July 18.
Couldn’t sleep the night before because the person in the room next to ours was snoring so loudly and someone was blaring something in the common area.
Hung out in the common area for a bit before hitting up the deli for a nothing breakfast sandwich. Said goodbye to Spatz and Skybird who I probably won’t see again for a while. Spatz is letting his ankle rest and skybird decided to zero in skykomish. Lucas stayed back the lodge, Tony went home, Sherpa and Mister Miyagi were zeroing in skykomish, Taylor went ahead to get to Snoqualmie as soon as possible, and Twig was sticking back to work on her blog so that just left me an Oh Lordie.
Oh lordie and I tried to hitch for like a minute before we got a ride with back to Stevens Pass with a local couple who happened to be in the deli and were going that way. The deli owner gave us a sign to hold before that to try to get a ride. Seems like he might have some experience with hikers hitchhiking there.
Oh Lordie was fast. I made it to the top of the ski resort before him but he passed me shortly afterwards and never saw him again. He had planned to do 30 today and 40 tomorrow into Snoqualmie which is nuts to think of right now but hopefully it won’t be someday soon.
This day was so much easier compared to the last section. No huge uphills or downhills or sketchy snow traverses, just nice gentle trail for miles and miles. Crossed so many little alpine lakes that all looked so nice.
Passed the 200 mile mark. There was not mark into the ground so I made my own.
Entered a section that looked just like the Sierra and it made me incredibly nostalgic and wish I was there. It was a beautiful granite canyon with big large boulder and talus fields and a long windy switchback section that peaked at a vista that overlooked glacier lake. It was so beautiful. I used the word beautiful a lot but that’s the only word I can use to describe it.
I hiked some more and came onto a ridge that looked out at the snow capped mountains. I had such an overwhelming moment of feeling so lucky and thankful for being able to be there that I actually started getting choked up and almost cried. I just feel so amazing being here and hiking this.
That feeling didn’t last long though. I wanted to camp at one of the lakes but when I stopped at Deception Lake I got absolutely destroyed by the bugs. So many mosquitoes. I felt so uncomfortable and itchy and miserable that I immediately left the lake and decided not to camp at any of them for the rest of the section. Kept hiking and thought I could make it to a stream a few miles later.
Crossed a very fast cascading stream I probably shouldn’t have. I thought there was a Tensite there but it turns out there wasn’t another one for 1.5 miles. Being too stupid and stubborn to turn back I crossed it and hiked uphill in the dark to the tentsite. I managed to pitch my tent and now I’m sitting here not happy with myself for my decisions the last hour. I shouldn’t definitely have not crossed that stream so late and alone. I should have stopped much sooner and not kept going. But anyway, time for bed. More miles to go tomorrow.
Plants Outside 