Thurs. July 21      Miles today: 24.9     Total so far: 1,264.3     Washington Section J

Well, we had more excitement last night than we planned on!  We were all warm and comfortable and I was almost asleep when Bill sat up all freaked out.  “Monty, we’re WET!”  Apparently, some fog that we’d seen blow by for a few minutes through the Gap had “bedewed” us quite well.  So we got up in our longjohns and set up the tarp, a bit of a challenge in the wind which was blowing.  Back to bed we went, and I fell asleep again, but at 3:30 am I woke up to what seemed like daylight (other hikers I talked to later said they thought it was a spotlight shining on them!)–but it was the MOON!  I squiggled deep into my sleeping bag to avoid the glare, and as a result, missed the REAL daylight and we overslept a bit.  But the same wind that made it hard to rig the tarp had also dried out our sleeping bags, and there had been no nighttime marmot raids on our food, so we were in great shape.

Our first long traverse over to Chikamin Pass gave us some great views of what we called “The Twin Towers.”  We stopped for breakfast at a pretty lake view, partway to the Pass.  The mosquitoes were determined to have breakfast, too–annoying!  A bit later, and we’d reached the top of Chikamin Pass and now it was time for a 6 mile, multi-thousand foot descent into Delate Meadows Valley.  The trail did get rough and rocky, but we were well-compensated by the GREAT views!  We stopped at Delate Creek to get water, rest our sore feet, and splash ourselves well with cold creek water–it was a hot day!

At lunchtime, we stopped to cook at Lemah Creek, and were busy eating and slapping at the many flies, when along came four section hikers, who sat down to talk awhile. They had spent several summers doing the PCT a bit at a time, and had only 350 miles to go before they finished the whole trail!  And all of them were aged 55 and up.  Go, geezers!  Finally they headed off, southbound, and we headed north to begin the 2,200 foot climb out of the valley.  Across the way, we could see roaring cascades of melted snow water coming down the mountainsides.  You could hear the roar for a couple of miles.  We could have used some of that cold water!  The PCT guidebook for this section advised hikers NOT to do what we were doing–climb Escondido Ridge on a hot afternoon, but as thru-hikers, we had no choice.  Up we climbed, in temperatures that included 80 degrees in the shade.  Climbing in heat is really tough on me, but the many wildflowers along the trail cheered us on!

Near the top of the climb there was a small lake, and I said to Bill, “Hey, let’s stop a second and splash ourselves and get a drink.”  Bill agreed, so we set down our packs and I headed straight for the lakeshore, where I splashed my face and myself.  It felt so good!  When I turned to pick up my pack and get going again, though, I was horrified.  Bill had opened up his pack, got out his bathing suit, and was putting it on, to go swimming.  “Bill, we don’t have time to stop and swim!” I protested, but he just growled at me and dived in and started swimming around.  So I sat down and slapped at mosquitoes and waited and waited and fumed.  I was worried about how long it was taking us to do the PCT, and getting mileage-obsessed.   I have learned since then (and so has Bill) that on a hot day, there is no need to open your pack and rummage out a bathing suit.  Just take off your watch and shoes & socks, and jump in for a swim, clothes and all.  It only takes a minute, and nylon hiking clothes dry very fast on a warm day.  But we didn’t know that, and when Bill finally finished his swim, he got out, dried himself, and got dressed again. 

It didn’t take long after that to reach the top, and just as we did, a jet went roaring overhead.  We’ve been hearing and sometimes seeing these military jets several times a day.  I always cheer for them.  As the saying goes, “We are the land of the free because of the brave.”  From the top, we could see our next hiking “project”–several miles of wandering around up high, followed by a 4.8 mile, 2,200 foot descent into the Waptus Lake Valley.  But the trail was so overgrown with bracken and thimbleberries, we could not see our feet as we pushed ahead, and several times I tripped and almost fell over rocks I could not see underfoot.  The grade of the trail was so gentle that it took FOREVER to switchback down into the valley.  Bill and I both agreed that it reminded us of the seemingly endless descent of the PCT at San Gorgonio Pass in southern California.  And we tried not to be grumpy, which was hard because it was growing late and we were really tired from the heat and the climbing. 

Finally we got to the bottom and camped at Dutch Miller trail junction. We were out of water, very thirsty and very hot, and even though it was 8:30 pm and the sun was almost down, it was still 80 degrees.  Fortunately, there is a river not far from the junction, so Bill set up camp while I took the Platypuses and ran off to get water.  After a good drink, we just plain collapsed into our sleeping bags, totally tired out.   Again, had I known then what I know now, I would have done a bit of a “swim” before bed, knowing that my clothes would be dry before morning.

Wed. July 20      Miles today: 11.3       Total so far: 1,239.4          Begin Washington Section J

I got up early and did some writing before breakfast at the Pancake House, which in my opinion has the BEST coffee I have ever tried, and then helped Bill with his writing.  At 9:45, I was at the Chevron waiting to see if our box was there…the cheery mail-lady arrived…and hurray, there it was under the table in her post office closet!  Whew, and thankyou to the Lord!  I ran back to the Summit Inn with the box, because time was running out–we had to be out of our room by 11:00.  As fast as I could, I sorted and packed the food and supplies that were in the box, and the motel maid was already knocking at the door before I finished.  She had begun her cleaning work as I stuffed the last items into our packs.

Before hitting the trail, we went to the store for one last ice cream.  We are learning now–when in town, do everything you can to reduce your calorie deficit, and that way you have a lot more energy for the trail!  And what a wonderful trail it was!  Remembering how awful the trail was getting INTO Snoqualmie, I’d expected more of the same going OUT.  But no–the “out” trail was smooth, wide and well cared for.  About a mile or so up, we began to notice FRESH trail improvements, and then voila–a whole volunteer trail crew eating lunch.  They were nearly all old retired folks like us.  We had to dodge around a big hole they had dug to remove a large rock.  We thanked them VERY fervently for what they were doing!

The trail took us up and up into the Commonwealth Valley–not a commonwealth of different nations, but of different MOUNTAINS.  The valley is ringed with very distinctive peaks, from gray, pointed, ziggurat-ish Mt. Guye, to colorful Red Mountain.  An older Sobo we met was very helpful.  He told us which creek up ahead was good to get water at, and also his experiences on the PCT alternate route. He was right about the creek–excellent water there!

As the trail climbed higher, we could see Interstate 90 far below in Snoqualmie Pass, and near the top of our 2,400 feet of elevation gain, we had awesome views of the mountains ahead.  Our pace was really slow, however–Bill’s foot really hurt from plantar fasciitis, AND we were carrying over 7 days worth of food, which made our packs really heavy.  But finally,  there was the top–a narrow gap with a “whole different world” on the other side.  Beautiful!  But the trail down was scary for me, with a BIG dropoff on one side–but only one side, so it wasn’t as bad as Goat Rocks. 

Finally we reached the first of the Alpine Lakes for which this wilderness is named, and needless to say, we met a lot of dayhikers on this clear, warm afternoon.  We were so high now (5,500 feet) that we could see Mt. Rainier sort of floating on the horizon, above beautiful wildflower meadows.  The mountain valleys here are huge and deep.  We reached more lakes, each in its own mountain setting, and by 5:30, the trail had brought us to a pretty saddle where we ate supper-with-a-view.  This is one of my favorite things about being on the PCT–being able to sit down and rest and eat, with a fantastic view of mountains or lakes or whatever!

Climbing on, we reached almost 6,000 feet at Needle Sight Gap, where we set up camp on the grass below the Gap, with a beautiful evening view of Mt. Rainier, to pretty to block by setting up our tarp.  Wild goat fur was lying in tufts here and there; I picked some up to look at it, and found it was very soft.  Marmots were all around us, discussing us (I think!) in loud, squeaky voices.  We looked at our bulging food bags.  There was not a tree in sight where we could hang them out of marmot reach, so we tucked the bags right next to our sleeping bags.  Then we spent a bit of time wrassling with the camera–it’s been saying “battery depleted” when the batteries are new.  We keep nursing it along–there are TONS of photo-ops up here!  The scenery we’ve had today is amongst the best we’ve had so far on the PCT, and we are very grateful to the Lord for helping us get this far!