Snoqualmi to White Pass

It was a very pleasant stay at the WAC and at 45 bucks each it was very good value. This included 2 breakfasts an evening meal and hot dogs n brownies as well as board and entertainment. A big thanks to Gino and Cathy for there hospitality.

DAY 25
WAC – multi tensite
16.1 miles

We started late at around 10ish after all the shenanigans at the WAC. The first stretch was up past the ski lifts out of Snoqualmi which was pretty exposed. Although after this it was plain sailing for most of the day.
Sarah claimed it was her favourite day hiking so far, after the decent pit stop at the WAC. Sophie also described it well as a smorgasbord of different types of trail conditions.
Around mid day we were greeted by Mirror lake and on this flat calm day it lived up to its name. It was beautiful and too nice for us all not to go for a swim to cool off. Fred even borrowed a pair of swimming shorts from a dude called Aquaman and joined in the fun.
The day concluded with all the group from the WAC meeting up and we had around 10 tents crammed into a very small little clearing. It felt more like a festival than a night on the PCT.

Day 26
19 miles

What a contrast! Today was hard and had around 6-7k of elevation + with a heavy pack it made for some challenging hiking.

The gradient of the trail was very steep at time and resulted in me wheel spinning. Seemingly not going anywhere fast.
We are also starting to eat much more and any middle aged spread has now pretty much gone.

There had been reports of norovirus at number of water sources along this stretch which also has made things more difficult re water treatment and carries.
Last year when we were out here we had just missed a serious outbreak of the virus at the WAC + thoughts were that hikers had picked up the virus on the way into the hostel coming from White Pass.
As we neared the end of the day we had to camel up and collect water for the next 10 miles. This also include the water that we would need to cook with that night.
Carrying nearly 3 litres along the last gruelling stretch was hard for all of us.

We had been seeing a load more scat all over the trail that contained a lot of fur and bones.  At this stage it’s unclear whether this is mountain lion, Coyote or maybe owl!
I find this kinda stuff interesting + would love to find out more about what’s leaving is these little clues. Fred is starting to call me “Scatmandoo” as a trail name. Not sure about that one just yet.

We had hoped to have camped sooner that night, but some of the earlier tent spots were occupied. So we trudged on to find Anton And Valentine had found some spots further down the trail. The site wasn’t ideal and we slept on a slope, although Anton and Valantine were both very kind in helping make room for us, moving fallen branches out of the way and with good banter helping to maintain our spirits.
Sophie had a great time with Valentine both singing some Disney song together.
As the sun sunk under the horizon we were given a taste of our 1st decent sunset. The sky burnt orange as we attempted to capture its beauty on our phones.
Anton had been taking some great shots and has been using light room to adjust them and make perfect. He is really talented and is posting his material on Instagram putting this blog to shame.
As we slipped into our sleeping bags our legs and ankles hurt. This s***t is getting real!

Day 27
20.9 miles

It was a cold windy night as our tensite was exposed to the prevailing wind.
We started early and after the first 1/2 mile we found a couple of perfect cowboy camping spots on top of the ridge. We kicked ourselves that we hadn’t pushed on a little further. Cowboy camping involves just sleeping on a sheet of Tyvak without a tent + is something I am itching to do on this hike.

Around lunchtime we walked into a clearing to find a car parked with hikers seated all around it. We had come across some serious trail magic! The kind gent providing us with this was called “Yom” (young old man). As we looked out to Mount Rainer Yom furnished us with a local beer called Rainer which was very fitting. He also provided us with donuts and chips and all the goodness that one can only hope for right at the top of a mountain.
He had hiked the PCT before and was a local so I quizzed him about the wildlife and scat I had been seeing. He thought it was most likely Coyote or Lion. He was a wealth of Intel + told us were might even hear wolves over the next for days and that we were in Elk country.
Later that day we walked through a burn zone that last around 10 miles. The scenery was more like something you might find on the moon in places, where any remainance of soil and vegetation and been completely stripped away.

As the day neared an end we walked with Anton + he kept us all entertained with his crazy stories of his adventures.
That night we camped in a meadow.
This section of the trail seems to feature more meadows + after all the intel that Yom had told me this should  be an ideal spot to see Elk. We had been hearing them call and there was clear evidence that they were present as both foots prints and scat littered the floor around our tent.
As it started to get dark a deer walked into thr meadow, but was soon scared off by some other hikers arriving late into camp. It was most disappointing, although that night we slept with the tent doors open to see if anything appeared.

After grabbing a much needed breakfast and checking into the Packwood Inn we thought we were set for the day.
This all changed when Sophie’s sister arrived with smoke bellowing out of thr bonnet of her car. Fred and I jumped into action trying to work out what was going on. Both thinking that there was a coolant leak, as the water reservoir empty and coolant all on the floor underneath.
There was a garage across the town and we figured it best to get a mechanic to take a look. The guy couldn’t have been less helpful and was an A-hole. We found out later that day that most of the locals also agreed.  One saying “some people are nice, some people are A-holes, that guy is just a A-hole”
Anyway we persevered and Sarah and the girls managed to collar a guy called Nico. We did a bit of trail mechanics and worked out that the water leak was not a simple fix. In the end Sophie called in the big guns and got a recovery truck to pick them up.
After all the commotion and temporarily saying our goodbyes to Sophie and her sister, we tucked into our 12 burgers and fries. Eyes to big for our bellies and with shrunken stomach’s we opted to pack out the remaining burgers back out onto the trail.
After a pleasant rest of the day it was nice to sleep in a comfy bed once again. Especially as it had just started to rain.

Day 28 -Anderson lake junction
18.4 miles

This was a great day!
As we started the day in a burn zone we were greeted with more hummingbirds buzzing around than you could shake a stick at.  By stripping away older forest burns allow for fresh growth to appear. This section of trail was covered in bright alpine flowers which clearly attracted the hummingbirds.
Sarah and I both watched as they chased one another around the mountain fearlessly territorial in protecting their sweet nectar.

As we hiked on through a valley we both heard a loud “meow” I scanned the horizon desperately trying to locate its source. I have been itching to see a mountain lion or bobcat and figured that this had to be one or the other. Then nothing….
As we stopped for a water break with a guy called “Tomohawk”, Fred rocked up and asked if we had heard what sounded like an angry cat hissing and snarling. He was around 10 minutes behind us and it looked like he had heard the next chapter of the story unfold.
As we hiked further we started hearing what we can only imagine as Coyotes howling-  yipping and yapping  across the mountains. This was epic and we were all desperately trying to figure out what was going on.
Later Sophie met us as we were taking a break. Fred and I airing our damp sleeping bags out on the rocks. Sophie had passed a trail runner who said that he had seen a pack of Coyotes attacking something and the howles we heard was them celebrating there dark act.
I guess we will never know, but I think that was the closest we are likely to get to the action. Earlier that morning we had met a hunter and his son. There were up at 4:30 glassing on a Ridge looking for mountain goats. The father told us that in all the years he had been living up here he could count the number of times he had seen a mountain lion on his hand. He said they just don’t want to be seen and are incredibly illusive.

Another funny story was revealed by Fred today. That morning he had gone to poop in the woods after getting up. After finding a spot and digging a cat hole + starting the proceedings, he noticed that he was squatting right in front of a trail camera. Maybe someone had hoped to capture one of these illusive mountain lions, but instead they caught a pooping Fred. He commented what else could I do, but wave.
Over the last days we had been rewarded by more epic vies of Mount Rainer.  With its snow capped peaks it looked magnificent + the more we hiked the better the views seemed to be.

As we neared the ski resort in front of Rainer we heard Elk calling across the mountains and the trail was clearly a highway as there huge footprints covered the trail.
Later in the afternoon we neared sheep lake. This relatively close to the highway and was a stark contrast of the wilderness we had experienced earlier that day.
The lake was obviously popular with day hikers + after reading reports on far out about noro virus we had decided not to swim in it.
As we walked closer to the trail head and parking lot Fred and I hatched a plan to try and hitch into Packwood. We thought that we might be able to sneak a ride in to grab a much  needed burger.  Our plans were dashed as this master plan had been a little too optimistic. We discovered from some of the day trippers that Packwood was around 40 minutes aways.
Every cloud has a silver lining though and at least we managed to get rid of any trash by a kind chap that had been out scrambling earlier that day.

To save our spirits we opted for plan B. Sophies sister was due to pick her up from our next stop at the Kracker Barrel in White Pass.
Sophie had kindly agreed to ask her if she could pick up some cheese burgers enroute. This seemed to offset the disappointment and with spirits lifted we hiked on.
That night we camped near Anderson Lake. We pitched near a guy called Zack that we had not met before. As we cooked our chicken mash and gravy Zack told tales of previous travels.  Most memorable was a close encounter with a charging grizzly in yellowstone where he was bike packing. Only to be saved be a car blocking the path of the approaching bear.
Sarah and I washed off in the lake as mist rolled across the small lake. This was the 1st time we had managed to clean ourselves in days due to the previous dry camping spots. As we stood ankle deep in the lake warm water crickets chirped and night time noises filled the air.

Day 29 – Kracker Barrel
23.9 miles

Sarah and I left camp early. Although it has been really nice hiking with all our trail pals, it was nice to start the day with just us. Fred had politely said to us the previous day that if we wanted space to hike then he wouldn’t be offended. We both felt a healthy mix would work well + appreciated his honesty and openess.
Some days it’s nice to walk in your own thoughts, some days it’s nice for Sarah and I to walk alone, some days it’s nice to walk with the crew + a healthy balance is important to us all.
As we took our 2nd breakfast break we caught up with Fred and Anton and Val were not far behind. Val entertained us with a story about a man having a very bad day and it was nice to catch up.
Fred also shared some pics of paintings he had done. What a talented guy and we all agreed that he trailname should be Devjnchi. Although I joked I also liked the sound of Fredjnchi.
Sarah has also been developing a little trail name of yellow legs, but I’ll let her tell you about the reasons behind that one.
Our pace throughout the day was good and although we had initially planned on reaching the Kracker Barrell tomorrow we pushed on. Sarah had lead a good pace all day and has been looking strong.
We were wmrunning low on supplies, but
after refuelling at a lake without of Sophies spare oatmeal I was flying and I lead the charge. The mosquitos were also getting really bad. Even hiking in fast mode they seemed to be able to land on your arms and hands, drawing blood with every swipe.
This extra added motivation saw everyone pick up the pace + it was all or nothing.
The trail lead out onto a highway and after a short walk on tarmac we reached the Kracker Barrel. It was a gas station with camping, showers etc. As we rolled in we were greeted by cheers and hollars which was nice. Lucy and some of the gang were already there and all felt that we would roll in that night.
We pitched our tents behind the gas station and exhausted we hit the hay. 23.8 miles baby. We are starting to hit our stride.

Day 30 -Zero day – Packwood

It was crazy to wake up surrounded by so many tents. Some hikers opting for cowboy camping, their sleeping bags covered with the morning dew.
We had sneaked a shower as the gas station didn’t open until later. The guy running the joint not impressed, although we had always planned on paying.
After collecting our resupply boxes all 7 of us attempted to hitch I to Packwood.
7 is a big number when it comes to hitching. Despite our best efforts cars and trucks sailed straight past. Although we were finally rewarded by a Stella hitch in the back of a van. It made for a perfect hitch, fitting in all our gear with ease with us all seated on the floor in the back. After a 20 minute rollacoaster with me feeling a little travel sick we arrived.
This had to be Fred’s best day ever. For the last 100 miles we have discussed burgers and ice cream and this town had it all.
It even had Elk roaming around the town and we were lucky enough to feed them with a little help from the locals.