stared at green mountains and meadows as we walked. This part of Washington is truly spectacular in good weather. 

Around 4 pm we got water from a small creek. Laurie was feeling sluggish and pulled out some Swedish fish in hopes of a boost of energy from the sugar. 

Unfortunately the opposite happened and she felt even slower. It was 9 more miles to our ideal campsite at Lake Sally Ann. But we had other options if we didn’t want to push as hard. 

We agreed not to make a plan and see how far we could get by 7 pm.

At 6 pm we were at the creek and 4.4 miles from the lake. We were a little hesitant to make that our goal given our previous experience with lack of camping and popularity of lakes as destinations. 

However the mileage was right on target so we decided to take our chances.

We climbed 1600 feet over those 4.4 miles. Laurie sang “the ants go marching 1 by 1 hoorah…” over and over in her head. The rhythm of her trekking poles matched the beat of the song. 

As we neared the lake we stopped in awe of the alpen glow on the distant peaks. The sky turned a light pink and the distant green meadows looked to be carpeted in grass. 

While settling into camp around 5 or 6 pm is nice, hiking during the golden hour is quite a treat, especially when up high along ridges.

We walked the last few tenths of a mile smiling. Today was physically exhausting but the views made it all worthwhile. We were proud of ourselves for covering so many miles despite the steep terrain. We walked more today than we did for most of Oregon which had a lot less elevation gain and loss.

Rolling into camp around 8 pm made Laurie feel like a “real” thru hiker. Andy doesn’t care about things like that. He is just happy to be out here in good weather.

Lucky for us there was only one other couple at the lake and we found a great spot near some trees.

We ate dinner and mapped out potential tentsites for the next 4 days. We plan to be in Stehekin on Sunday and want to maximize our time – both along the pretty stretches of trail and in town.

Tonight we are grateful for plentiful campsites next to a lake and for blue skies in Washington.

August 16, 2016

Glacier Lake (mile 2447.7) to bushcamp (mile 2464.1)

Miles: 16.4

Our total miles: 2057.8

You can probably guess what happened this morning, but we will tell you anyway. Laurie turned off the alarm and kept sleeping. Andy sleeps with ear plugs and was dead to the world. When Andy shook Laurie awake at 5:45 he didn’t even bother asking if the alarm had gone off.

Andy started packing up while Laurie slowly opened her eyes. We packed up our things while chatting with Janet – our tentsite neighbor, until we left. 

We climbed the steep use trail back to the PCT and were heading north again around 6:45am.

The trail meandered through large boulder fields and soft forests. We crossed some streams and began to climb steeply up toward an unnamed pass.

The switchbacks were tight and narrow, partially occluded by overgrown bushes. It was hard to imagine horses negotiating those turns. Overgrown bushes hid rocks and roots, leading both of us to stumble over them on numerous occasions.

We crested the top of the climb drenched in sweat and gazed down at Trap Lake. It would have been amazing to have a zip line down into the cool waters of the turquoise lake.

We hiked down, using our poles to support the majority of the weight of each step. The trail was a deep rut, somewhat like what we assume the AT looks like. At least from the description we’ve heard from other hikers. 

The trail crossed some nice meadows and we walked past a few lakes before climbing again. Small bushes filled with purple berries lined the trail. Laurie stopped to pick and sample. 

These looked and tasted like the blueberries she was used to. But after so many hikers telling us different things, we don’t know what is a huckleberry and what is a blueberry. Really though, it doesn’t matter – they are both delicious and so far haven’t killed us 🙂

We hiked up and down about 500 feet two more times before topping out at the top of a ski lift at Stevens Pass. 

We stopped to make some phone calls before walking down to the ski resort.

Andy chatted with a 90 something year old man who was out hiking and “altitude training” for his marathon the following week. He mentioned he usually wins his age group and recently does better than the 80 year olds as well. It makes both of us happy to see people still out enjoying nature late in their lives.

The hike down to Stevens Pass wasn’t spectacular or wilderness-like at all. Construction and highway noise made it feel like an urban hike. 

And since we were in an urban environment Laurie chatted on the phone most of the way down. 

When we finally reached Stevens Pass Laurie called her godmother while Andy picked up our boxes. 

We then started all our town chores- charging electronics, throwing away grabage, creating a tentative plan for the next section to determine how much food to bring, and eating.

For us, food is not usually the first thing we do in town. We call our family, shower and then go about filling our stomachs.

Sometimes this doesn’t end well because we get hangry but this afternoon we were ok.

We ordered sandwiches and asked for as many veggies as possible. Laurie had never eaten a sandwich with olives but today it tasted delicious.

We chatted with other hikers as we attempted to sort our food. Laurie tried to give away trail mix but everyone politely declined. 

Three road cyclists came through and gladly took some of our extra food. They were amazed when we told them where we had come from and they asked to take a picture with us. 

We donated a lot of food to the hiker box, more than we ever had. So much in fact that another hiker thought our donation pile was the hiker box. We tried really hard to have variety in each box but after 5 months, things become a lot less palatable.

Laurie did laundry in the bathroom. She was happy to find soap, although using the automatic dispenser was a bit tedious. 

Just before the lodge closed Laurie had a big cup of ice cream. She is getting tired of our trail food and always seems to look forward to ice cream in town. 

Ice cream and a fuzzy beverage.

At 4:30 the lodge closed and we continued to charge outside. We edited, added pictures and uploaded our blog posts. We had originally hoped to hike out around 5 pm but didn’t actually leave until a little after 7 pm.

We crossed over the pedestrian bridge over the highway at Stevens Pass and walked past a construction site to the trail head. The first mile was flat. It was like walking on a paved path. It was wide in some sections, then narrow because of overgrown brush but flat!

We enjoyed feeling our legs move themselves effortlessly.

Since we left so late and were in the trees it got dark around 8 pm. We hadn’t made it as far as we would have liked but so be it. We found a tentsite between 2 creeks and set up camp. 

We will sleep well on the soft earth to the sound of running water.

Tonight we are grateful for easy access to outlets and soap in bathrooms.