Here are a couple more entries in my journal from the time in between finishing the section around Mount Hood to returning to Oregon to continue my hike south from Timothy Lake where I stopped and hiked back to meet Elizabeth. She will be not only helping me by dropping me off but then meeting up with me later in my hike. We were both excited that she could join me this year as her plans to do so last year fell through when her dad passed away shortly before the beginning of my 2013 hike. These entries include hiking (on the PCT even) but they didn’t count towards my Oregon PCT miles.
July 18th
I’m sitting in my car today outside the dentist office where my son is having one of his last appointments at a pediatric dentist and I am thinking about one of the many benefits of hiking. I was sitting in the waiting room, with a woman sitting next to me talking on her cell phone, the receptionist talking with someone in the back room, and an assistant welcoming a sweet looking preschooler in a pink tutu who appeared to be a first time patient and my ability to read the book I had was nil. Out in my car with silence, I appreciated anew how the trail makes it possible to concentrate. One thing at a time.
I went out to karaoke last night with friends and it was so LOUD.
My niece, Claire, went blueberry picking with me. If you haven’t taken a child with you berry picking lately, I highly recommend it for the lesson of stopping to notice the little things.
These past two days have been spent repeating my routine of icing and elevating my legs and they feel better than my return a week ago. I am anxiously following the latest reports on the increasing wildfires that are popping up directing below where I hope to get on the trail in two weeks. We also had to move our annual family camping trip from Winthrop to Concrete because the wildfires there have cut power to the campground (which means no running water and no ice). We don’t exactly rough it for these affairs.
I will have to decide if I am going to use the detours that are being put into effect daily, or switch it up and maybe start from the south and head north. I have two weeks to figure it out…
July 28th
Recap of the past week:
I spent last weekend resting up and packing for our annual family camping trip. I threw in some weeding as well for good measure. Oh, and digging up sod. I’m working on a landscape project in the front yard; the grass has got to go to make room for a different ground cover. I really like the wild strawberry plants and sprouts of short green grasses I see on the trail, I am planning on adding some of that along with the ferns I already have in other parts of the yard.
Sunday, I ended up giving a PCT hiker a ride to Stevens Pass. Thanks to Facebook, he met me at the bus station here in town and I ran him up there. It was fun to hear his PCT journey and help him out. We stopped at the Dinsmore’s so he could drop off borrowed clothes and also gave a ride to two other hikers who just wanted a lift to Skykomish on a mission for ice cream and peanut butter. I made it back home in time to load up my car with the kiddo and head up to Concrete. It felt good to pay back some karma from the hitches I had last year.
Family camping is much different from backpacking. The amount of stuff you cram into the car, the large 6 person tent so you and your son can have plenty of breathing space, the stack of books because your ability to just lounge around multiplies greatly when you are not at home to do chores and the complete lack of regard for how much anything weighs. Almost felt gluttonous. Almost.
True to form, the rain started our second day and the complete deluge that accompanied lightning and thunder appeared on day three. Nothing breaks a dry summer season like our annual family camping trip! It didn’t stop us from driving up to Baker Lake for some inner tubing with my sister’s boat, though, and multiple rounds of minigolf at the KOA. And it didn’t stop the kids from swimming in the pool in the rain. There is also a great bakery/diner in the town of Concrete, 5Bs Bakery that is dedicated gluten free. The cinnamon rolls were divine. Junk food, but divine nonetheless.
We returned by the end of the week so I could work a shift for my second job with the city of Everett. This time it was a health and safety fair at Boeing and what an experience that was. I thought I felt out of place at the gas station in Oregon, Boeing is like visiting another planet. Let alone having to be there at 3:45am in the morning. Let’s just say they have this thing about safety goggles.
My hiker and church friend, Sharon, called me after reading my last journal entry to say she might have just the thing for my water bottle predicament, a cozy she makes that attaches to the strap of your pack. I can’t wait to try it out.
Another thing I’m trying out this week was the P-EZ, female urinal. There was a deal on Groupon so I thought I’d check it out. It has its pros and cons. Con? One more thing to carry/wash. Pro? Pee standing up. I’m undecided on whether it is worth it in general but it sure is handy when you are on top of a mountain, say, and you don’t have much vegetation to crouch behind.
Last Saturday I decided I better get a little hiking in (and reset my clock from the Boeing shift), so I went up HWY 2 to outside of Skykomish to an 18 mile loop up West Cady Ridge to the PCT (mile 2500) and then back down on Pass Creek to my car. I got to cross several snow fields, figure out where the trail took back up, share the trail with a baby bear, ford four streams and venture past some memories on the PCT. Have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE having mustard packets?
You also climb up to Benchmark Mountain which gives you 360 degree views of the area, including Glacier Peak, Baker, and Rainier. I was surprised not to see another person all day because West Cady is a popular trail, but I guess starting out at 6:30am put me ahead of the crowds.
It was gorgeous and just right for a day hike so that on Sunday I could justify the buffet at the Diamond Club at the Mariner’s game with the boyfriend. This was my first time attending the M’s at such a luxurious level; I can see how people could get used to it. Three rows up from the field is the closest I have ever sat at a game and it was such a treat.
This week I also got ready for a 3 day hike with my church gals and then I would head down to Oregon for a few weeks. Looks like there will still be some snow around Goat Rocks and Cispus Pass (where we plan to visit) and the fire detours in Oregon are shrinking. Hopefully I’ll get to stick with my original southbound plan!
July 31st
I headed out this last Thursday for a quick overnighter with the ladies from church, taking time to commune with them once again in nature. I made the mistake of finishing the removal of the sod in the front yard the day before; it really made a difference in the overall soreness of this hiking trip. I repeat: DO NOT DIG UP YOUR LAWN THE DAY BEFORE A HIKE.
Anne and her two friends, Heather and Susie, picked me up just before 9am and we drove down to the Goat Rocks Wilderness area, parking at the Berrypatch trailhead. Although Heather and Susie are hikers, they are just getting into to backpacking and it was fun learning more about them in the car ride down. Susie came all the way from Virginia to hike with us, and Heather hails from Burlington.
The plan was to hike in about 8.5 miles up the Goat Ridge trail, past Goat Lake and Lily Basin and connect with the PCT at Snowgrass Flats where another group of church gals had hiked in the previous day. We were Group B with an average age of 40 years and they were Group A with an average age of 60. The A group included my mom, who I had talked into joining them for her very first backpacking trip! Of course, anyone could have been in either group, but Group A planned to meander and Group B planned to get in some miles. Anne’s group (B) was going to continue on to Cispus Pass the next day and I was going to hike back out with A the same way I had hiked in so I could spend time with the other group as well. It’s easy to forget how long it takes to drive up into those mountains, so we started our hike at 2:30pm on a beautiful sunny afternoon.
The trail took us through forest and views of Mt. St. Helens, through Jordan Basin and up over to Goat lake and Lily Basin with views of Mt. Adams. There were a few snow fields and the lake was just starting to melt. A few tired hikers passed us on their way down, and two gentlemen on horseback (with 2 pack horses in tow) passed us going in. About 3 miles in we were set upon by such a cloud of mosquitos and black flies, the movie would be called, “Let There Be Blood”. Oh wait, that was about oil. How about, “Let There Be Bugs.”
After donning our head nets and an adequate layer of repellant, we continued on up the trail. The climb out of Jordan Basin was a struggle for a few, so we stopped and ate dinner at Goat Lake at 6:15pm. What an expansive view, and the breezes were cooling. We could see the trail continue along the basin, as well as the horses that had passed us slowly moving along it. It was fun to show Susie a marmot (who thought it was just the name of outdoor clothing) and she shared that she hadn’t known that Yakima was a city (not just a line of ski racks). I told her it was a whole Indian tribe and reservation, too.
At 7pm, with renewed strength and 3 miles to camp, we continued on Lily Basin Trail. It wasn’t long before it was clear why the horses had been taking their time. The trail had multiple snow bridges over water spilling down from the lake above, and it was muddy and slick in general. The horses had postholed and even lost a shoe. We made a slow go ourselves and it was soon 8:15 before we made it to the junction. We had passed several campsites and the thought hung over our heads if we should just stop for the day. In fact, as we passed an occupied site, a very nice gentleman came up to tell us they had room for us if we needed to stop. Did we look that desperate?
After much discussion about simply making camp there and meeting our friends in the morning, we slogged up the hill singing camp and church songs for motivation, pulling up to the PCT at 9pm. Not sure exactly where they might be camped, we took a gamble and headed north. We could see a group up on the hill ahead, and 3 hikers eating dinner on the trail overheard us debating if that was them said, “It’s a bunch of women.” Wahoo! We hollered up, “Hello, fellow women!” and they replied back with cheers.
Soon, they were showing us a campsite they had saved for us and helping us set up our tents. Well, 4 of them that is. The rest were huddled in their tents to avoid the bugs (which were not as bad as the swarm we had experienced earlier, thankfully). I made my way over to one of their tents to say hello to my mom, who was relieved to see we had made it. We decided to not put our rainflies on because the weather was good and after briefly talking about tomorrow’s plans, we drifted off to sleep. I was looking forward to waking up in the morning with the sun coming up over Old Snowy and I planned to take a short jaunt up to Packwood Glacier before everyone else arose.
I had the strangest dream. I dreamt that in the middle of the night, a large Girl Scout group moved in and camped amongst us and I had to tell their leader that there was no room and they had more than 12 in their group. Then, a large group of tourists arrived and set up a large PA system with lights, stage and microphone and began to have a party. I wonder if it had to do with my earlier fear that Snowgrass Flats would be overrun with hikers, as it is one of the most (if not the most) popular hiking destinations in Washington State?
I awoke at 4am and after a while, hiked north up the PCT around 5:45am. The group had planned to get up at 7am, so I had time for a short trip to watch the sun come up in one of the most amazing places in our state. There were still quite a few snow fields, but I thought it was not as snowy as when I came through last year. Particularly that the trail was easier to follow and the prints on the snow were more obvious. On the downside, it had to have been 20 degrees warmer than last year and the snow was not as hard as it should have been for the time of day.
Hiking out for about 40 minutes, I made it to where you can see Rainier come out at the end of the Knife’s Edge, just before you head up over Old Snowy. I wanted to just keep going, but it wasn’t to be on this trip. On the way back I passed 3 thru hikers and I tried my hand at glissading a short snow field and it was a lot of fun. I also found an unopened can of tuna fish in a rock wind shelter. I hope this does not become a running theme this summer, hauling out cans from the trail!
Back at camp, we had breakfast all together and plans were made for 3 hiking options that day. I decided to go with the group that included my mom (the shortest trip straight down Snowgrass Trail #96) and I said good bye to Anne and her friends as they got ready to head to Cispus Basin.
Yesterday and today, as we hiked along the trail, the women would take turns asking me about some of the things I carry and do while hiking, hoping to glean some lighter packing tips or more efficient ways of traveling. It brought to mind the idea of backpacking as an evolution. The more you do it, the more you evolve your style. Not necessarily evolve to better than someone else, but better for you. The smaller and lighter your pack, the more efficient you are? Less fear, more confidence? There was a time when I was the one gleaning from these women, it felt good to be able to pass tips along to help them continue their own evolution to be lighter and/or more efficient.
We made it out around 2:30pm, drove to Packwood for cold drinks then on to Enumclaw to eat Thai at Bangkok Thai (which was delicious and reasonably priced) before heading home. After getting back to church in Marysville, Mom and I headed towards our separate homes. I was glad to hear her say she had had a wonderful experience getting to know my “women in the wilderness” and I look forward to more backpacking trips with her in the future!
For the continuation of this journey, visit Snuffy’s 2014 Pacific Crest Trail Journal-Oregon Day 9
To start at the beginning, head over to Snuffy’s 2014 Pacific Crest Trail Journal-Oregon Day 1
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