Klapatche and Aurora
We woke up today to low clouds, the gorgeous rocks above the river now obscured from view. Leaving camp at 6:15am, we made our way over the bridge and started the long climb up out of the valley. We had been told by the ranger station that this section would be dry, so I carried more water than normal. However, the trail had multiple small streams of water flowing down across it, so I could have carried less.
There were glimpses of the peaks around the Puyallup Glacier as the sun tried to poke through, and when I arrived at the meadows of Klapatche, there was a nice sun break with which to eat breakfast. The flowers were past their prime, but I could tell it could be a bee’s paradise when the timing was right.
After eating, I followed the trail down to the campsites. I saw the dry outline of where Aurora Lake should be and I had a brief view of the mountain and Tokaloo before the fog rolled back in.
The trail climbed back out of Klapatche Park and over to St. Andrews Lake and Park, which was socked in. With every uphill, I peeled off my jacket, but with every decline I had to put it back on with the moisture in the air and accompanying wind. At the ridge before beginning the descent down in to South Puyallup River, I ran into another hiker, Eric, who was sitting on a camp chair and reading from his Paperwhite (which he assured me was very light). He was hoping that with a long enough stay, the clouds would break so he could enjoy the views that were normally here.
He was hiking with a friend and they had added a day before ending in Longmire, so he only had to make it to the next camp 2.5 miles away. We ended up chatting for more than 30 minutes, talking gear and such before I continued down. Standing still had left me chilled, so I layered up again and put my gloves on until I reached the camps at South Puyallup.
South Puyallup
I crossed the generous bridge here and wandered up the trail a little further to a spot with a view of the river rolling down from the Tahoma Glacier above to sit and eat an early lunch. I could see several groups of campers packing up from the campsites below, most heading up towards Klapatche.
With the clouds still settled in, I made my way up the trail again around Emerald Ridge and over towards the Tahoma Bridge. Although I did not have majestic views of the mountain and skies, the evidence of volcanic activity and glacial drainage, along with storm damage, was impressive. The rock flows were multi-colored and massive. Many portions of the trail have slid off to the river valleys below, and new trail detours go precariously along the edge.
The trail follows up what could have been a moraine before dropping down again into the basin below the South Tahoma Glacier. Here, it looks like the gods took a giant rake and carved down from the glacier creating rough ridges and valleys. The trail makes its way through the rocks and boulders below Glacier Island and comes out where the Tahoma Bridge is suspended on a turn far above the river.
Tahoma Bridge
Having learned on the Carbon River Bridge that I would need both hands for crossing, I snapped pictures of what I hoped would be a safe crossing and stepped out onto the swaying planks. Although I have passed several groups of hikers by now, including a dad and young son who excitedly called out how many hikers he had passed so far that morning (I was number 5), I had this moment to myself. How could you not stop here and be in awe of the rawness of it all?
Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground and My First Ranger Encounter
On the other side, the cables attach to a rock face and cement platform, hopefully secure enough to weather whatever may come down from the glacier next. Here the trail heads steeply up again before meandering into Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground. I passed a few more hikers going in both directions, some in pairs and a few solo. A few appear to have been out for a few days, but others have come up from Longmire, which is about 6 miles away now.
As other areas I have passed through, the flowers have gone to seed but the blue skies have returned and the inviting meadows are bright with dew. There is another quaint patrol cabin set back from the trail, but I don’t really see anywhere to sit for a break in the grass, so I continued down the puncheoned and staired trail towards Devils Dream.
My feet are really hurting today, and in an effort to delay taking pain relievers, I put in my headphones and start listening to some motivating music to help me make it to Pyramid Creek. Of course, it wasn’t long before I ran into my first ranger! A volunteer, Phil Herzog, greeted me and asked me if I was day hiking or backpacking. How sweet, he couldn’t tell. I showed him my permit and told him Steve was coming up behind me. Phil was just heading out from Longmire for a few days at the patrol cabin; Steve told me later that he found him relaxing on the front porch in that idyllic location. Sounds like the perfect volunteer job to me.
Devil’s Dream and Pryamid Creek
I stopped briefly at the banks of Squaw Lake before entering the forest again to Devils Dream. Based on the description in Tami Asar’s book, I avoided this camp but due to the lack of water this year, the bugs were not in attendance. The camp is large, most of the sites are right on the trail, but there is an outhouse and the most amazing dry canyon next to the camp. It was easy to imagine the echoes of the water as it must have once made its way down the walls of carved rock before emptying out into the creek that crosses the trail below the camp. There was almost a sort of sadness at its absence as I went over the now gratuitous bridge there.
From there it was 2 more miles into Pyramid Creek and I arrived at 5pm after a 16 mile day. I had passed a few more groups of freshly laundered, eager hikers all in a line and heading to Devils Dream for their first night on the trail. One set joked they were from Florida and they were looking forward to some real climb. Oh, don’t worry, I told them.
Setting up in the small camp at Pyramid Creek, I had a discussion with a fellow hiker about the water source, as the camp itself did not have one. She had come from Longmire and reported it was a 7 minute walk in that direction to water and I reported the slightly milky waters of Pyramid Creek about 3 minutes back my direction. We both opted for the shorter walk.
Even before putting up my tent, I found a nice log and propped my feet up and ate dinner. My ankles have started to swell a bit today, and I used the Pyramid Creek to soak them when getting water. My knees, however, have not and I have been trying to use the braces I have for them as little as possible. On my Oregon trip, I used them the entire time and began to develop unfamiliar pains in my legs that made me wonder if it was worth it to use the braces. On this trip, I am trying to use them exclusively on the downhill and the pain had not returned so far.
With Longmire just 3.5 miles away, I assess the food that I have left and decide that I have done well in the amount that I have brought. After polishing off the last of my treats and leaving 2 bars for starting out in the morning, I will have just a one dinner left when I arrive at the visitor’s center tomorrow. Not bad.
Dumping Weight and Bedtime Reading
After setting up my tent and making my way out to find the camp’s toilet, I came back to see my fellow hiker attempting to take down a stuff sack hung next to mine on the bear pole. I had accidentally hung mine on the same rung and it was blocking what I thought was hers. However, the story took a turn toward interesting as she explained it wasn’t her sack, it was one abandoned here by a previous camper. When they had arrived before me and saw that there was a sack hung but no one in camp, they had explored what was in the bag but then hung it back up in case someone returned for it.
I helped get my bag off, and we made guesses at why someone might have left it behind. It was clearly a stuff sack for a larger REI tent and inside were items such as a teapot, scrubbie, apple and the latest copies of Audubon Society magazines with the address labels torn off. My guess is that they were dumping weight and who’s to say if they intended to come back for it or not at the end of their journey around the mountain. Either way, we each borrowed a magazine to read back at camp and hung the bag back up on the pole.
Steve rolled into camp at 8pm after a meandering day of pictures and taking it easy on his sore ankle, ready to fall into his tent. He was surprised to see me sitting there reading a magazine (Lord knows I wouldn’t normally carry that weight) and I shared the story with him. He shared his meeting with the ranger and that he got some good pictures of him sitting at the cabin and hoped to send them to him. We both agreed we were headed to breakfast in the morning but there was no need to get up too early because it was a short day in mileage, so we plotted to hike out whatever time we leisurely woke up.
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