Re: TR: Washington PCT with Enhancements 6/22-8/8 2019
Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 2:58 pm
WD: Those are some shivery photos... Did you do a lot of winter camping/climbing? I read some of the ski touring posts in other parts of the HST Forum, and it sure seems interesting but I have no experience. I love cross-country skiing, but making camp at the end of the day seems a formidable undertaking.
Lumbergh21: I know where you are coming from -- this hike is part of my great Leave of Absence & Walkabout 2019. I gave up my teaching job for half of this academic year and started the delicate negotiations with my beloved spouse a year or so before I started. I didn't hike the southernmost 80 miles in Washington, but I can highly recommend the rest with the exception of the section between Snoqualmie Pass and Chinook Pass (more on that later). Good luck with your decision.
The Other Tom: You're welcome. I get so much from this forum, so I am happy to contribute when I can.
more...
Stehekin to Snoqualmie Pass
July 10-21
This section of the PCT passes through two glorious wilderness areas: Glacier Peak Wilderness and Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Each of them is worthy of deeper exploration than passing through on the main trail, and I hope to do just that some day because I really wasn’t able to see much due to the weather on this visit. My best views of Glacier Peak, for example, came on days when I was 20+ miles away. My spirits reached their nadir during this period, and I seriously considered stopping and heading home. But I knew, I just knew, that if I did so the weather would clear and taunt me mercilessly from half a continent away. So I got wet and stayed wet…
July 10: Checked out of the lodge very early and walked the two miles to the Bakery for its “soft open” at 7 AM — a chance to sit around drinking coffee while chatting with some local folks and not having to rush through as part of the conga line that forms when the shuttle arrives for its fifteen minute layover. When the baked goods became available shortly before 8 AM, I inhaled a sticky roll the size of a salad plate. Went back for a cheese danish with berries. Left with a turkey & swiss sandwich and numerous mayo packets. All calorie rich and not nearly enough by my reckoning. But it was Real Food and quite welcome. By 9 AM the shuttle-full of us was hiking along Agnes Creek, gradually sorting ourselves out. I lagged to gather a few huckleberries along the way and because I was carrying eleven days of food in a bear canister… Several tributary streams had log footbridges, but we had to fend for ourselves crossing Agnes Creek itself about twelve miles in. I walked across a high log about four feet above the water. That seemed like a good idea at the time until my legs started trembling with the tension and the weight halfway across — I get the willies thinking about it now. It started raining in the early afternoon and continued through the evening. Camped southeast of Bannock Mountain at 4300’. 2 miles to the Bakery plus 15 miles through the woods.
July 11: Wrung my shirt out as best I could and started my day. Decided to stay high on Miner’s Ridge just west of Suiattle Pass to visit Image Lake and get some views of Glacier Peak. Met Russ, a retired NPS ranger, who volunteers as caretaker of the fire lookout tower (No. 4250 in case you are lookout-spotter) on Miner’s Ridge and of the sensitive areas around Image Lake. There is some very nice non-standard signage around the lake and Lady Camp, the stock camp nearby, that I am sure is Russ’s doing. We had a nice long talk about all sorts of things including the trail conditions along Agnes Creek as they pertain to stock since he was planning a trip with his wife and her new horses. Then it was the small matter of a 3400’ descent to the Suiattle River — oh, my knees — who thought hauling sixteen pounds of food (again) was a good idea? Idiot. 18 miles.
July 12: Before starting out, a college-age woman I had met a bunch of times over the past few days asked me to keep her location secret from a certain trail-bro who had been giving her unwanted attention on trail and in camp. She had lost track of her own “tramily” some time ago and was hiking solo while she tried to reconnect. I cannot imagine what enduring those episodes must be like, and I was sorry she had to deal with him. Mum’s the word, and I am off to climb 3700’ onto the suitably named Vista Ridge of Glacier Peak with good views of Miner’s Ridge and some of the glaciers up higher on the slopes. Skies cleared a bit on the 2700’ steep, brushy descent to Milk Creek where I met up with some other familiar faces. We hadn’t seen flat ground in a while and weren’t likely to in the near future, so I suggested we all just pitch our tents on the rather new, wide bridge across the creek. (It seems the crossing has been relocated downstream about 350’ vertically from the old, more direct route — probably good safety or annual bridge repair reasons for that.) In the end, we all trudged up another 2000’ over 3.5 miles to Mica Lake, which was still partially frozen over. I ended up camping right next to the trail-bro, and, yeah, he was a dick. 20 miles.
July 13: Some good views early from Fire Creek Pass, but then the clouds rolled in and the trail descended into the woods. My pace was dragging from my efforts the day before and I was not sure about water and camping opportunities up on the high ground surrounding Red Pass and White Pass, so I pitched my tent in the meadows east of White Chuck Cinder Cone. Tried drying some stuff but clouds and fog rolled in after a few minutes. Only 16 miles, and, though I didn’t realize it at the time, by stopping early I lost contact forever with some of my fellow hikers.
July 14: Fog enshrouded Red Pass in the morning. I believe I wept. Then Cabbage motored by and cheered me up with a few words of encouragement. And what did I have to be sad about? Some missed views? He had been diagnosed with scurvy at the hospital in Chelan and was bookin’ it to catch up with the crew he had been with since Campo. I caught up with him again at lunch south of White Pass where he was prepping his bowl of boiled Fritos — he still couldn’t swallow anything textured for the pain it caused. The skies gradually cleared some, and I eventually made camp at Pear Lake. 23 miles, mostly because I wanted to get to Stevens Pass tomorrow in time to eat din-din at the restaurant and enjoy breakfast there again the next morning. Oh, foolish boy…
Dennis
Lumbergh21: I know where you are coming from -- this hike is part of my great Leave of Absence & Walkabout 2019. I gave up my teaching job for half of this academic year and started the delicate negotiations with my beloved spouse a year or so before I started. I didn't hike the southernmost 80 miles in Washington, but I can highly recommend the rest with the exception of the section between Snoqualmie Pass and Chinook Pass (more on that later). Good luck with your decision.
The Other Tom: You're welcome. I get so much from this forum, so I am happy to contribute when I can.
more...
Stehekin to Snoqualmie Pass
July 10-21
This section of the PCT passes through two glorious wilderness areas: Glacier Peak Wilderness and Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Each of them is worthy of deeper exploration than passing through on the main trail, and I hope to do just that some day because I really wasn’t able to see much due to the weather on this visit. My best views of Glacier Peak, for example, came on days when I was 20+ miles away. My spirits reached their nadir during this period, and I seriously considered stopping and heading home. But I knew, I just knew, that if I did so the weather would clear and taunt me mercilessly from half a continent away. So I got wet and stayed wet…
July 10: Checked out of the lodge very early and walked the two miles to the Bakery for its “soft open” at 7 AM — a chance to sit around drinking coffee while chatting with some local folks and not having to rush through as part of the conga line that forms when the shuttle arrives for its fifteen minute layover. When the baked goods became available shortly before 8 AM, I inhaled a sticky roll the size of a salad plate. Went back for a cheese danish with berries. Left with a turkey & swiss sandwich and numerous mayo packets. All calorie rich and not nearly enough by my reckoning. But it was Real Food and quite welcome. By 9 AM the shuttle-full of us was hiking along Agnes Creek, gradually sorting ourselves out. I lagged to gather a few huckleberries along the way and because I was carrying eleven days of food in a bear canister… Several tributary streams had log footbridges, but we had to fend for ourselves crossing Agnes Creek itself about twelve miles in. I walked across a high log about four feet above the water. That seemed like a good idea at the time until my legs started trembling with the tension and the weight halfway across — I get the willies thinking about it now. It started raining in the early afternoon and continued through the evening. Camped southeast of Bannock Mountain at 4300’. 2 miles to the Bakery plus 15 miles through the woods.
July 11: Wrung my shirt out as best I could and started my day. Decided to stay high on Miner’s Ridge just west of Suiattle Pass to visit Image Lake and get some views of Glacier Peak. Met Russ, a retired NPS ranger, who volunteers as caretaker of the fire lookout tower (No. 4250 in case you are lookout-spotter) on Miner’s Ridge and of the sensitive areas around Image Lake. There is some very nice non-standard signage around the lake and Lady Camp, the stock camp nearby, that I am sure is Russ’s doing. We had a nice long talk about all sorts of things including the trail conditions along Agnes Creek as they pertain to stock since he was planning a trip with his wife and her new horses. Then it was the small matter of a 3400’ descent to the Suiattle River — oh, my knees — who thought hauling sixteen pounds of food (again) was a good idea? Idiot. 18 miles.
July 12: Before starting out, a college-age woman I had met a bunch of times over the past few days asked me to keep her location secret from a certain trail-bro who had been giving her unwanted attention on trail and in camp. She had lost track of her own “tramily” some time ago and was hiking solo while she tried to reconnect. I cannot imagine what enduring those episodes must be like, and I was sorry she had to deal with him. Mum’s the word, and I am off to climb 3700’ onto the suitably named Vista Ridge of Glacier Peak with good views of Miner’s Ridge and some of the glaciers up higher on the slopes. Skies cleared a bit on the 2700’ steep, brushy descent to Milk Creek where I met up with some other familiar faces. We hadn’t seen flat ground in a while and weren’t likely to in the near future, so I suggested we all just pitch our tents on the rather new, wide bridge across the creek. (It seems the crossing has been relocated downstream about 350’ vertically from the old, more direct route — probably good safety or annual bridge repair reasons for that.) In the end, we all trudged up another 2000’ over 3.5 miles to Mica Lake, which was still partially frozen over. I ended up camping right next to the trail-bro, and, yeah, he was a dick. 20 miles.
July 13: Some good views early from Fire Creek Pass, but then the clouds rolled in and the trail descended into the woods. My pace was dragging from my efforts the day before and I was not sure about water and camping opportunities up on the high ground surrounding Red Pass and White Pass, so I pitched my tent in the meadows east of White Chuck Cinder Cone. Tried drying some stuff but clouds and fog rolled in after a few minutes. Only 16 miles, and, though I didn’t realize it at the time, by stopping early I lost contact forever with some of my fellow hikers.
July 14: Fog enshrouded Red Pass in the morning. I believe I wept. Then Cabbage motored by and cheered me up with a few words of encouragement. And what did I have to be sad about? Some missed views? He had been diagnosed with scurvy at the hospital in Chelan and was bookin’ it to catch up with the crew he had been with since Campo. I caught up with him again at lunch south of White Pass where he was prepping his bowl of boiled Fritos — he still couldn’t swallow anything textured for the pain it caused. The skies gradually cleared some, and I eventually made camp at Pear Lake. 23 miles, mostly because I wanted to get to Stevens Pass tomorrow in time to eat din-din at the restaurant and enjoy breakfast there again the next morning. Oh, foolish boy…
Dennis