Day 81 – Night Terror

Last night I awoke at 11:30 because something was very wrong. It was pouring outside – hail mixed with rain. I reach out to see if the ground under my tarp is wet. The entire ground is covered in a half inch of cold water! The only reason I am still dry is that I am perched in a three-inch-high air mattress. This is bad. If my quilt gets wet, I am in big trouble.

Animals are not sympathetic

Not only that, some big animals are moving around outside my tent. It could be deer, elk or a mountain goats, but whatever they is, they are making a racket. Hooves on rocks and stones tumbling. One steps on my tarp stake – my tarp shakes. What is going on out there?

I hear scurrying. Mice are on my pack next to me. I realize that I forgot to remove snacks from my pack belt pocket. The mice have chewed a hole in the pocket to get the snacks. I swat one mouse away, but it comes right back. I can’t reach the pocket without getting my quilt wet in the water around me. I let the mice do what they will. I try to stay still to keep my quilt on the air mattress. Luckily, my pack is close to me on one side and my food bag is close on the other. This helps to keep my quilt in place.

The mice run back and forth under the tarp all night. Occasionally they go to my left side and test my food bag. I swat at them. The wind makes my head cold through my stocking cap. I pull my head inside and try to sleep. I have to pee really bad, but there is no way to leave the quilt. Both pairs of shoes are soaked and I can’t get up without taking my quilt off. I hold myself (like a three-year-old) and this helps. It is only 1:30. How will I make it like this all night? Rocks tumble down the scree field. Hooves clatter.

Little mercies

Eventually the rain let’s up and becomes slow and steady. The water drops leaving my ground cloth covered with mud.

Morning light comes and I find a way to get out of the tent without getting my quilt wet. The rain stops! I need to get packed up before the rain starts again! I take off my warm clothes and in the hardest decision of the day I put on my cold wet clothes. Now I need to hike myself warm!

More talus fields this morning. These mountains are crumbling.

I call this land harsh because I was unprepared for it. This is unfair. This is Washington. Cold snaps and rain like this are common in late August. The views are not the perfect ones you see on postcards or screensavers, but they are still beautiful.

Hart’s Pass

Hart’s Pass has a sprawling campground. It is packed with campers as I pass above it.

When I reach guard station, I sign the guest register. I attempt to dry out my tarp and get some of the mud off my ground sheet. The Ranger let’s me spread stuff out on their Jeep. I eat lunch and let the wind work on the drying. It helps a little, but I make a muddy mess of the Jeep (sorry!)

I head up the trail away from the pass and towards the border which is 30 miles away. I would like to hike another 10 or 15 miles. I hope that Moving Target and Jazzy will catch up, but in this weather that might be hard.

I meet Viking. I had lunch with him and Sunrise the first day out of Skykomish. He has a big smile on his face. I say “Congratulations!” He is the first thru-hiker I have said this to and it sounds good. Soon, folks will be saying that to me. Sunrise, Wrong Way are right behind. A few minutes later, I meet my friend Nico and his friend Dogbite. We bump fists. I am so happy for Nico. He tells me they had the same harrowing experience with the animal herd stomping around his tent at that campsite.

Shrouded in mystery

The clouds surround me. There is little to see but the trail before me. All the better to focus on hiking.

Suddenly, the clouds part, and I glimpse something strange. Is it a UFO? The clouds close over it again. I suppose this would be the perfect place for an alien abduction. But I can’t be bothered with that. As long as they don’t drop me off farther from the border!

I descend into a forest. The huckleberries are thick in here. And there is also a cool looking fungus.

Hope

I choose to camp at the Holman Trail Junction. It is at a lower elevation and should be warmer The forecast says that the skies should clear tonight, so the ascent in the morning should be pleasant. In camp, a group of three middle-aged men are returning after touching the border this morning. These men have been hiking the trail together in sections for the past six years. Last year they had to stop in Stehekin because one of them got an injury. They returned this year to complete the last eighty miles. Perseverance. I will reach the border tomorrow.

• August 21
• Startinge mile: 2617
• Ending mile: 2636
• Daily PCT miles: 19
• Total PCT miles: 1264
• Animals: Mice and deer