Start: 99.9
Stop: 115
Today’s miles: 15.1
Total PCT miles: 302.8
I loved today.. blowdowns and all! The three of us all woke up around 6:30 ish and slowly started to pack. I got half way done packing and decided to eat breakfast in my tent, because it was still chilly. And everything felt damp. That’s always a worry really, having wet sleep stuff. Pebbles said he slid a lot during the night on his slanted spot, I felt real bad because the one huge root through the middle of my tent sort of held my sleeping pad in place. I was cold, but I slept pretty decent, considering..
I was the first to leave camp, around 8:15. I made it back up to the original camping area we got to last night and decided to take advantage of their pit toilet there. Mosquitoes were everywhere, but thankfully Margot shared some of her 100% deet repellent-and I swear what she had worked ALL DAY LONG!
I put my pack back on, now that business was taken care of, and I got water from the first stream I saw. I wasn’t sure if Margot and pebbles got ahead of me during all of this, but I knew we’d meet up at a break spot eventually. I climbed in elevation, but nothing was very steep and there were some gorgeous views between the trees. I passed several decent campsites, one with a tent still set up-if we had pushed forward instead of that small backtrack, we may have found better sleeping arrangements, but I honestly don’t think any of us had the energy or hope to find a decent place for three tents last night.
The trail was so cruisey feeling today. It wound up and down and around-but mostly in a descent. It was easy and beautiful and smelled of fresh pine. Every so often I’d hit some switchbacks. I had several small water crossings, one of the first few got my feet wet when I decided to just walk through it instead of trying to balance on a very wet and slick looking limb.
Sometime before 10am I passed Silky with her stuff laid out in the sun to dry. I decided to push forward and keep my good momentum going, I’d lay my stuff out when I stopped for lunch. I had that thought, and then as I kept moving, a blow down here and there, water to cross, the time just flew by. I was mesmerized by the shades of lime green of the new growth trees and bushes, there was very little overgrowth like yesterday. The ground was soft pine needles and duff.. I was in my element.
It was just before noon when I crossed a bridge over a river and spotted a sunny spot with enough space to spread out my stuff. I pounced on it. Tent, ground sheet, shorts, and sleeping bag liner were all laid out, along with my socks and shoes. Then I sat down to eat my lunch. Not long after, Wolf passed by. She said that she and Pica got caught in the hail yesterday and it was awful. Then she told me she passed a lady that said the blowdowns were so bad that she was turning back, and walking back to Stehekin! WHAT?! I wasn’t sure if she meant the blow downs we just went through or if they get worse.. but my god, could it really be that bad?
She went on, and before I knew it, Silky, Pebbles, and Margot appeared. We all ate lunch and dried our stuff. Pica walked by and joined us, too. Several other people walked through, at least 3 couples, some I remembered, some I’ve never seen before. Harry and Molly, the ones that I met the night of the 23 mile day in the snow came through, too. It was a good lunch hour, certainly.
I was the first to leave, followed by Pica-I know this because they quickly passed me with those quick moving legs. The blow downs picked up some, and it definitely felt hotter out, but honestly, it wasn’t bad at all. The heat quickly dissipated once I was back under tree cover, which was the majority of the time. I crossed a large bridge that looks pretty new, over the Siutte River. The other side was like a moss covered huge tree wonderland.
Everything looked soft and the ground was bouncy. There was a couple doing trail maintenance, sawing a downed tree off the trail. And then I was back in my element, cruising on the cushioned trail, climbing over fallen trees, sometimes even walking the length of the tree because it looked easier than trying to finagle through the wild branches. Nothing felt hard, nothing felt frustrating. It was odd-I was completely content.. not a sound playing from my phone, no distractions, just pure happiness in walking in the woods.
I got to our planned stop for the day at 4:40pm. I walked though and made sure there were at least 4 tent sites, picked the one my tent would fit best in, and left my pack there. I walked back to the trail and hung out on a fallen tree, sending a message to my mom on my garmin, and waiting for everyone to show up. I didn’t want to set up my tent just in case they got here too and decided they felt good enough to keep going a few more miles.
They didn’t. Lol. Everyone was there by 5:15 and we all started our chores. Set up camp, get water, go see the river (we’re camping right beside one, but it’s a glacier fed river so there’s a ton of silt.. we got water from the tiny trickling clean water spring hidden deep in some moss). Pebbles and Silky made a fire, so we sat around talking and ate dinner there. We still don’t have a trail name for Margot.. I said “The Favorite” or “Deadpan” because the girl has a masters in sarcasm. So far, no dice.
After we hung out until almost 8:30, we decided to put out the fire and head to bed. Tomorrow is a very short day, only 12.7 miles, so that way the following morning we can get up early and get to and hopefully through the snow early. I’m happy as hell tonight it warm compared to yesterday, and it didn’t rain! So maybe tonight will be a great night of sleep, with the river being my white noise. Goodnight!