Goat Rocks & a "Tramily"

PCT Part 2 (Washington Southbound)

“Near-o”

Kracker Barrel to pristine views near Elk Pass (Goat rocks day). 20.3 miles hiked.

I woke up to pee twice — once at 1:45 am and again at 6:00 am. I drank Soylent from my tent at about 8:30 pm instead of cooking dinner, which I’m sure is why. I was so full from chips and tater tots and over compensated on the salt, so I didn’t have much appetite to make a camp meal.

My tent was SOAKED inside and out from condensation. So was my pack, shoes, and some of my gear. I decided to break down my tent and carry my stuff from the little “tent town” behind the gas station and go to the parking lot where there was full sun to dry out my things. According to the weather forecast, today was supposed to be one of the hottest days… highs ranging from 97 to 100. Last night when I went to bed, I checked the air quality as there was a fire nearby. It was “very good” with a score of 35. Trout Lake, our next stop, was “excellent.” However, this morning, the winds shifted west and the smoke was visibly blowing in and I could smell it. Our air quality score was 144! Nooooo!!! Trout Lake, only 66 miles south was still excellent. I was feeling antsy to get going because of this. I also knew today was going to be our hardest day (elevation gain, heat, and technical sections with snow and a “knife’s edge” traverse). The air quality worsening made me uncomfortable. My lungs are sensitive and ever since I had my bronchial spasm in the Grand Canyon, I don’t play around with risking lung damage. Pm 2.5 (a major pollutant from wildfires) is not visible and lodges itself into the bloodstream, causing irreversible damage. I wanted OUT!

Red Stripe and Karma wanted to leave late and make today a “near-o” (but still hiking about 20 miles, which is not really a "near-o" but the late departure had that effect). I tried to practice flexibility, but I really didn't want to wait to start in the worst heat, with a huge climb and in worse air quality conditions. But, I was there to hike with and support Red Stripe, so I let it go. I randomly had some important and pressing work texts, calls and emails to attend to, so I was kind of glad for the chance to work a little, but man, it was getting HOT!

Just as we were leaving, Haiku, another thru hiker, wanted to join us. The four of us left the “town stop” at 10 am and headed up for a 6 mile climb. It was HOT. So HOT. My water hose wasn’t working, and I realized the hose was getting pinched. I was able to make a few tweaks without stopping to get water to flow, but it scared me at first bc I thought maybe it was broken and I would not have a solid water system to hydrate me through the heat.

I hiked with Haiku the entire way up and we talked and talked, which helped the miles tick by.

By mile 10, we took a break at a small stream and met Baby Hawk, another Sobo who seemed very out of it. I soaked my buff and shirt in the stream to cool off. It helped some, but it was just so hot and my long sleeve felt hotter than the Mountain Hardwear version I had on the AZT.

We left the water stop and had one mile of normal-ish hiking before another 6.5 miles of STEEP climbing! It was getting  SO HOT! We climbed about 1.5 miles until Karma demanded we take a break in the shade. It was necessary! We regrouped and realized we would stop in about half a mile at a water source and soak our feet and get more water.

Just as we left, we got above tree line and we saw glaciers melting into streams, heard glacial waterfalls and rivers underneath the snow, and the mountain vistas were BREATHTAKING!

We got to the stream, soaked feet, and charged on. It got MUCH steeper and it was the absolute heat of the day. I had a headache from the smoky air, and I was sweating so much in my long sleeve sun hoodie. I was also developing a painful bottom of toe blister that there was nothing I could do for. If I attempted to tape it, I would sweat it right off. I yearned for my injinji 5 finger toe socks or some sock liners or THINNER socks for this heat.

The views, the views, the views! Every moment was pure beauty. And the trail was super cool on the ridge! The knife’s edge was beautiful and unique, full of rocks and features and the company was nice throughout the day. Our little formation of four was a perfect little tramily!

The end of the day was tough and slow going, but we made it to some beautiful camp spots at about 8:00 pm. The sun set around 8:30, and it was dark by 9:00.

Day 4: 33.5 miles to Lewis River (and no tent site …)

On trail by 6:15 am

Omg! What a DAY! This day felt like 5 days. Red Stripe, Haiku, and I banded together to complete a 30 miler in an effort to go in and out of Trout Lake to resupply. Karma didn’t plan to go into town and has enough food to get to Cascade Locks (the next town after Trout Lake). She trailed behind slightly and reconnected w her trail dad, Tom, a 65 year old man she met on day 1. We saw them arrive at the water stop breaks just as we were leaving throughout the day and they ended their day a few miles earlier than we did.

The first 5 miles were GORGEOUS, open, side of mountain walking where you could see the trail for a long ways.

It was smokey in the morning, and Mt. Adams was very hazy. I could smell and taste it so I hiked with my buff covering my nose/mouth.

We stoped at mile 8.4 for a water break. Beautiful waterfalls this morning. We decided we would stop for water at the next good source in about 6-7 miles. We figured this would be a good lunch spot.

There was a lot of downhill and I was in front as I’m pretty fast downhill.

My feet started to ache and I wanted to get there. I saw 6 NoBos in rain gear and mosquito nets, so I put mine on. The mosquitos and biting flies were horrible while hiking! I tried to outpace them and when I got to the stream my first order of business was bug spray and burn incense. The bugs were the worst I’ve ever experienced. Red Stripe got there and set up her tent for our break so we could relax in the safety of a mosquito barrier.

We left the water stop and pressed on. Haiku and I walked together for a big stretch of this part and then he wanted to take a break in a tiny not-so-shady spot. I suggested we look for a shadier spot for a break. We went a little further and heard water! We stopped at the water stop (mile 20) and regrouped.

Leaving this water stop, I started my period. I was poking along and Red Stripe and Haiku passed me.

I put on music and moved my body. Eventually, the Aleve I took kicked in and I started to move at a decent clip.

Mile 26 ish was the next stop. It was a lush spring! I felt so beat rolling in. I soaked my feet, elevated my feet, and snacked.

Leaving the spring, I hit a second wind. We had a 5 mile climb to the next creek and potential end of day camp spot. The grade was the perfect amount of not-steep but up, and I felt like I was gliding along. I hiked quickly up those five miles, arriving in absolute paradise. Mt. Adams surprised us, as we were RIGHT at the base on the north side.

The above tree-line views were stunning. Our creek was the top of a huge waterfall! I soaked my feet and waited for the others.

Karma and Tom called it a day there. Good call. It was so pretty and there were many great camp spots and a rushing water source. We decided to go on another 2.6 miles…

This involved one more climb and a TREACHEROUS River crossing. This crossing was the scariest ever for me. The rushing water went above the Nike symbol on my booty shorts and I could barely lift my leg to take another step when the force of the water was pushing me over. I was scared the water was going to knock me over and send me flying down the mountain in its rapids. The water was so strong and I was just barely heavy enough! It helped that Red Stripe and Haiku were right there on the other side, supporting me and cheering me. I made it, somehow, but my heart was racing. I sat down to put my shoes on and took a little “breather.” The comments on Far Out all recommended crossing this river in the morning to avoid the dangerous flow. Karma later told us she was able to cross in the morning without even getting her feet wet!

0.5 miles more to camp. We got there and people were camping there already… We decided to push on 0.2 more to the next river and “tent site.”We crossed the river (rock hop this time), and there were no tent sites. We made do in a lumpy and slanted area off the trail as it was 8:30 pm already and we had hiked nearly 34 miles.

Set up my tent, cooked beans and rice, and filtered water. The mosquitoes were bad so we ate in our tents. I went to bed at 10 pm.

Day 5 part 1: 12.9 miles to Trout lake from River

Woke up at 4:30 am to pee. My alarm was set for 5:00 am, so I stayed awake and just laid in my sleeping bag. At 5:00 am, I heard Haiku and Red Stripe begin to move and I started my morning pack up routine.

I was out of camp by about 5:35 am and Red Stripe and I shared some morning miles together. The ridge walk was absolutely stunning. At one point we could see all 3 volcanoes, but this time, St. Helen’s was much closer. I felt like I was poking along and “walking,” not “hiking.” My uterus was throwing a tantrum and nothing sounded good besides sleep and warmth. The Lara bars I had didn’t sound appealing. I had drank half of my morning smoothie, and was sipping on water, but not peeing.

Eventually, with about 3.5 miles left to go to the road intersection, I stopped at a spring to take a break. I drank the rest of my smoothie and felt like I could close my eyes and fall asleep.

The break was everything I needed. Leaving that spot I ran down the flowy trail to the road.

We waited forever for a hitch. I napped for 30 mins while the others hung out by the road in case a car came by. Finally, we got a hitch in an and we all chaotically threw our packs and selves in the bed of the pick up truck. Best hitch ever: windy, laughter, and chaos.