Day 74 – Mica Lake

Night falls slowly, imperceptibly with your eyes open. Last night as I stared at the gray sky through pine boughs, it suddenly became night. I had fallen asleep. The marmots were in their hole, no doubt, chuckling about the way they agitated me. They are sipping camomile tea and munching on huckleberries.

I sleep well. At about 2 I awaken and massage my legs and feet. This helps them feel better and it helps me feel tired again.

Night moves

I put my glasses on and look at the stars, or what I can see of them. A shooting star zips by. I send a wish after it. I remember the first night I looked up at the stars in the campsite behind the gas station at Old Station. It seems years ago. I did the same thing the second night from Hat Creek Rim – the day I had dehydration sickness and three up. The stars seemed kinder the second night. They seem kinder now. My glasses are scratched and cloudy now. But I don’t need to see the stars sharply to know that they are looking down knowingly on this little animal, wrapped in a quilt, eyes open, waiting for the dawn.

I hear a coyote for the first time. It sounds the way they do in the movies: “ar-ar-arooooo”. Later all the coyotes cry together in one last big song before dawn. Dozens of them. They make a warbling sound that lasts for 20 seconds. Fascinating. The night shift is over. I check my watch, it is 4:27. Time to get up.

The smoke in the sky is no better today. Here is what it looks like as I leave camp.

Red Pass

I head up to Red Pass.

There are grouse everywhere. It’s sad because when I surprise a group of them, the mom flies sideways away from the trail, but the babies just run down the trail in front of me. They won’t fly! I try to make them fly so they will go back to their mom. They just run harder in front of me, farther and farther away from mom. Eventually they scoot off to the side and I pass them. I hope they find their way back.

The Red Pass is dead ahead. It is through that notch in the center up there, between the peaks.

The other side of the pass could be on Mars.

The pass opens into an open-ended bowl with ridges on both sides and a creek running down the middle. The trail meanders down the south side of this bowl. Boulders are scattered all around. No trees. The ground is covered with grass or low flowering shrubs. Here is what it looks like behind me.

There is a blue flower here I have never seen. Unfortunately, I will be gone before it opens.

The forest returns

Gradually, as I descend, the trees return.

I stop for water and my other morning ritual (ahem). I place my pack down in front of this unusual tree. What makes it unusual? You tell me! Write your answer in the comments.

Here is the little creek where I collect water

The forest closes around me. The creeks get serious. Bridges are necessary to get across them.

Yes, that log is my bridge. The water moving under the log is deep and fast. It is much more dangerous than the logs I crossed several days ago. The log is about 18 long. The river is 6 feet below it. I lose my confidence this time and end up crossing it using baby steps. I bad idea because it is actually harder to balance if your feet are close together. I make it across.

The middle of my day is spent going up 3700 feet on bad trail. We will skip my thoughts about that! At least the trail has a sense of humor.

Mica Lake

In the last hour of the day I catch up to the folks that had lunch near me at a river crossing. They are from Washington and are quite knowledgeable about the peaks around us. The pair is Heidi Ho and her daughter Julia. Heidi Ho started her hike at the Canadian border. Unfortunately, she had to stop for logistical reasons after completing only one section. Now she is finishing her Washington hike, and her daughter has joined her.

You can see the two of them heading down the trail ahead of me.

We have all decided to camp at Mica Lake. The trail smooths as we approach. There is a small pool of glacier melt beside the trail.

The trail zig zags down the side of the ridge. Julia shows me Glacier Peak. It is the first good look I have had of that beast. From this side it reminds me a little of Mount Adams.

Mica Lake sits in a little shelf surrounded by low peaks. The area is very exposed (no trees), so I can find no place to hang my food bag. Looks like I will have to sleep next to it (fingers crossed) like I did in the early days before I respected mice. Julia jumps in the freezing Lake! I am content to let the water cover my legs up to my knees. Heidi Ho notices my knee wrap and offers fresh KT tape. I accept and rewrap my knee. So good. Here are the girls:

And here is my campsite. I added a few rocks around my quilt in case it gets windy, but time will tell if that works.

Tomorrow night the rain may start. My main goal is to hike about 20 miles and be in a position to camp with my tarp up. It would be nice if the smoke cleared. The peaks in this section are spectacular. More tomorrow.

• August 14
• Starting mile: 2503
• Ending mile: 2521
• Daily PCT miles: 18
• Total PCT miles: 1149
• Animals: grouse family, deer family, marmot bachelor