St. July 16    Miles today: 22.8        Total so far: 1,168         Washington Section I

We woke up to gray skies and 50 degrees, very grateful that it was not raining!  The day’s hike began with more climbing up to another very pretty meadowed area.  (Sounds like I’m getting blase about “pretty meadows.”  No way!  I love these open areas where we can see views and flowers!)  Then it was MORE uphill, right up into the clouds, and we couldn’t see much, which was a bummer because we were supposed to be getting gorgeous closeup views of Mt. Rainier.  Oh well, at least there were lots of flowers right by the trail!

We met “Ruquito” and “Squirrel”, a 64 and 63 year old couple who are also thru-hiking the PCT.  They did the Mexican border to Walker Pass, then went to Canada and were hiking south to Seiad Valley, CA, before going back to the High Sierra and north back to Seiad.  They were a lot of fun to talk to.  We all wondered together, “At our age, are we crazy to be doing this?  Will our poor old 60-plus year old bodies hold up under the strain?”  We found that “R & S” have also discovered we can do similar miles-per-day as the “kids” (20-something year old thru-hikers) by starting VERY early and putting in a very long day.  And both R & S and ourselves are grateful to our VERY patient children who take mom and dad’s handwritten journals and patiently transcribe them for the Internet! 

Shortly after we said goodbye, it DID begin to rain, but only for a couple of hours.  We reached Anderson Lake and got wonderful, delicious Washington water from a creek a little while later.  Then to our great delight, the clouds began to lift, and we could see SCENERY!  And it was awesome scenery!  Our lunch break was at Dewey Lake, on the beach.  Wish I could have gone swimming, but it was still windy and cold, while the sky was swirling with clouds that looked like more rain. 

As we hiked out from the lake, we began to meet crowds of weekend backpackers and dayhikers, since we were only three miles from Highway 410.  Two of those miles were a long uphill, and at the top of  the hill was a viewing area–well worth stopping at!  We could see Dewey Lake WAY down below, and joined a big group of excited Japanese tourists who were also oohing, aahing, and taking pictures! The last mile before the highway was a wildflower “heaven”–just gorgeous.  And at the highway was a fun surprise–the impressive log footbridge over the roadway also doubles as the entrance sign for Mt. Rainier National Park!

The PCT then began a climb up the north side of impressive Chinook Pass, following the footsteps of the gold and silver prospectors who were headed for Sourdough Pass.  At the top we were greeted with blasts of wind and an impressive view of a whole vast valley below.  Coming down through the rocks, we spotted a fat marmot, the first we’ve seen on this trip!  

The rest of the afternoon we spent going up and down to one pass after another–Bear Gap, Blue Bell Pass, and Bullion Pass.  Adding to the fun was we could finally SEE  Mt. Rainier in all its glory!  At sundown, we stopped to camp just short of Scout Pass.  It had been a very tough day hiking-wise, with so much uphill going, but my biggest problem was that my right shoulder REALLY was hurting.  It had been bothering me more and more for several days, but today I could not go for more than 45 minutes or an hour before having to apologetically ask Bill, “Could we stop for a few minutes?  My shoulder really hurts.”  I would take my pack off, wait 10 minutes or so till the pain went away, then go on till I had to stop again because the pain was just too much.  Motrin did  not help at all.  We could have done more miles today if I didn’t have to keep stopping so much.  So added to my “evening prayer list” as the golden light of a beautiful sunset was pouring over our campsite was, “Please, Lord,  show me what to do about my shoulder.”  Went to sleep listening to the wind rustling the branches of the little grove of trees overhead, and trusting that God did indeed have an answer for me.

Friday, July 15    Miles today: 15.9     Total so far: 1,145.2   Washington Section I                              

Today we got to sleep in on a nice soft bed, eat pizza leftovers from last night, then to the motel office for their “continental breakfast” of coffee, juice, melon and pound cake.  Next on the agenda was food supplies from the grocery store, with a walk down Packwood’s main street looking for a mosquito net for Bill’s hat and more lithium batteries for the camera.  No luck on either, but we did see a VERY old hotel, with a banner that read, “Experience history–only $29 a night”.  Wow!  I would love to stay there sometime!  And the views of Mt. Rainier from Packwood are truly beautiful.  Everywhere we walked in town, you could glance up, and there was Rainier,  just “overhead”.   But hiker hunger was calling, and we headed to a restaurant for a THIRD breakfast.  Hobbits have nothing on us! 

Thoroughly stuffed, we loaded up our packs and went out to the road to hitch a ride back to White Pass.  But it was a discouraging business!  Several people wished us well, but were not going to the Pass.  Over an hour later, a van from Adventure Trek  (a group that takes kids on incredible mountainclimbing, kayaking, etc. trips) stopped and asked, “Are you guys PCT thru-hikers?”  When we said yes, they said, “Hop in!”  There was just room for us plus packs to fit in with the young, dedicated group of leaders riding in the van.  They were getting ready for a group of kids due to arrive in a couple of days for the “Pacific Northwest Adventure Trek.”  Talking to them, I could see that they love the outdoors and love kids and are well-trained.  Great combination! 

The Trekkers dropped us off at the PCT and we headed into the woods with 5 days of food.  The trail was very damp, and a lot of work had been done to raise it, drain it, and even surface it “corduroy style” with cut logs.  THANKYOU to whoever did all that work–it is so much better than slogging through a “mud trail”.  We met a number of horses and riders, all very friendly.  One group had 7 or 8 riders total, and 4 happy dogs, which were playing in a lake when we came by.  The riders cheered for us when they found out we were thru-hikers, and said we were the first they’d seen who “weren’t just kids.”  Well, that was pretty encouraging!  The only DIScouraging thing is that because the PCT here is so damp, the horses really do make a mess of it.  Back home in Sonoma county, CA, they close the trails to horses when it’s been raining and wet.  I guess that’s not possible here–it’s always damp.  But damp also means GREEN–and is it ever!  Green grass, green trees, lots of flowers, and lots of  little cute “mosquito-breeder ponds.” 

By the end of the day, we’d met no other hikers–only horsemen.  The sky was clouding up and looking like rain, and the mossies were out in full force to the point that just to eat supper, we had to go into “mosquito mode” with Bill huddled under the net tent, and me in full raingear and headnet.  But before dark, we found a nice dry, flat place to set up our net tent and camp.