The campsite for the night had been awesome. There were many mountain goats above us on the rocks. What an odd scenario that the large mammal I've seen the most of on the hike has been mountain goats. The camp was too awesome, it was filled with thru-hikers.
Friday I visited with Double Tap a little bit. He was really cheerful. He had just taken a double zero when he got to White Pass. He had planned to just zero, but it felt so good, and he felt he needed more rest, that he stayed an extra day. I was dripping with jealousy as he told me how good the two day rest made him feel.
It seems most hikers are on edge these days. The long hike, and the exhaustion, are making the nicest people less nice. It seemed to start around the California-Oregon border, but has been intensifying as the end is approaching.
What would attitudes be like if the incredible number of kind people weren't along the way providing encouragement and support?
Waking up at 3:30, unable to sleep, I hatched a plan to get me a double zero at Snoqualmie Pass. It would require two 30 mile days, one Saturday, then one Sunday, and check into the hotel Sunday night. So I got up at 4:30, started hiking at 5:00 by headlamp, and started putting in miles.
The advantage of hiking early is experiencing the sunrise. Another advantage is the wildlife. I scared up a herd of elk. No elk hunters were around until later.
Nice morning views of the sun hitting Mount Ranier.
I made it to my first stopping point, Urich Cabin, a little after ten. This was about 13 miles and it was early. I was feeling good. I slowed down considerably after this stop.
The view from the front porch of Urich Cabin, looking at Government Meadow.
Mount Ranier is spectacular and photogenic.
A surprise couple of trail angels, Kevin and Karen, greeted me at a logging road crossing. Karen was explaining the food options to OG.
Kevin setting up the perfect shot, with Mount Rainer as the backdrop, for a couple of thru-hikers, Peanut and Dozen.
They have nice trail magic, which is well received and appreciated.
I couldn't make it the thirty miles originally in mind, so stopped after 25 miles. I camped with Halfmile and had great conversation while cooking dinner.
The 30 mile days are over not just because of the Washington trails. The days are getting shorter. Hiking some in the morning and the evening with a headlamp is fine. Hiking too much in the dark cuts into one of the main reasons for hiking, to see things.
Halfmile had just met an odd character on the trail. A guy hiking with red ski boots, aluminum foil fashioned like a hat or helmet on his head, and irrationally talking about his motorcycle. The guy then bailed off the trail, down into steep territory. As he was telling the story of this strange character still in the vicinity I got the sense Halfmile was glad I joined his camp for the evening.
September 7-Sunday-Trail Magic Times Two
I woke up early and decided to get a couple of hours hiking in before breakfast. There was a rumor of trail magic at Tacoma Pass. After four miles I arrived at the pass. The rumors were true.
Not Phil's Dad was the trail angel. His son, Not Phil, was a PCT thru-hiker a few years ago, and that got Not Phil's Dad into the trail angel game. He is very good at it. There was a lot of great food, hot coffee, and plenty of interesting conversation with other thru-hikers, and with Not Phil's Dad. The disadvantage was I got stuck in the vortex. Two hours later I finally got on the trail again.
Two of the hikers had recently been to Kenya. One had been there for a year. I picked their brains for information useful for my trip in November with Hotshot to Kenya and Tanzania to hike/climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
A few hours later I was looking for lunch items and was surprised that I still had some Snickers left in the bottom of my food bag from Mr. Snickers. This topped off my lunch.
Immediately after eating I hiked down the trail and came across another trail angel. The number of trail angels in this area is becoming comical. The entire state of Oregon only had one set up like the four recent set ups in Washington. The fact that it was a weekend made a huge difference. The Stumbling Norwegian was getting ready to close down as we were leaving. He lives in the Seattle area and this is weekend fun for him.
Stumbling Norwegian had an impressive lunch/dinner spread at Stampede Pass. In true thru-hiker form, I ate again. A hamburger, potato chips, soda, fruit, and pastries tasted great. It was incredible. This vortex trapped me for about an hour and a half. Halfmile caught up with me and we headed to camp eight miles further up the trail.
I ate so much there was no need for dinner. This makes four trail angels in three days, unprecedented. On the typical day it is an effort to just maintain weight. I'm convinced I actually gained weight today, even with hiking 24 miles.
The end of week 23, at mile 2392 on the shore of Twilight Lake, ten miles out of Snoqulamie Pass. Laying in my tent, listening to an elk bugle.
A 25 and a 24 mile day was not enough to get me to Snoqualmie Pass, but it got me close enough to allow for a short nero. While my plan wasn't fully successful, it will still allow for more rest.
I am so ready for the upcoming needed break.
