Day 73 – Smoke and Mirrors

I sleep pretty well although one of the girls camping nearby snores gently most of the night. I am determined to get an early start to avoid the forecasted high temperatures and to complete the miles I have in my plan.

Up and at ‘em

I awaken before my alarm goes off. Immediately, I sit up and begin organizing my stuff for the day. When the alarm goes off, I let the alarm music play for a few minutes, just to make things legal. Then I finalize my resolve by letting the air out of my mattress. I am out of camp by 5:50 and on the trail by 6:00. Good.

Persistent smoke

The smoke has thickened. It is a brownish fog on the horizon. It obscures the views that this section is so famous for. You can smell it, although it is not something to dwell on.

The early trail is rocky and lined with enormous boulders. The trail surface is negotiable, so I don’t mind the boulders so much. They are kind of cool.

The mountains in this section rarely exceed 7000 feet and yet they are not heavily wooded as the mountains in Oregon are. Is it due to the heavy snowfall and colder temperatures? These mountaintop meadows are lush with grass and flowers. If it weren’t so hot, this would be a fun place to spend the day.

I would love to show some stunning views, but all I have are smoky views of nearby slopes. Here are three of the ones I like

Communications

Occasionally you will hear me refer to my Garmin. It allows me to send and receive text messages using a satellite link. It can also generate an SOS signal if something really bad happens. I keep it attached to the outside of my pack at all times. Here is what it looks like.

I stop at Lake Sally Ann to get more water. It looks like it might hold cold water, because of the snow on the shore. Alas, it is warm. But there are fish here! They rise to flies on the surface.

I meet a fellow here named Nathaniel. He is section hiking Washington. I tell him that one of my sons is named Nathaniel. He approves. He decides to eat lunch here. I would eat with him, but I decide to climb the next slope before eating. We say our good byes. One hundred feet up the trail, I see a sign that says there is a toilet here. I holler, “Hey, Nathaniel. There is a toilet over here if you need one.”

Hey, Nathaniel. I have not said those words in years. It feels so good to hear myself say them again. Hey, Nathaniel. My son, Nathaniel, has lived in Japan since he graduated from college. I rarely get a chance to visit him. But nothing would make me happier. Maybe soon I will be able to say it to his face. Hey, Nathaniel.

As I eat my unhealthy lunch, a hiker rolls up. His name is Livin. He started hiking near Mexico but got off the trail at Mammoth Lakes, California to return to Washington for a wedding. He did not go back to California after the wedding. Instead he is hiking Washington until he runs out of money. He was a cop for 15 years, before he lost interest in it. Now he works in the restaurant industry when he needs the money.

We somehow get on the subject of trail shoes because he is hiking in Crocks! They are trail crocks, but still. He had been wearing the shoe I wear: the Altra Olympus. He says he won’t be needing his practically-new Olympus anymore, so he offers to send them to me on the trail! I accept and suggest he send them to Kennedy Meadows North. I should be needing new shoes by then.

And that is how it is on the trail. Random people do kind things for you. Livin says that he saw Nico not that long ago and that he is only 4 miles ahead of me. There is no way I will catch him, but it’s nice to know he is close.

Cheer leaders

It is a day for purple flowers.

Animals do what they do

I get to camp with 30 minutes to spare. Some welcome cloud cover at the end of the day helped me push through that last big climb. I am sharing camp with a grouse. She eyeballs me warily from her perch on that log.

This area in which I am camping is filled with people who are not hiking the PCT. Some are summitting Glacier Peak tomorrow. Some are doing a loop trail in this area. A large group up on the ridge are doing trail work using supply horses. One of the loop hikers comes by to chat. He points to the marmot that is sneaking up on my unguarded bed, looking for something to nibble on. It runs off when I rush over there. However, this will not be the last I hear from it.

Later, as I lay on my bed writing, I hear some commotion in the bushes beyond my head. The bushes are shaking and there is this soft grunting and cooing. I think it’s the marmot trying to coordinate a sneak attack. He has brought some friends. I am going to nip this in the bud, so I get up and go to the edge of the bushes. Whatever it is, there are at least half a dozen of them. All the bushes in front of me are shaking.

A little grouse pops out of the bushes beside me. Then another and another. And then the mom pops out. It is the same female I photographed on the log earlier. They are not frightened by my presence, just disoriented. Who is this guy, and who invited him to our home? Mom clucks them through the campsite and they disappear into the bushes on the other side.

The marmot that appeared earlier makes a cameo. It looks at me over some brush. I pretend to throw something and it and it takes off. 10 minutes later it comes back acting nonchalant. He seems to sayin, “No I am not checking you out. I just had to come over here and eat THIS grass.” I walk right up to it. It’s eyes are kind of cloudy, so maybe it’s blind.

I am so tired today. I wish the sun would go down, so all us animals can sleep. My ear plugs are going in. I don’t care if a marmot convention is held on my campsite, just don’t wake me, and all will be fine.

OK, the marmot just came charging down the hill and runs full tilt through my camp. I jump up and holler and it starts squealing. It is squealing and running by me like a squeaky wheel. Is that good or bad? I want a gun.

• August 13
• Starting mile: 2484
• Ending mile: 2503
• Daily PCT miles: 19
• Total PCT miles: 1131
• Animals: carousing marmot, grouse family