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| Descending Cispus Basin at dawn |
I took a completely gorgeous trip through the Goat Rocks today. This was a stunning walk through some beautiful high alpine country. I was lucky to have fairly clear views and good weather for most of the day. The skies were a bit hazy toward Rainier due to some fires but otherwise the views were spectacular. I had not expected to see so much absolutely sublime scenery.
I started at 6:15am, descending cross-country through the meadow down to the PCT. I dipped water out of a giant waterfall which ran right across the trail. Then the trail meandered up and down in subalpine forest and across a talus field with a long hand-built rock wall. The trail ascended up into the one of the largest meadow systems I have ever seen. There was a profusion of blooms all around. In the cool early morning, everything was totally lovely.
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| Looking back at Cispus Basin |
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| Mt. Adams |
The trail continued to climb, traversing below Mt. Ives and then everything turned to rock and then to a mix of rock and snow and ice. There were several interesting volcanic features including a large black butte of dark columns. There were lots of cool camps throughout the high meadows. Near the top, the trail splits. I chose the high route across the top of Old Snowy. This was a very cool place up a steep rocky staircase to the windy summit. In the distance I could see Goat Lake which looks like a very cool place to visit. It is a lake ringed by a steep peak with chunks of ice floating in it.
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| Snowgrass Flats |
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| Goat Lake |
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| Mt. Rainier through a smoky haze |
In the distance, I could see the fabled knife-edged ridge which I had heard about from several sources, including stories of hikers have to back-track to allow horses to pass. I could see the trail following the ridge top and occasionally passing below peaks on narrow ledges. The descent down to the ridge also felt precarious with steep drop-offs and lots of loose rocks. I descended with care. My pack was lighter than at the beginning of the trip, but it was still in excess of 45lbs and I didn't want to overbalance and trip over the edge. Some of the trail was on piles of shale which tinkled like bells when they shifted under your feet.
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| Descending Old Snowy |
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| Looking back toward Mt. Curtis Gilbert |
I had the trail to myself for nearly the entire crossing and didn't encounter any hikers until I was nearly all the way across (which took about 1.5 hours including breaks). It was amazing to see tiny plants clinging to the rocks, in a place that is often cold and windy with a very short summer.
There was a nice basin below Elk Pass but the sun was beating down and it was blasting hot. I was parched and stopped at a stream where it was gushing out from under a giant snowfield. I soaked my feet and ate lunch, wearing all my clothes to protect my skin from the blazing sun.
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| Elk Pass environs |
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| Bidding farewell to the high country near Elk Pass |
After lunch the trail descended through meadows to treeline and soon I was back into the forest for the remainder of the trip. At a stream, I chatted with a backpacking couple who were telling me about how they had just gotten ultralight gear and were out for one night without any tent or rain gear (foreshadowing!). After carrying my enormous pack for seven days, their setup looked very attractive and I started wondering what I might jettison from my pack for future trips.
I targeted Tieton Pass for a possible final camp but when I reached there, I couldn't find any sign of water. The camps were horsey, dark, and unappealing, so I decided to continue on to Hidden Springs. Hidden Springs was about 1.5 miles from the PCT and after a long day of hiking, I was worried that there might not actually be water there. The only other water would be at Shoe Lake but it is illegal to camp there. When I reached Hidden Springs, I quickly found the spring but was unnerved by all the people camping there. Even though it is a backcountry campground (meaning you can't drive there), there were several large families with tons of gear. It took awhile to find a site which was really just a narrow rock on the edge of a cliff. Views were nice and the nearby family seemed nice. I set up my camp quickly, trekked back to the spring to get water, and settled into my tent for a pre-dinner nap.
I started to hear thunder in the distance and looked out to see dark clouds across the valley. Very soon after the thunder got closer and closer and suddenly WHAM! Lightning struck nearby and my whole body jolted. I was very lucky to be on my air pad. I heard a loud sizzling sound and knew instantly that there was a tree on fire. I got out of my tent and saw that the tree was only 20 feet away and the crown was on fire. I yelled and went to investigate. The side of the tree had blown off and there were burning branches and brush on the ground as well as the crown. I started to pack up my tent but one of the campers wanted to put out the fire so I grabbed my ice axe and helped put out the ground fire. The crown was still crackling and I knew we couldn't stay there in case it got hotter and started other trees on fire. I got packed up and started to hike out. All the other campers were packing up and some were talking about going down to Shoe Lake. I decided to make my way toward White Pass and camp anywhere along the way that looked ok. Helicopters were flying back and forth inspecting the damage and I saw several fires in the distance including one very close to the trail and one in the direction of White Pass. That made my decision easy. I would hike out and camp at White Pass in the ski area. As I passed above Shoe Lake, I could see the campers below arriving at the lake basin. I passed the first fire without incident and could see fire off in the distance where the PCT heads down toward the highway. I crossed a small pass and saw 3 huge elk standing in the trail not far from me. It was a stunning sight and one I will never forget. They are not at all like deer. They are huge and so majestic as they scampered off down the slope.
It was very buggy in the woods and started to get dark. I passed one European southbound hiker who asked me about the fires. I warned him but he did not want to turn around. "Zee bugz are reeelly bad!" I reached the ski area and hiked down the access road until I found a flattish place to hang out for the night. I was able to get one short call through to Laura, cooked dinner, and went to bed only about 2 miles from the road.
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| afterstorm |
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| I was hoping this fire did not cross the PCT. |
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| Looking down at Shoe Lake |
The fire on the PCT near White Pass was eventually labeled the Miriam Fire. It burned over 5000 acres and the PCT was re-routed through the ski area for the rest of the summer.
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