Day 14 ZERO
I woke up to frigid 40 degree air and fog. Cruise checked the radar and rain was coming. Last night was the worst night of sleep I’d had in a while. Lights came on at 11pm and stayed on all night. There was no way I was putting in miles today. So. I packed up my stuff and stood out in the light rain for a hitch. Not much traffic going east but I got lucky and the pickup that stopped was going close to Seattle.
Traffic was nuts but after some time and an Uber I was at the promised land, REI. Replaced my pack with a new one of the same model, a bigger sleeping pad, and a new butt pad. I envied after a lot of gear on the shelves.
Spent the evening with my family.
Day 15 188.5 - 195.9
In the morning, I caught a Greyhound bus back up to Skykomish but the bus driver was kind enough to drop me off at the pass.
Grabbed a breakfast burrito before heading up the mountain. At the top it was pretty cold. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice so I didn’t feel like going too far and ended up at Mig Lake around 3:30. Other hikers started Othertrickling in until there were tents popping up all around the small lake. Rain made everyone retreat into their tents pretty early.
Day 16 195.9 - 214.8
I woke up to rain tapping on my tent and didn't want to get up. I took a peak outside and saw that almost no one was up and I didn’t feel so bad. Eventually, I did have to get up to grab my food bag from a nearby branch and realized that it wasnt raining anymore, the drops falling were from the trees above my site.
Heading out of camp around 10 did feel a little shameful but I got my miles in. The trail had turned into a sludge of twigs, leaves, pine needles, and mud. I didn’t enjoy sliding downhill.
The view from Suprise Gap.
The last box toilet I’ve seen. You shall be remembered fondly.
At mile 203, I took the Suprise Gap alternate trail because it looked fun. The alt went straight up and over this gap and is an abandoned trail. For being abandoned, it was in darn good shape and had a nice view.
Later in the day the skies cleared up an I was treated to beating sun and super saturated blue above. It felt so nice. I had planned on making it down to Deep Lake but the views at Cathedral Pass were good enough to keep me for the night.
Day 17 214.8 - 243.9
I’ve been feeling good these past few days on trail and decided to make today a big one. Two big up hills were all I had to pass over. Getting up for sunrise meant that I was out of camp and hiking early. I did have a hiccup when one of my poles caught a shrub and hut me right in the crotch. Nearly lost my footing.
The lakes that were under the trail today all looked so tempting but I also wanted to avoid them. The mosquitoes are so thick around water at the moment.
Two F-18s were flying around the valleys giving all of the hikers a free air show. They scared the crap out of me at one point when they flew low overhead and I didnt’t hear them until they were on top of me.
The plan was to make it to a small pond a mile further than I went for camp but the views over spectacle lake were so good that I backtracked half a mile to enjoy it.
So I did end up getting the ol' boys (slaps thighs) to put out some big miles today making me proud.
I felt a bit sick like I would vomit if I ate anything so I went without dinner. Big mistake. At 1 am, I woke up as moonlight flooded my tent and I went to sit on a ledge for a while taking a few photos.
Day 18 243.9 - 259.5
Oh man. Sunrise was beautiful but today was terrible. Not eating dinner really bit me in the ass. I felt like I was running on fumes all day and along with the day hikers, trail runners, and rocky/rooty trail it put me in a foul mood. I just wanted to be in town.
I ended up staying at the Washington Alpine Club for $20. The club is a cabin built in 1932 that is generous enough to host hikers for cheap. The cabin was filled with old photos that I would have liked to study if I didn’t feel so bad. Even after a lot of food and drinks I felt dead. Just going up the stairs was exhausting.
Hoping I feel more energetic tomorrow so I can hike out.
