cathieandrandy

We started before daylight. Frozen dew sparkled on the berry bushes in the beam of our headlamps. There were stars in the sky and Venus shone brightly in the southeast. When the sun came up, the skies were clear, and the views were spectacular. Hooray! (We haven’t had many views since last Saturday.)

The mountains had a sugar dusting of snow, but nothing on the ground in Buck Pass. It probably melted on contact. There was a gorgeous view of Glacier Peak and a cirque to the south, all covered in glacier snow.

Another 5 miles brought us to the junction with the PCT, at the north end of the 45 mile damaged section traversing the west and north flanks of Glacier Peak.  I’d like to come back and hike that, say in late August, when the weather is more suited to clambering over blow downs and scoured river beds - the trail and its bridges dissolving in a tangle of deadfall and brush.

The sky became overcast again by noon, but there is no immediate threat of precipitation.

The scenery is magnificent, much like the High Sierra, though the forest at lower elevations is more lush here in the Pacific Northwest. The trail meanders up and down, from alpine to subalpine to evergreen rain forest. We spotted a large, fresh bear paw print at the edge of a stream.

We will arrive in Stehekin, our last resupply stop, before noon tomorrow. Tonight, it is beginning to rain and we are camped by Agnes Creek. A couple out for a soggy weekend of backpacking are already here.

They asked if we had heard about the thru-hiker injured near Glacier Peak. A young woman (the wife of one of two young men who arrived at the High Bridge Ranger Station looking for help) broke her ankle. The couple told us they understood the woman was safe in a tent, and not too uncomfortable. The hikers were well supplied with food and cold weather gear. This all sounded a lot like the Portland Trio. When Ghost and Samwise catch up, they too are concerned it may be Jeanne who is injured. Hopefully, we can find out tomorrow.

We have been hiking 5 months, and have just under 100 miles to go.

Those miles include some climbs to 7000 plus feet, and a 21 mile long, waterless ridge. I hope the weather doesn’t get worse.  We will take a zero in Stehekin on Sunday.