PCT to White Pass, Day 5, Adams High Camp to 2nd Walupt Tr Jcn (2018/07/26)

Back on the PCT at the Killeen Tr. Jcn.
Today was a fairly leisurely day for a 15mile day. I kept moving all day because there were few views and lots of bugs. I cut the day short when I passed a small lake at about 3:30pm. Ten hours of hiking was long enough and this camp turned out to be one of my favorite camps of the entire trip.

The day started out very scenic as I descended from Adams High Camp. Once I completed the steep descent back to the PCT, it was an all day cruise with mostly gentle ups and downs or generally flat terrain. The early morning was entirely in shadow of the trees and mountain. I reached Lava Spring by about 8am. Icy cold water gushes out from beneath a lava flow. People say this is the freshest, cleanest water on the entire PCT. It was quite cold and totally refreshing.






Again, I did not pass many northbounders, was only passed by one northbounder, and saw about two dozen southbounders. After Lava Spring, it was about 5 miles or so through a strange pine/fir forest. For awhile it was on an old abandoned dirt road. The track was very sandy. At one stop, I saw a gigantic spider, like I have never seen anywhere in the west. Then I passed a woman carrying a pack that was even larger than mine!

After crossing a road and rounding a small ridge, the trail entered a swampy area with lots of ponds. The trail went in and out of woods and meadows of blooming beargrass. Before lunch, I passed a work crew cutting up a fallen tree. After I passed, I realized all the workers were women, mostly my mom's age: a crew of chainsaw-wielding grannies!

Mosquitoes were pretty thick and you could barely stop for a few moments anywhere without getting swarmed. I didn't pump water anywhere until I got to camp because there were no streams and most of the ponds were difficult to reach.









At the lake where I camped, I chatted briefly with a German hiker I had met earlier in the day. She was not very talkative and set up her tent and never left it until morning. I spent a lot of time hanging out near the lake. There were tons of dragonflies which is a good omen when it comes to mosquitoes! In the evening, I hiked around a bit and watched a plover calling to a potential mate on the other side of the lake. Finally it flew over and they did some dancing and showing off and the two birds hooked up and flew around the lake together. As I was walking, I looked down in horror and noticed hundreds of tiny frogs clambering over the muddy ground. Most were crawling away from the lake toward the woods and I was horrified that I may have stomped on several as I walked around. I very carefully made my way back to camp after the sun set.




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