Wowee! Goat Rocks today! (Probably one of the most spectacular parts of the PCT.) We started off early, still in semi-darkness, determined to have breakfast at Cispus River, 3.5 miles away. But the PCT  going over Cispus Pass turned out to be a tough uphill with lots of rocks, so we only made it to the top of the pass before we decided, “Food now!” After enjoying breakfast with a view, we headed on down to the Cispus River, then on through steep green meadows, wildflowers, cascades, and alpine gorgeousness, before beginning the big long uphill to Old Snowy Mountain.

It was slow going for us because of the rough trail. Our 70 and 62-year-old feet don’t have much “fat padding” on them anymore! I soon gave up any hope of reaching Highway 12 today and decided to just enjoy the awesomeness around us.

At our midmorning Snickers break, we saw three very large marmot-looking critters on the hillside across the way from us.  It was fun watching them.  Still no luck spotting any mountain GOATS, though, even though we were getting close to Goat Rocks.  We got to our first snowfields on the trail–no problem getting across, even though they were hard and icy.   When we got to the Packwood Glacier,  it was 10:00 am, and Bill as usual, just zipped across.  I followed a lot more cautiously, and at first it was OK–the snow had softened enough to provide decent footing.  But halfway across, it turned to icy, hard and slippery, on a sidehill with a long runout to rocks at the bottom.  I sent my ice axe and Microspikes home long ago, so all I had were my trek poles.  Ack!  Bill was waiting on the other side and when he saw how slowly I was going, trying to chip out steps with the tip of my trek pole, he found a rock with a sharp edge and started using it to chop some steps for me.  Once I reached him, I was able to zip the rest of the way across.  Thank you, Bill!   And even though it was tough going, wow, the views up there were gloriously glorious.  We could even see Mt. St. Helens on the horizon–the side that was blown out by the eruption.  It was very gray and dour-looking.

Just before the famous “Knife Edge”, we discovered that the quick ‘n easy horse trail was completely impassable due to snow, so we had to take the longer, tougher hiker route.  It’s basically a lot of switchbacks up through rough lava boulders and rocks till you get to the top of the ridge.  At the top, we found a couple resting and talked to them for a little while, while trading  off taking pictures of each other.  Turned out they were just doing a short backpacking trip, “During the week,” they said.  “We hate the crowds here on weekends.”  They had stopped for a break because their feet were blistered and their knees were sore (common problems for folks who only backpack occasionally).

We left the couple still resting and headed down more steep, unbelievably rough ‘n rocky switchbacks to the “start” of the Knife Edge.  Actually, it was a relief to be back on dirt trail, even if it was only a few feet wide, with multi-thousand foot drop-offs on both sides, and to add to the fun, a strong, gusty wind blowing. I stood there facing what in 2005 was 1.5 miles of sheer terror for me, since I am/was afraid of heights. Not this time; last summer I went up Mt. Whitney, where there are also big scary drop-offs right by the trail.  Up on Whitney, at first I forced myself through those spots, scared stiff and miserable, but determined to make it through.  (For those of you who could care less about heights, this probably sounds silly, but if you are like me, you understand!)  Coming back down Whitney, I asked God to help me be braver and wow, what a difference!  I still don’t like big drop-offs right next to me, but I am no longer totally terrified.

So this time, I ENJOYED the Knife Edge trail–the views of steep, spectacular snowy mountains, the blue lakes way down below, the green meadows and forests–all there to enjoy, and the blustery wind adding to the experience.   We had a great time up there, and I almost felt regret when we finally were back down  on flatter ground.  Some stunted trees gave us a bit of a break from the wind as we cooked up a lunch made up of odds ‘n ends from our almost empty food bags.  It was a sort of mishmash of  noodles, salami, bacon bits & cheese, very tasty. The noodle cooking water became hot chocolate.  Then it was back to the trail, (dirt, not rocks, hooray!) till at about 3:15 we got to a junction that had us wrassling with map and compass, trying to figure out “Which way for the PCT?”

Finally got it figured out, and from there till about 6:45, it was uphill, sometimes fairly steep, as we climbed to the top of a long ridge, then contoured along its side.  Supper was “Eat everything we have left”.  Finally we reached the top of Hogback Mountain and stopped to soak up the incredible views of Goat Rocks, Mt. Rainier, and the mountains to the north.  Wow!  We decided to go on till 7:15ish so that we’d only have a few miles to go in the morning to reach the highway.  The views on the trail down continued to be lovely–evening light on alpine lakes below us–can’t get much better than that!

At 7:10, we found a really nice campsite in a nook beside the trail, in a grove of trees.  The wind was blowing hard, but we were protected enough that we said, “Cowboy camp tonight– breakfast at the Kracker Barrel tomorrow!

Walk with Aragorn to Minas Tirith: In coastal lowlands near the Gilrain estuary

Tags: Cispus Pass, Cispus River, Goat Rocks, Knife Edge, Kracker Barrel, Mt. Whitney, Old Snowy Mountain, Packwood Glacier