Day 62 – Leveling

I sleep like a rock again. There are very few bugs around this little lake and it was the perfect camp for a stressful day. My food bag was not assaulted during the night, and I took it down and placed it next to my quilt as it is my practice for eating breakfast in bed. I break camp at 5:40 and rejoin the trail at 5:45. My job is to stay focused and hike fast so I don’t get behind like yesterday.

Per usual, there is a big climb out of camp to what they call the “notch.” It is a shallow saddle over the ridge. From the notch, Sheep Lake looks like this. You would never know there are 75 people down there.

On the other side of the notch, it is a different world. The trail follows a ridge to a second saddle. On this side of the ridge, the land is dry and rocky, completely different from the lush valley of Sheep Lake.

The sun is coming up. It illuminates the trees here:

The rising sun turns red in the smoke from nearby fires. This smoke will be a feature of the first half of the day. It will clear off later, but for now, it obscures the horizon.

As I walk up another ridge, I see the ski resort that so many have been talking about. You can see the runs on the slopes.

And then finally, a halfway decent glimpse of Mount Rainier! I have felt cheated to be so close to this magnificent mountain for three days with very few clear views of it. But I will take what I can get. This photo is of the east northeast exposure.

Now the trail tries its best Goat Rocks imitation as we do some “knife edge” ridge walking. This kind of narrow and steep-sided trail will be common today.

Pritch

At 7am I walk past a tent near the trail. The occupant is up. “Good morning,” he says. It’s Pritch, who I met yesterday in passing at one of the water stops. After about an hour he catches up to me on the trail. How is this possible? Well, you see, I got cell service and so that means all kinds of things from returning messages to calling folks to checking the weather report. As I dally, Pritch walks up.

We both notice a grouse just off the path. Must have a chick close by.

Pritch was a corporate executive for several security companies before he retired. He is hiking the trail to keep from getting old and fearful. He is a fast hiker and he makes good time because he never breaks for lunch. He just eats snacks like trail mix and trail bars all day. Pritch knows he is hiking on borrowed time because his wife is not well, but she wants him to stay out here. Pritch is from Cape Cod. He knows that if he goes home, it will be the end of his hike. He uses this realization to spur him on. He spurs me on, too. And the time I lost in the phone this morning is quickly made up as he drags me along the trail huffing and puffing.

I do manage a few photos though.

When I take lunch, Pritch moves on. I doubt I will see him again. He is flipping back down to the Sierras before he reaches Canada. “I am not interested in bush-whacking for 60 miles to Canada,” he says. I spend the next four hours trying to reach my destination – Mike Urich cabin – in a timely manner.

Mike Urich cabin

When I reach the cabin I find Nico is there. This is the third time I have seen him. He has only done 5 miles today so he wants to do another 8 at least. My guess is he will camp with Pritch 4 miles ahead. The camping options are limited around here.

The remaining two at the cabin are Yessi and Joe. They are an odd hiking couple. She is young and smart. He is old and… not so smart (gotcha, Joe). No, Joe is smart, too. The are Sobo and have fallen together because their mile pace is similar and they have compatible personalities.

Joe is 53. He quit his job to hike this year. The trail was so hard on his body in the first week that it nearly sent him home. But he persevered, and is hitting his stride.

Yessi has been struggling mightily with mosquitoes. She is quite allergic to their bite. For that reason she has had to wear a lot of clothes every day, which makes her sweat. She is plugging along though. The bugs won’t last forever I tell her. By the time she reaches California, the bugs will be low.

Night maneuvers

I can’t just write my blog in peace. It starts sprinkling. I jump up and pull out my tarp. Luckily there is just enough room around my bed to put it up. This new arrangement will delay my departure in the morning, but I think I can manage.

I have bigger concerns right now. We seem to have set up our camp in the middle of an elk highway. They make their mewing noises and move silently past my tent at the edge of the woods. They are all gathering in the open meadow beyond our camp. From my tent, I see their head and back over the brush as they walk by. They pause as they pass, turning their heads our way before proceeding. They don’t seem to be terribly frightened of us.

I have seen only cows and calves before it is too dark to see anything. I hear their soft footfalls though. I suppose we will be hearing them all night as they gather in the meadow. It is calming, and I don’t know why. A bull bugles. Ok it is not that calming. It is exciting. I want to sleep because I need to hike 20 miles again tomorrow, but I don’t want to miss any of these noises from the elk’s convention either. What shall I do?

• August 2
• Starting mile: 2326
• Ending mile: 2348
• Daily PCT miles: 22
• Total PCT miles: 977
• Animals: grouse with baby, elk parade