The Bridge of the Gods. I'm still in Oregon here.
The Columbia River. The Oregon/Washington border is right down the middle of the river.
I did the road walk through Stevenson. I didn't take any pictures. I should have. Anyway, the trail resumes at Panther Creek in beautiful rain forest.
Lots of fungus in the forest
I camped at a water source, a spring. It was very dark in the forest under the clouds. There were many other people camped there, all section hikers doing Washington's first section. It rained that night, a preview of the deteriorating weather to come. The next morning, I walked by lots of lakes but could not see them in the rain. It was cold and I was very wet since the rain permeated the air with 100% humidity.
This lake triggered my memory from my 1975 PCT book. I was certain it was the same lake featured in a photograph but I later checked and it wasn't. Still, it was a beautiful scene in the mist.
I set up my tent in this relatively dry old road. This is my loaner tent and I would use it the rest of the hike. I preferred my Gossamer Gear The One to this half Gossamer Gear half Tarptent. This tent was spacious and comfortable but I had more headroom in my One.
Lots of storybook meadows in Washington.
Lush forest and the mist which kept me wet. The trees collected the mist and rained fat raindrops on me. The plants on the side of the trail encroached and dumped buckets of water in my shoes.
I finally walked out of the rain into gorgeous wildflowers on the approach to Mt. Adams.
Mt. Adams.
The wildflowers were at their peak of perfection. Not a spent flower anywhere.
I think this is Rainier
The glacier on Mt. Adams.
I couldn't get over the flowers! They smelled great, too. Better than I did for sure!
A cloud formed on Mt. Adams. The weather moved so fast in Washington. Its quick-changing nature filled me with anxiety. I could not trust that one sunny day or one sunny moment would lead to another.
This was Russel Creek, probably the most difficult of the volcano glacier creeks I crossed. It was excruciatingly cold.
Whew! I made it. But not without some screaming in pain and a few moments warming my aching, frozen feet in the sun.
More amazing flowers.
A white lupine among the blue.
The mist returns.
More storybook meadows.
I started climbing out of the lowlands and toward Goat Rocks wilderness.
I could smell the goats up here but I never saw them.
I'm approaching Cipsus Pass.
Anemones gone to seed. It was so beautiful up here. This was my favorite part of the whole trail, both years. Goat Rocks was the highlight of the entire trail.
I am approaching the alpine altitudes of Goat Rocks.
Looking back to Mt. Adams
The alpine reaches of Goat Rocks.
I have to cross a snowfield. Mt Adams gleams in the distance.
Mt. Rainier huddles under a lenticular cloud to the north.
I have to cross another snowfield.
The trail will follow the ridge on the right/front. Rainier is still under the cloud which is growing.
The Packwood Glacier. I met a couple of hikers who thru-hiked in the 70s and they both said that the glacier has shrunk greatly.
The trail follows the knife-edge ridge. The wind was blowing fiercely.
I took the suggested alternate route which climbed high rather than the official route that traversed above the glacier. The official route looked like a death wish. The alternate route was exciting and would be the highest point in Washington. You can see here the trail following the knife-edge.
Mt. Adams
I had to brace myself with my trekking poles as I walked along the ridge. The wind was strong enough to blow me off.
A lenticular cloud started to form over the high point where I had been. It seemed I got a perfect window to hike this. I felt so lucky. So many people see nothing through here and this was the best feature of the entire trail.
After traversing all those windy ridges above treeline I descended into sub-alpine beauty again. The wildflowers were amazing here, too.
Shoe Lake. No camping allowed anymore so the trail goes way above it rather than tempt you with its old route along the shore.
The descent to White Pass was long and ended near here, the Kracker Barrel, where I met Mathman, Roadrunner and Hike On. We all stayed together in a condo that Mathman and Hike On rented. Roadrunner slept on the deck but I slept inside since the weather was growing bad again. I ended up hiking with Hike On the next few days and celebrating my completion of the trail with Mathman many days later.
Continuing reluctantly the following day, the weather worsened. Storybook meadows and lakes were viewed through the mist and rain.
Looks pretty clear but I think it was actually raining by now.
I think this was like the 4th or 5th lake named Sheep Lake. It's near Chinook Pass. It wasn't raining at the time, but once I passed Chinook Pass, saying good-bye to Hike On who was staying behind, it poured rain in buckets.
I was not happy with the rain. I could see nothing. The guide book said at this point on Blowout Mountain there were great views of Rainier. Later someone told me it was good I couldn't see anything through here since it was all ugly clear cuts.
Huckleberries cheered me on.
Huckleberries also plagued me encroaching on the trail. Their leaves collected the rain and mist and dumped it in buckets into my shoes. I don't think I had dry feet for the first 7 days hiking through Washington. By now, I was hating every second of Washington and the more I hated it, the worse it seemed to get.
60 miles away from this place, Snoqualmie Pass, I decided I had to get out of the rain. I was cold and miserable. I decided I could hike out in two days so I set out for two 30 milers in a row. On the night in the middle it rained so much it was raining inside my tent. I was near hypothermia the following day and all I could do was keep moving or get cold. I made it to Snoqualmie and checked into that big red roof of warmth and safety, the Summit Inn.
After two nights at the Summit Inn it appeared the weather was not going to improve so I went with Hike On to Seattle where I snapped this photo of myself next to a picture of what Washington actually looks like.
I also went to the big REI in Seattle and bought new shoes and a new hat. I had outgrown my shoes and was stubbing my toes all the time. Huge holes were letting sand in and with the constant wetness, my socks were being ground up. My desert sun hat was just too much hat for so dark a forest. In one spot it was so dark in the forest I needed a headlamp to read my guide book at 3:30 in the afternoon.
We also went to Pike Place market and ate some seafood down on the waterfront.
After 2 nights at Summit Inn and 2 nights in Seattle, the weather man was saying record heat wave, no end in sight so I was ready to return to the trail. It was hot and sunny.
I climbed into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
I crested a pass and then traversed a long rocky ridge. I met lots of other hikers up here.
Washington needs a whole lot more of this! It's more overgrown than notorious California Section O, the O standing for overgrown.
Cathedral Rock as I near Cathedral Pass.
Monk's hood.
I think the trail made me climb up and over every one of those ridges. It was really rugged through this section, and exhausting.
I think that's Glacier Peak, my next objective in the next section after I reach Steven's Pass.
Glacier Peak.
Blueberries!
I think this is Glacier Peak, my next objective. I was afraid since I'd have to cross some glacial streams that had no bridges. But if I could make it, I'd be home free. Smooth sailing to the border.
The mist returned as I approached Steven's Pass. The weather in Washington was so unstable. I was always filled with anxiety about the weather. I wish I could have handled it better, but I simply do not like backpacking in bad weather.
After a zero day in Baring at the Dinsmore's, I returned to the trail. The weather had improved again.
I think this is Indian Pass. My camera broke before Red Pass which came later. The scenery and the weather in this section restored my love of the trail.
Trail damage. There is a broken bridge wedged in the gorge. I am standing on a brand new bridge.
Here's the brand new bridge.
Amazing fungus
Giant trees strewn about like pickup sticks.
We could hear the blasting.
Another broken bridge, but it was actually quite stable and easily crossed.
Gingersnap crosses the bridge. I met 4 hikers in this section and completed it with them. They were Gingersnap, Highlander, Grateful and Icecap. Hiking with others in an anxiety-prone section helped me greatly.
I broke my camera before Red Pass so I don't have any good pictures for the rest of the Glacier Peak area. I had to buy a disposable camera and those never take good pictures. This is the resort town of Stehekin. The food at the restaurant was outstanding. And who was working there but Molasses and Jackass!
Here is the miracle Stehekin Bakery. They've been featured in numerous magazines such as Martha Stewart Living and Sunset, if I heard correctly.
The trail no longer leads to this bridge. Too bad because it would have been fun.
Here I am at Cutthroat Pass. Flicker took my picture. Flicker was a section hiker doing the state of Washington. I heard she sometimes hiked barefoot.
This reminded me of a place where I live called the Playgrounds.
Only 4 miles to go.
I did it! There's my pack. The Canadian flag says Going to Canada from Santa Barbara. I'm going to have to cross out "Going" and replace it with "Went"!
Well, that was the best I could do with the disposable camera. No self-timer. It's the best proof I can offer, too, since I didn't sign the register. I didn't know where it was. Turns out it was in the pyramid and to open it you have to lift off a 40lb section. I don't think I could do that.
