Back to blogging from my hiatus called grad school and now I have to catch up, as I’m 18 months behind. The following are short reviews of places I did get to visit while in school.
Showing posts with label hiking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hiking. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Wonderland Trail Day 12: Indian Bar to White River
Aug 20
Mileage: 13.5 miles
Indian Bar: 5120 ft
White River: 4300 ft
I didn't sleep particularly well as I was too wound up about finishing up. I had set my alarm for 0500 and woke up at 0450, so got up and went up the hill for a facilities visit and to grab the food bag. I had some tea and breakfast watching the sunrise and it was spectacular! After that, started packing up and getting ready to go. Also, I ate another meal and left camp around 0650 leaving my camp neighbors in their slumber.
I had to cross the river twice leaving camp once via the bridge the other via over a rock bridge and glad I left early in the day because in the afternoon the river runs higher with the melt-off so those rocks are under water. I had to look for rock cairns to navigate through some of the river bed and then headed uphill towards the Panhandle Gap not knowing what really to expect up there. By 0800 it was getting warm and I worked my way uphill and the scenery was really beautiful. I kept turning around to look towards the south and Mt. Adams and for a while I could look down and see the Indian Bar group shelter. Finally, I made the ridge and took a break and took a bunch of pictures as all around me were spectacular views. I kept looking around for the Gap not knowing really what it looked like and kept guessing it was higher up.
I kept walking and enjoying the view along the way and finally started a down the trail and crossed a snow field and kept picking up rock cairns to navigate through the area and then started back uphill to the Gap. I then remembered reading that the PG (Panhandle Gap) had some trees by it and there it was right in front of me. Finally, I ran into another guy solo hiker, we talked a bit and I told him about the bear. He was surprised about that! From that point the trail went up and down and I had to cross another snow field which had no rock cairns so wasn't sure which way to go after crossing it, but found some boot prints and kept moving. I then had a long climb up to the saddle heading down to Summerland. I felt good and also felt I was making good time.
I took some pictures atop the saddle as the views were...no words...I had the mountain to my left, blue lakes with Summerland below me and valleys along with the east Casade Mountains behind me. About this time, I saw 2 hikers coming up the hill and what do you know, it was the brother and sister with the huge packs that I met on the west side. Kelly and Doug introduced themselves and we exchanged stories about our trail adventures. Kelly's pack was much smaller so she must have dumped some stuff somewhere and I told them about the bears. I asked about camp and they pointed to where it was and mentioned that it was a very steep and rocky descent. They then departed for the PG and I headed downhill.
They weren't kidding on the descent, it was all rock and very slow going for me with my knees aching and watching my step so my ankle doesn't roll. Also, it was hot now and lots of day hikers out and about. I ran into a foursome that I met on the west side and talked with them and they took a picture of me. It is nice going CCW as one of the benefits of the direction is seeing people a second time and see how they are doing. Another benefit is not many people go this way and it is nice to have some space.
Doug had told me to get water before going to camp as there was a stream by the river, so arriving by the bridge to Fryingpan Creek, I dropped the pack and took a break to rehydrate, rest and refill the bladder. After hitting the trail again, I crossed the logbridge over the creek and the river was high. The trail was still rocky, downhill and now slick with water. I just took my time walking to be safe and stopped for pictures frequently. Finally, the rock gave way to dirt trail and I was never so happy to see a dirt trail as I was at that moment. My feet and knees were hurting bad and I began to wonder if I could make it to my car some 9.5 miles away. I crossed small creeks and beautiful wild flowers some that I haven't seen before. I arrived at the group shelter about 1115 but I didn't care that I walked a mile an hour here as this area is so stunning you have to stop and look or what's the point.
I dropped my pack and noticed a woman hiking in a dress and she was at Devil's Dream, so another person I've seen twice. I walked towards the toilet as the toilet here is a solar powered compositing type. Sitting in the shade was a group of asian women enjoying the lunch of sushi and bento boxes. I just laughed about the fact that they hiked up here with those things in their packs. As I walked by they all said hi to me and got all excited about something. I went back to the shelter and broke out the stove and got some water started for lunch. I had pulled out a chili with rice meal and got water on it to rehydrate it. It was really good!
About that time, a guy came into camp and he looked familiar and a few minutes later the woman he was hiking with. I then remembered meeting them on the west side and the woman starting talking with me remembering me as well for the GPS. They ended up hanging out with me for an hour or so. Again we compared notes and they told me that I gave them good info and that I gave the best tips on the trail out of anyone. That was a nice compliment from someone. Steph and Dave were from Vancouver, WA and pretty much did the same route as myself except they were going CW. They asked about my food so I explained to them about dehydrating and making my own meals. It felt good to sit and eat and take an extended break with my boots off. After an hour or so, Steph and Dave were leaving and heading towards Indian Bar, so we said our good-byes. (Note to Steph and Dave; I've looked for your blog with no luck, so if you ever read this, email or leave a comment so I can contact you guys)
I got packed and ready to go and then the Asian ladies were all standing by the trail out of camp, so they all wanted to know about my trip. A few knew English and translated for the rest of the group and they were all amazed I was hiking by myself and the distance I have walked. They get together to day hike and go somewhere different all the time. An older lady then came into camp with the Asian ladies all excited about her, so with my 15 minutes of fame up, I bid them good-bye and left camp at 1400.
Distances from this point forward vary and the rangers told me it was 9 miles, so that's what I was expecting with the trail signs showing less. I left heading downhill in the heat of the day on a full belly feeling good except for my knees ached and my feet sore, but no worries, I was heading home! I ran into a mother/daughter team out day hiking and talked with them and they took some pictures of me. The trail went down via switchbacks until the second crossing of Fryingpan Creek and into the cooler forest. Steph had told me that the trail was wide, very nice and flat in some parts. She was right and it was a nice hike down but the knees and feet were starting to hurt in a big way and I began to wonder if maybe I should have stayed in camp. Dayhikers passed me from both directions and finally I made to the junction that heads to White River with the sign reading 2.7 miles. I was happy with less than 3 miles to go! I just shook my head as the trail headed uphill. This part of the trail is new and was completed in 2004, so I wasn't too happy to see any uphill at this point. I came to another junction with a trail sign saying 1.7 miles to White River and more uphill. I was cussing at this point as I've just hiked all these miles and have to finish hiking uphill!!!
Actually, after this uphill climb the trail leveled out and was very nice and I was hoping to make it to the car in about an hour. This is the part where the hair on the back of my neck stood up and I felt like I was being watched hoping it wasn't another bear! I couldn't take another run-in with a bruin and up the trail I found fresh bear scat on the trail probably an hour old or so. GREAT!! I kept looking around and making heaps of noise to scare any potential bears in the hood off. I also picked up the pace as the GPS showed me less than a mile away! I was starting to wonder when I would head downhill when the trail headed down just for a little bit and then the trail popped out on the river bed. Wow, I'm almost done!!!!
I followed the rock cairns and trail to the log bridge and my last river crossing. This one was the scariest of them all, as the river was really high and fast being late in the day and the log bridge was different from the rest as you crossed one and had to step down onto another. I took my time and some pictures and walked through the picnic area to my car arriving at 1810. I had just completed the WLT solo and probably walked 95 miles with the trail detours!! There was no big celebration, just an urgent need to get my boots off as both my feet were numb. I dropped my pack, got the boots off and relaxed for a bit. I had a young lady walking through the parking lot take my picture, post hike celebration complete. We talked for a bit and she was working a summer job up at Sunrise and had summited Rainier early in the season.
I got cleaned up, changed and packed up the car and left. It felt weird driving again and I realized how exhausted I really was. Both my feet felt like ground hamburger and were numb and I was worried about that and wondering why as well. I drove to Enumclaw and did something I never ever do, stopped at McDonald's and got something to eat I was so hungry. I sat in the parking lot eating and called both Jim and Dawn to let them know I finished and was on the way home.
Post-hike
I had the next 3 days off of work and just did post hike recovery by sleeping and relaxing. I did stretch as much as possible. I couldn't wear shoes for like 10 days and even went to work with sandals on.
The following week I was back in the gym working out and getting back to my normal routine.
I tried to curb my appetite as I didn't want to eat like I was still on the trail. Last time I did that, I gained a bunch of the weight back, so wanted to be conscious of my diet this time around.
People often asked me 'was it worth it?' or 'would I do it again?' My intial responses were, 'not sure' and 'ask me in six months'. Now after a month, I would answer 'yes' and 'yes' with looking at another go in 2012.
When I arrived back at work, my team of guys had a command post on the wall. I was really touched. They had put pins in the map when I arrived at camp and even printed out my SPOT maps for the all the days. Nothing beats some crew love!!!
I hope you enjoyed this blog of my journey around the mountain.
Mileage: 13.5 miles
Indian Bar: 5120 ft
White River: 4300 ft
I didn't sleep particularly well as I was too wound up about finishing up. I had set my alarm for 0500 and woke up at 0450, so got up and went up the hill for a facilities visit and to grab the food bag. I had some tea and breakfast watching the sunrise and it was spectacular! After that, started packing up and getting ready to go. Also, I ate another meal and left camp around 0650 leaving my camp neighbors in their slumber.
Indian Bar shelter across
the river with the sunrise
I had to cross the river twice leaving camp once via the bridge the other via over a rock bridge and glad I left early in the day because in the afternoon the river runs higher with the melt-off so those rocks are under water. I had to look for rock cairns to navigate through some of the river bed and then headed uphill towards the Panhandle Gap not knowing what really to expect up there. By 0800 it was getting warm and I worked my way uphill and the scenery was really beautiful. I kept turning around to look towards the south and Mt. Adams and for a while I could look down and see the Indian Bar group shelter. Finally, I made the ridge and took a break and took a bunch of pictures as all around me were spectacular views. I kept looking around for the Gap not knowing really what it looked like and kept guessing it was higher up.
Looking southeast to Mt. Adams
Beautiful!
Trail behind me
I kept walking and enjoying the view along the way and finally started a down the trail and crossed a snow field and kept picking up rock cairns to navigate through the area and then started back uphill to the Gap. I then remembered reading that the PG (Panhandle Gap) had some trees by it and there it was right in front of me. Finally, I ran into another guy solo hiker, we talked a bit and I told him about the bear. He was surprised about that! From that point the trail went up and down and I had to cross another snow field which had no rock cairns so wasn't sure which way to go after crossing it, but found some boot prints and kept moving. I then had a long climb up to the saddle heading down to Summerland. I felt good and also felt I was making good time.
Trail heading to the PG
PG in front of me
Trail heading to Summerland
I took some pictures atop the saddle as the views were...no words...I had the mountain to my left, blue lakes with Summerland below me and valleys along with the east Casade Mountains behind me. About this time, I saw 2 hikers coming up the hill and what do you know, it was the brother and sister with the huge packs that I met on the west side. Kelly and Doug introduced themselves and we exchanged stories about our trail adventures. Kelly's pack was much smaller so she must have dumped some stuff somewhere and I told them about the bears. I asked about camp and they pointed to where it was and mentioned that it was a very steep and rocky descent. They then departed for the PG and I headed downhill.
No words!
They weren't kidding on the descent, it was all rock and very slow going for me with my knees aching and watching my step so my ankle doesn't roll. Also, it was hot now and lots of day hikers out and about. I ran into a foursome that I met on the west side and talked with them and they took a picture of me. It is nice going CCW as one of the benefits of the direction is seeing people a second time and see how they are doing. Another benefit is not many people go this way and it is nice to have some space.Doug had told me to get water before going to camp as there was a stream by the river, so arriving by the bridge to Fryingpan Creek, I dropped the pack and took a break to rehydrate, rest and refill the bladder. After hitting the trail again, I crossed the logbridge over the creek and the river was high. The trail was still rocky, downhill and now slick with water. I just took my time walking to be safe and stopped for pictures frequently. Finally, the rock gave way to dirt trail and I was never so happy to see a dirt trail as I was at that moment. My feet and knees were hurting bad and I began to wonder if I could make it to my car some 9.5 miles away. I crossed small creeks and beautiful wild flowers some that I haven't seen before. I arrived at the group shelter about 1115 but I didn't care that I walked a mile an hour here as this area is so stunning you have to stop and look or what's the point.
Rainer with Summerland
I dropped my pack and noticed a woman hiking in a dress and she was at Devil's Dream, so another person I've seen twice. I walked towards the toilet as the toilet here is a solar powered compositing type. Sitting in the shade was a group of asian women enjoying the lunch of sushi and bento boxes. I just laughed about the fact that they hiked up here with those things in their packs. As I walked by they all said hi to me and got all excited about something. I went back to the shelter and broke out the stove and got some water started for lunch. I had pulled out a chili with rice meal and got water on it to rehydrate it. It was really good!
About that time, a guy came into camp and he looked familiar and a few minutes later the woman he was hiking with. I then remembered meeting them on the west side and the woman starting talking with me remembering me as well for the GPS. They ended up hanging out with me for an hour or so. Again we compared notes and they told me that I gave them good info and that I gave the best tips on the trail out of anyone. That was a nice compliment from someone. Steph and Dave were from Vancouver, WA and pretty much did the same route as myself except they were going CW. They asked about my food so I explained to them about dehydrating and making my own meals. It felt good to sit and eat and take an extended break with my boots off. After an hour or so, Steph and Dave were leaving and heading towards Indian Bar, so we said our good-byes. (Note to Steph and Dave; I've looked for your blog with no luck, so if you ever read this, email or leave a comment so I can contact you guys)
I got packed and ready to go and then the Asian ladies were all standing by the trail out of camp, so they all wanted to know about my trip. A few knew English and translated for the rest of the group and they were all amazed I was hiking by myself and the distance I have walked. They get together to day hike and go somewhere different all the time. An older lady then came into camp with the Asian ladies all excited about her, so with my 15 minutes of fame up, I bid them good-bye and left camp at 1400.
Distances from this point forward vary and the rangers told me it was 9 miles, so that's what I was expecting with the trail signs showing less. I left heading downhill in the heat of the day on a full belly feeling good except for my knees ached and my feet sore, but no worries, I was heading home! I ran into a mother/daughter team out day hiking and talked with them and they took some pictures of me. The trail went down via switchbacks until the second crossing of Fryingpan Creek and into the cooler forest. Steph had told me that the trail was wide, very nice and flat in some parts. She was right and it was a nice hike down but the knees and feet were starting to hurt in a big way and I began to wonder if maybe I should have stayed in camp. Dayhikers passed me from both directions and finally I made to the junction that heads to White River with the sign reading 2.7 miles. I was happy with less than 3 miles to go! I just shook my head as the trail headed uphill. This part of the trail is new and was completed in 2004, so I wasn't too happy to see any uphill at this point. I came to another junction with a trail sign saying 1.7 miles to White River and more uphill. I was cussing at this point as I've just hiked all these miles and have to finish hiking uphill!!!
Actually, after this uphill climb the trail leveled out and was very nice and I was hoping to make it to the car in about an hour. This is the part where the hair on the back of my neck stood up and I felt like I was being watched hoping it wasn't another bear! I couldn't take another run-in with a bruin and up the trail I found fresh bear scat on the trail probably an hour old or so. GREAT!! I kept looking around and making heaps of noise to scare any potential bears in the hood off. I also picked up the pace as the GPS showed me less than a mile away! I was starting to wonder when I would head downhill when the trail headed down just for a little bit and then the trail popped out on the river bed. Wow, I'm almost done!!!!
Heading out of the forest
to the river bed
White River crossing
I followed the rock cairns and trail to the log bridge and my last river crossing. This one was the scariest of them all, as the river was really high and fast being late in the day and the log bridge was different from the rest as you crossed one and had to step down onto another. I took my time and some pictures and walked through the picnic area to my car arriving at 1810. I had just completed the WLT solo and probably walked 95 miles with the trail detours!! There was no big celebration, just an urgent need to get my boots off as both my feet were numb. I dropped my pack, got the boots off and relaxed for a bit. I had a young lady walking through the parking lot take my picture, post hike celebration complete. We talked for a bit and she was working a summer job up at Sunrise and had summited Rainier early in the season. I got cleaned up, changed and packed up the car and left. It felt weird driving again and I realized how exhausted I really was. Both my feet felt like ground hamburger and were numb and I was worried about that and wondering why as well. I drove to Enumclaw and did something I never ever do, stopped at McDonald's and got something to eat I was so hungry. I sat in the parking lot eating and called both Jim and Dawn to let them know I finished and was on the way home.
Post-hike
I had the next 3 days off of work and just did post hike recovery by sleeping and relaxing. I did stretch as much as possible. I couldn't wear shoes for like 10 days and even went to work with sandals on.
The following week I was back in the gym working out and getting back to my normal routine.
I tried to curb my appetite as I didn't want to eat like I was still on the trail. Last time I did that, I gained a bunch of the weight back, so wanted to be conscious of my diet this time around.
People often asked me 'was it worth it?' or 'would I do it again?' My intial responses were, 'not sure' and 'ask me in six months'. Now after a month, I would answer 'yes' and 'yes' with looking at another go in 2012.
When I arrived back at work, my team of guys had a command post on the wall. I was really touched. They had put pins in the map when I arrived at camp and even printed out my SPOT maps for the all the days. Nothing beats some crew love!!!
I hope you enjoyed this blog of my journey around the mountain.
Wonderland Trail Day 11: Maple Creek to Indian Bar
Aug 19
Mileage: 10 miles
Maple Creek: 2815 ft
Indian Bar: 5120 ft
I woke up again at first light and got moving this morning as I knew I had a long walk most of it uphill today so I wanted to get an early start. Also, I wanted to beat the heat of the day as I was going to be exposed to the sun most of the day. I had breakfast and got packed and ready to go along with the guys next to me. They got up, packed the tent and left without eating anything and that is something I couldn't do as I need my energy. I left camp quietly at 0700 as the other in camp were still sleeping, heading towards Box Canyon which was some 2 miles away setting a 1 hour goal. I wanted to make Nickel Creek 3.3 miles away by 0900.
The hike started out flat to the river crossing and then the trail started uphill to Box Canyon. The climb wasn't too bad and the morning started to heat up. I arrived at Box Canyon around 0800 keeping the pace I wanted to. The trail turned into cement for the tourist so that was kind of nice for a little bit. I had never been to Box Canyon so it was pretty cool to see the Cowlitz River run through it as well to see what the river had carved out. There were no people there at 0800 so I had the place to myself, sweet! I took my time looking around and taking some pictures.
Getting on the trail again and heading uphill to Nickel Creek through a forest and crossed Nickel Creek. I wanted to stop and have a bottle of water with a Nuun tablet in it. I was feeling dehydrated already, but wanted to go to camp too so I arrived at camp at 0900. I took a break there and wanted to get water, but found out from some guys in camp that I had to hike back to the creek and I didn't want to walk backwards, so didn't go. I had a snack and started back on the uphill climb to Indian Bar.
I met a couple of older men on the trail heading to Maple Creek, so we talked for a few about the trail and the campsites. They told me I was in for a treat once I got to the top of this climb and that Indian Bar was really beautiful. I told them about Maple Creek and they were in the forest for the rest of their hike. After I left them, an older man and then an older women with her granddaughter passed me from behind on a day hike to Indian Bar and they were all moving pretty fast.
I made it to the top and started climbing up some more but I was in the open and finally could view some scenery and it was beautiful. I turned around and I saw Mt Adams to the south, that was cool! At one point, I heard a jet engine and knew that noise, it was a Mcchord C-17 flying overhead and I got a picture of it. I'm guessing they were coming from the Yakima area since they were flying low level. That was cool and unexpected. I stopped under a tree for a break and a break from the heat. The black flies were out in full force bugging the hell out of me. You try to ignore them, but some of them little bastards started biting me. The wild flowers were beautiful and the scenery gorgeous especially to the east and south.
There were times where Rainier would be visible and it was breath taking to see it especially after my first 8 days. I was hoping to find a creek or some water but so far, nothing. There were some flat meadows and a few downhills along the way and this area started making up for the first part of the trip. Funny how a moment in time can make the past seem irrelevant or just flat out move your soul and I was having one of those moments. My camera cannot do this area any justice!
There have been times in my life that scared the crap out of me most of it having to do with flying until today. I was walking along ridge line about 2.2 miles S/SE out of Indian Bar with a slope to my right and an uphill climb through a field of wild flowers via switchbacks on my left. The only bear reports I heard of were at Mystic Lake and that was way behind me. I was minding my own business and all of a sudden I hear this pounding of weight with growling noise come flying down the hill at me. I damn near jumped out of skin and looked to the left to see a blur of cinnamon colored fur going flying by me. I froze knowing it was a bear, but didn't see it and couldn't hear it and I was looking all around trying to find it. I didn't know if I had walked upon a mom and her cub or what, but I was way scared as I knew it was close. The black bears in the park are benign and there are no documented cases of black bears attacking humans in the park, but that doesn't mean anything.
I was standing on the first switchback making noise, banging my hiking sticks and talking out loud to scare the bear as the rangers suggested but didn't see or hear anything, so I had no idea where it was or went. Also, I didn't see a bear run back up the uphill and the only thing I heard was my heart pounding in my head. I slowly headed up the switchbacks making noise and taking my time keeping my head on a swivel here. I got to the last switchback that headed to the meadow, so started to walk and about step 2, I heard a snorting noise and froze in mid-stride. There about 5 feet from me was a juvenile male bear with his butt towards me eating flowers. I banged my sticks and we both jumped as he swung around to face me. Again, I banged my sticks trying to look bigger and started yelling at the bear to GO. He didn't and stood there looking at me. I got a picture figuring it was proof and if he got me, the rangers would know what bear to look for. I started a mental self-assessment, thinking that I couldn't run as I had a pack on, the bear can run up to 35 mph, climb trees higher and faster than I could say it and I was born a slow white woman, so this was definitely a lose-lose situation. At the same time, I'm looking around for the other bear that came down the hill. The bear turned and faced me head on, crap now what do I do?!!!!
This is one of those weird moments in my life as I'm standing here talking with a bear trying to keep the moment lite and you are told is not to look a bear in the eye as they take it as a challenge. I asked the bear what he was going to do, and looking at him I could almost hear him say, " Lady, you are in my space, interrupting my lunch, DO YOU MIND, so get lost! I apologized to the bear for interrupting his lunch and asked for permission to move on. The bear then laid on his left side and continued to eat his flowers. I side stepped past him and kept walking. Holy shit!!!! I can't believe that just happened to me! About 20 minutes later when the adrenaline wore off, I bent over breathing heavy. To quote my friend Brian, "You step off the cement, you are now part of the food chain". I kept thinking, first I get a mountain goat following me up the trail over in the Olympics and now this! Can I see a marmot please?
The walk through the meadows were spectacular and the mountain views were beyond words. Walking on your feet can most certainly take you to some great places. Heading uphill some more, I was stopped under a tree for a shade break and the older lady and her grand daughter came down and we stopped to chat for a few minutes and she asked me if I had seen the bears. Uh, yeah I did and it didn't seem to be a big deal to her. She told me up over that ridge I would start heading down to camp and they left. So I finished climbing up and then started my 1800 ft decent into camp. It was about this time I ran out of water and was not happy about that.
The decent down was steep and tough on the knees after a long day and some people were now coming up and were breathing pretty hard. I finally made it to camp and saw a stream to my left by the group shelter and a bridge to my right. This guy came from the bridge and asked him if this was the place to get water and he said yeah and that the individual sites were to my right. I thought he was a hiker but found out later, he was part of a trail crew working at the camp. I dropped my pack and sat by the creek to rehydrate for a while and it was really hot now. I was curious about the group shelter but wanted to go check out the camp sites first. The bridge was missing a side of railing so you needed to pay attention so you wouldn't fall in the Ohanapecosh River and the Wauhauhaupauhen Falls, which were really loud.
The camp is built on a hill and I started looking around and I was the only one in camp again. I chose site #2 but didn't want to sit there as it was very open with no tree cover. I grabbed my water filter and some snacks and headed back to the creek. I filled my bladder up along with my bottle and went into the group shelter which was bigger inside than I thought and also much cooler inside. I was wondering where the guys went that I saw sitting here and were wondering if they were staying at the group shelter. Finally, they came back and then I found out they were trail crew. I told them about the bear and told them I may just stay in the group shelter if I'm the only one here and I wouldn't have to set up my tent. One of them said I had a good chance of staying there but if someone else came and had the site on their permit I would have to move. They left and I went and got my stuf2f to move it to the group site since it was already 1730 and nobody else had shown up.
I was nervous about staying here figuring someone would show up late and I'd have to move in the dark. I had lunch and dinner, cleaned up but really never unpacked in the event someone did show up. Two guys showed up but went to the individual sites and didn't come over to where I was. I just hung outside in the shade enjoying the stunning beauty of this area with the sun setting upon it. It got to be about 2000 and I decided to risk it, so put the food on the pole and started to unpack. My original thought was to just pull out the sleeping bag and sleep on one on the bunks in the shelter, but then the mosquitoes came out and I heard some mice scurrying about. I set up the tent in the shelter to get away from the bugs. It was fun just to set up the tent that way and to sleep in the shelter. On the other hand, no cross breeze. About 2100, some Russian guy stuck his head in the shelter asking about a camp site, so told him how to get over there. No one else came to camp, so that was good for me.
I wanted to get up a 0500 and head up to the Panhandle Gap before the heat and the trail crew guy told me it should take a couple of hours to get up there. I went to sleep knowing this was my last night and that I had a big long day in front of me as I decided to not stay at Summerland and finish up the WLT a day early.
Mileage: 10 miles
Maple Creek: 2815 ft
Indian Bar: 5120 ft
I woke up again at first light and got moving this morning as I knew I had a long walk most of it uphill today so I wanted to get an early start. Also, I wanted to beat the heat of the day as I was going to be exposed to the sun most of the day. I had breakfast and got packed and ready to go along with the guys next to me. They got up, packed the tent and left without eating anything and that is something I couldn't do as I need my energy. I left camp quietly at 0700 as the other in camp were still sleeping, heading towards Box Canyon which was some 2 miles away setting a 1 hour goal. I wanted to make Nickel Creek 3.3 miles away by 0900.
The hike started out flat to the river crossing and then the trail started uphill to Box Canyon. The climb wasn't too bad and the morning started to heat up. I arrived at Box Canyon around 0800 keeping the pace I wanted to. The trail turned into cement for the tourist so that was kind of nice for a little bit. I had never been to Box Canyon so it was pretty cool to see the Cowlitz River run through it as well to see what the river had carved out. There were no people there at 0800 so I had the place to myself, sweet! I took my time looking around and taking some pictures.
Stevens Creek
Box Canyon & the Cowlitz River;
Bridge to water, 115 ft
Box Canyon with the
road bridge
Getting on the trail again and heading uphill to Nickel Creek through a forest and crossed Nickel Creek. I wanted to stop and have a bottle of water with a Nuun tablet in it. I was feeling dehydrated already, but wanted to go to camp too so I arrived at camp at 0900. I took a break there and wanted to get water, but found out from some guys in camp that I had to hike back to the creek and I didn't want to walk backwards, so didn't go. I had a snack and started back on the uphill climb to Indian Bar.
I met a couple of older men on the trail heading to Maple Creek, so we talked for a few about the trail and the campsites. They told me I was in for a treat once I got to the top of this climb and that Indian Bar was really beautiful. I told them about Maple Creek and they were in the forest for the rest of their hike. After I left them, an older man and then an older women with her granddaughter passed me from behind on a day hike to Indian Bar and they were all moving pretty fast.
I made it to the top and started climbing up some more but I was in the open and finally could view some scenery and it was beautiful. I turned around and I saw Mt Adams to the south, that was cool! At one point, I heard a jet engine and knew that noise, it was a Mcchord C-17 flying overhead and I got a picture of it. I'm guessing they were coming from the Yakima area since they were flying low level. That was cool and unexpected. I stopped under a tree for a break and a break from the heat. The black flies were out in full force bugging the hell out of me. You try to ignore them, but some of them little bastards started biting me. The wild flowers were beautiful and the scenery gorgeous especially to the east and south.There were times where Rainier would be visible and it was breath taking to see it especially after my first 8 days. I was hoping to find a creek or some water but so far, nothing. There were some flat meadows and a few downhills along the way and this area started making up for the first part of the trip. Funny how a moment in time can make the past seem irrelevant or just flat out move your soul and I was having one of those moments. My camera cannot do this area any justice!
Beyond words
There have been times in my life that scared the crap out of me most of it having to do with flying until today. I was walking along ridge line about 2.2 miles S/SE out of Indian Bar with a slope to my right and an uphill climb through a field of wild flowers via switchbacks on my left. The only bear reports I heard of were at Mystic Lake and that was way behind me. I was minding my own business and all of a sudden I hear this pounding of weight with growling noise come flying down the hill at me. I damn near jumped out of skin and looked to the left to see a blur of cinnamon colored fur going flying by me. I froze knowing it was a bear, but didn't see it and couldn't hear it and I was looking all around trying to find it. I didn't know if I had walked upon a mom and her cub or what, but I was way scared as I knew it was close. The black bears in the park are benign and there are no documented cases of black bears attacking humans in the park, but that doesn't mean anything.
I was standing on the first switchback making noise, banging my hiking sticks and talking out loud to scare the bear as the rangers suggested but didn't see or hear anything, so I had no idea where it was or went. Also, I didn't see a bear run back up the uphill and the only thing I heard was my heart pounding in my head. I slowly headed up the switchbacks making noise and taking my time keeping my head on a swivel here. I got to the last switchback that headed to the meadow, so started to walk and about step 2, I heard a snorting noise and froze in mid-stride. There about 5 feet from me was a juvenile male bear with his butt towards me eating flowers. I banged my sticks and we both jumped as he swung around to face me. Again, I banged my sticks trying to look bigger and started yelling at the bear to GO. He didn't and stood there looking at me. I got a picture figuring it was proof and if he got me, the rangers would know what bear to look for. I started a mental self-assessment, thinking that I couldn't run as I had a pack on, the bear can run up to 35 mph, climb trees higher and faster than I could say it and I was born a slow white woman, so this was definitely a lose-lose situation. At the same time, I'm looking around for the other bear that came down the hill. The bear turned and faced me head on, crap now what do I do?!!!!This is one of those weird moments in my life as I'm standing here talking with a bear trying to keep the moment lite and you are told is not to look a bear in the eye as they take it as a challenge. I asked the bear what he was going to do, and looking at him I could almost hear him say, " Lady, you are in my space, interrupting my lunch, DO YOU MIND, so get lost! I apologized to the bear for interrupting his lunch and asked for permission to move on. The bear then laid on his left side and continued to eat his flowers. I side stepped past him and kept walking. Holy shit!!!! I can't believe that just happened to me! About 20 minutes later when the adrenaline wore off, I bent over breathing heavy. To quote my friend Brian, "You step off the cement, you are now part of the food chain". I kept thinking, first I get a mountain goat following me up the trail over in the Olympics and now this! Can I see a marmot please?
The walk through the meadows were spectacular and the mountain views were beyond words. Walking on your feet can most certainly take you to some great places. Heading uphill some more, I was stopped under a tree for a shade break and the older lady and her grand daughter came down and we stopped to chat for a few minutes and she asked me if I had seen the bears. Uh, yeah I did and it didn't seem to be a big deal to her. She told me up over that ridge I would start heading down to camp and they left. So I finished climbing up and then started my 1800 ft decent into camp. It was about this time I ran out of water and was not happy about that.
Camp ahoy!
The decent down was steep and tough on the knees after a long day and some people were now coming up and were breathing pretty hard. I finally made it to camp and saw a stream to my left by the group shelter and a bridge to my right. This guy came from the bridge and asked him if this was the place to get water and he said yeah and that the individual sites were to my right. I thought he was a hiker but found out later, he was part of a trail crew working at the camp. I dropped my pack and sat by the creek to rehydrate for a while and it was really hot now. I was curious about the group shelter but wanted to go check out the camp sites first. The bridge was missing a side of railing so you needed to pay attention so you wouldn't fall in the Ohanapecosh River and the Wauhauhaupauhen Falls, which were really loud.
The camp is built on a hill and I started looking around and I was the only one in camp again. I chose site #2 but didn't want to sit there as it was very open with no tree cover. I grabbed my water filter and some snacks and headed back to the creek. I filled my bladder up along with my bottle and went into the group shelter which was bigger inside than I thought and also much cooler inside. I was wondering where the guys went that I saw sitting here and were wondering if they were staying at the group shelter. Finally, they came back and then I found out they were trail crew. I told them about the bear and told them I may just stay in the group shelter if I'm the only one here and I wouldn't have to set up my tent. One of them said I had a good chance of staying there but if someone else came and had the site on their permit I would have to move. They left and I went and got my stuf2f to move it to the group site since it was already 1730 and nobody else had shown up.
Group Shelter at Indian Bar
I was nervous about staying here figuring someone would show up late and I'd have to move in the dark. I had lunch and dinner, cleaned up but really never unpacked in the event someone did show up. Two guys showed up but went to the individual sites and didn't come over to where I was. I just hung outside in the shade enjoying the stunning beauty of this area with the sun setting upon it. It got to be about 2000 and I decided to risk it, so put the food on the pole and started to unpack. My original thought was to just pull out the sleeping bag and sleep on one on the bunks in the shelter, but then the mosquitoes came out and I heard some mice scurrying about. I set up the tent in the shelter to get away from the bugs. It was fun just to set up the tent that way and to sleep in the shelter. On the other hand, no cross breeze. About 2100, some Russian guy stuck his head in the shelter asking about a camp site, so told him how to get over there. No one else came to camp, so that was good for me.
The view from my front porch
I wanted to get up a 0500 and head up to the Panhandle Gap before the heat and the trail crew guy told me it should take a couple of hours to get up there. I went to sleep knowing this was my last night and that I had a big long day in front of me as I decided to not stay at Summerland and finish up the WLT a day early.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Wonderland Trail Day 8: Devil's Dream to Longmire
Aug 16
Mileage: 5.8 miles
Devil's Dream: 5060 ft
Longmire: 2800 ft
I woke up around 0700, got dressed and the tent was wet as it was pretty foggy outside but at least it wasn't raining. I had breakfast with the mosquitoes swarming all around me and started packing up. I seemed to be having a problem this morning getting going and packing up for what ever reason. The sun came out and was shining on my tent, so once again while I ate another meal, I let the sun shine on the tent.
I left camp at 0945 with a goal of arriving at Longmire about 1300-1330 and today was mostly downhill except for a climb up the Ramparts. Today was the first day since day 2 that I left camp without the rain gear on and it felt weird not wearing it. I had a long sleeve shirt on to keep the bug bites to a minimum.
Right after camp is a canyon that had pretty cool rock formations and it was really deep from the ridge I was standing on. Passed heaps of people on the trail many of whom smelled like soap and fresh clothing unlike me who hadn't had a shower in 8 days. I talked with some and other just said hi to others. One group of 3 were pretty funny and I enjoyed talking with them. They stayed at the Pyramid Creek campground. Huh? That campground is open again? For those of you who don't know, that area sustained heavy damage during the flood of 2006 and the campground had been closed since then.
I made it to the Pyramid Creek crossing in about an hour, dropped the pack, took off the long sleeve shirt and had a snack. The sun was out and it was starting to get pretty warm. Finally, a nice sunny day and it felt wonderful! Made it across the creek and came upon Pyramid Creek campground. It must be open as the signs are up for it. That's good news for hikers and the park!
Right after passing the campground, came to the Kautz River crossing. The trail was blocked off and again heavy damage from flooding. The trail had moved to the left and it was marked with ribbons. I could see the trail down on the river bed, I just could not find the trail to get down to it. I walked to the last ribbon and looked around to no avail, so started over and repeated. However, turning to my right, behind a rock I saw a pole hole and a foot print, and found the trail down. The ribbon should have been by the rock not on a tree away from it. Made my way to the log bridge stopping to look at the flood damage, Wow!
Safely across the river and back on the trail heading up the Ramparts and ran into a Canadian couple who were out hiking the PCT and decided to add on the WLT! That's way ambitious! They were caught in the 5 days of rain as well on the PCT and were happy to see the sun. Coming down the hill into Longmire, I could now hear the Harley motorcycles screaming along as well as cars. The trail pops out by the road and when you have been out in the woods for 8 days, your senses are heightened, so smelling car exhaust was not a pleasant experience.
I made it to Longmire at 1315 and started looking for Jen. I made my way to the National Park Inn (NPI) porch and sat for a while, putting on my sandals. I cannot tell you how great it felt to do that. I wanted to go into the restaurant to eat, but wanted to find Jen first. Longmire was way too crowded and loud for me and I found out it was a free weekend at the park, so no admission. Around 1430, I headed over by the store and looked for a place to dry out the tent and some other things. I had the tent spread out all over the grass out back and people looked at me funny and I was daring any of the staff to say anything, but they must be used to it. The afternoon sun was so hot that it took all of 30 minutes for all parts of my tent to dry, so got that packed away and saw Jen driving around the parking lot, so I waited by the parking lot door of the inn. Jen and Jim came out Longmire to bring me my food cache.
Jen finally showed up and had checked into their room already, so we had to walk all the way back to her car to get my clothes. I finally had a shower, but it was short and sweet as it was 1610 and the dining room closed at 1630 for lunch. We got a table at 1629 and the wait staff was upset about it. At the NPI restaurant, the food is okay and over priced, the service mediocre and once you realize that you'll get along fine. If you are expecting something great or in a hurry, try something else. I ordered a cheeseburger because I was craving salt and its a backpacking tradition! It tasted good enough that I ate it down pretty fast.
After lunch, Jen and I went out to her car and changed some things out as well as get the car set up for me to sleep in. Yes, I had sleep in the car and no I didn't mind as it wasn't a wet cold tent! We also moved the car before dinner at 2000. Jen and I had a late dinner hoping Jim would join us, but he didn't show up yet. Jim finally showed up and we talked about the trip and he walked me out to the car and helped me get settled.
All in all a good day and I was happy to have a rest from the grind of the trail and for a chance to have my feet out of my boots for a few days. Best of all, it wasn't raining!
Mileage: 5.8 miles
Devil's Dream: 5060 ft
Longmire: 2800 ft
I woke up around 0700, got dressed and the tent was wet as it was pretty foggy outside but at least it wasn't raining. I had breakfast with the mosquitoes swarming all around me and started packing up. I seemed to be having a problem this morning getting going and packing up for what ever reason. The sun came out and was shining on my tent, so once again while I ate another meal, I let the sun shine on the tent.I left camp at 0945 with a goal of arriving at Longmire about 1300-1330 and today was mostly downhill except for a climb up the Ramparts. Today was the first day since day 2 that I left camp without the rain gear on and it felt weird not wearing it. I had a long sleeve shirt on to keep the bug bites to a minimum.
I made it to the Pyramid Creek crossing in about an hour, dropped the pack, took off the long sleeve shirt and had a snack. The sun was out and it was starting to get pretty warm. Finally, a nice sunny day and it felt wonderful! Made it across the creek and came upon Pyramid Creek campground. It must be open as the signs are up for it. That's good news for hikers and the park!
Pyramid Creek crossing
Pyramid Creek
Right after passing the campground, came to the Kautz River crossing. The trail was blocked off and again heavy damage from flooding. The trail had moved to the left and it was marked with ribbons. I could see the trail down on the river bed, I just could not find the trail to get down to it. I walked to the last ribbon and looked around to no avail, so started over and repeated. However, turning to my right, behind a rock I saw a pole hole and a foot print, and found the trail down. The ribbon should have been by the rock not on a tree away from it. Made my way to the log bridge stopping to look at the flood damage, Wow!
Kautz Creek
Flood damage by Kautz Creek.
Look to the right for the trail down.
Safely across the river and back on the trail heading up the Ramparts and ran into a Canadian couple who were out hiking the PCT and decided to add on the WLT! That's way ambitious! They were caught in the 5 days of rain as well on the PCT and were happy to see the sun. Coming down the hill into Longmire, I could now hear the Harley motorcycles screaming along as well as cars. The trail pops out by the road and when you have been out in the woods for 8 days, your senses are heightened, so smelling car exhaust was not a pleasant experience.
Jen finally showed up and had checked into their room already, so we had to walk all the way back to her car to get my clothes. I finally had a shower, but it was short and sweet as it was 1610 and the dining room closed at 1630 for lunch. We got a table at 1629 and the wait staff was upset about it. At the NPI restaurant, the food is okay and over priced, the service mediocre and once you realize that you'll get along fine. If you are expecting something great or in a hurry, try something else. I ordered a cheeseburger because I was craving salt and its a backpacking tradition! It tasted good enough that I ate it down pretty fast.
Mt Rainier
Me at Longmire
All in all a good day and I was happy to have a rest from the grind of the trail and for a chance to have my feet out of my boots for a few days. Best of all, it wasn't raining!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Wonderland Trail Day 7: Klapactche Park to Devil's Dream
Aug 15
Mileage: 10.7 miles
Klapatche Park: 5515 ft
Devil's Dream: 5060 ft
I woke up at the crack of dawn again and was actually in a good mood wanting to be positive about moving forward a day on the trail. Also, it was not raining, but a heavy misty fog and it was cold. I got dressed and had breakfast of cold cereal. I had an energy bar in my pocket night before I went to sleep, so stuck in my pot hoping the mice wouldn't get to it, but they did, not leaving too big a mess. Hope those dates gave them stomach problems. :)
Got my pot cleaned up and heated up some water and ate another meal as I was still hungry. This is becoming normal for me eating two meals at breakfast and dinner. I wanted to be by the lake on the phone at 0730 talking with the rangers to see if I could go on to Devil's Dream today and before they gave out permits to walk-ins. I called the White River Ranger Station, however, they didn't have the computers up yet, so I had to wait until they had it up and running. An expensive 15 minutes later, I got confirmation to go on to on to Devil's Dream, so I was really happy and knew I had a long day again. I called Jen to tell her I would meet them at Longmire on Sunday and if they couldn't get me a room for Sunday night, I would sleep in one of their cars. I went back to camp to pack up and left camp at 0855 and took a few pictures of Klapatche Lake.
Headed uphill to St Andrews Lake and the park was gorgeous with the fog and the morning dew. My plan was to arrive at S. Puyallup River Camp in 3 hours since it was 4 miles away and have lunch, so wanted to move as fast I could today. I hit the ridge line and a miracle happened, yup after 7 days on trail, there was the mountain and the sun came out! I grabbed my camera and took some pictures watching the fog roll up from the valley below and then no more mountain. Well, that made my day and put a spring in my step. The mountain is beautiful up close like that.
I arrived at St Andrews Lake and the sun came back out and the fog was rolling about and got some good pictures there. I dropped my pack and had a snack for a few minutes and then moved on. The trail heading up and up to the ridge line. Also, it dawned on me that I was half way done with the WLT and on the west side heading to the southwest, cool! I met a few thru-hikers along the way from the Midwest so we chatted a bit and I had one guy from Ohio get my picture. I met another group of hikers and traded camp info and the woman like my GPS so we talked about it for a bit.
After that it was downhill the rest of the way to the S. Puyallup River Camp. I met this bother-sister on the trail as they were humping up and they had these humongous packs! OMG! I had to wonder what they were carrying that was so big. I told them about the rain and how I yelled at the sky at Golden Lakes and they laughed about that. I made camp in 3 hours after crossing the river, right on target so I was happy about that. Small victories work wonders sometimes. I pulled into the group site and got some water and wolfed down 2 meals. Here lately, I'm just hungry all the time and really eating heaps of food. I wanted to lighten up my pack going up to the Emerald Ridge as it was going to be a nasty uphill for a while. I walked to the camp toilet and forgot that this camp has the lava rock formations, so ran back to get my camera and took a few pictures. Pretty cool rock formations! I think they call this Devil's Organ Pipes or something like that.
I left camp at 1330 and headed uphill for the ridge and stopped along the way to take off the rain gear. It was not raining, just foggy and I was hot climbing the trail. I stopped and talked with several people comparing notes about the trail, weather, rain and camps. I met on couple from Wisconsin and like me were disappointed in the trip so far with a lot of hiking and no views. They had been on the trail for 6-7 days too! I asked them if they were enjoying the mountain view and they asked where the mountain was and I pointed behind them. The Tahoma Glacier should have been in our face, but all we saw was fog.
The trail along the Emerald Ridge was thin, very steep and dangerous. I had to keep telling myself if I fell to fall right. A fall right would hurt but a fall left was fatal as in 5000 ft to the river. It looked like a major portion of the trail here had given way to a landslide, so it wasn't a nice part of the WLT that is for sure. This also jogged my memory of the woman I met who fell and cut up her face as I guessed this is the part she fell on.
Finally got up to the ridge looking for Marmots but didn't see any and up to this point hadn't seen any in 7 days. That is not common in the sub-alpine areas as they are usually everywhere. The trail started downhill and turned to rock, which really slows me down. About this time a group came from behind and scared the crap out of me. I know I startled them as well and they were the first people who passed me from behind in 7 days, not counting the ranger. They were moving fast, so I just got out of the way. Ah, to be young again and have the ability to move fast without the knees hurting. Still heading downhill to the Tahoma River met a large group and spoke with them for a bit. There were several women and one guy who had his wife with him, so I teased him a bit about being the only man of the group.
The trail heading downhill now got bushy, rocky and muddy so again took my time walking through it all. I finally came another suspension bridge this one higher and longer than the Carbon River one. I walked across it and had taken pictures before crossing and it was cool to see how the river flowed from up above. After making it across the river the trail sign said I still had 2.9 miles to camp. Again, I set another goal of 2 hours to make it 3 miles and was hoping to get to camp by 1900. I stopped for a break, took off jacket that I had put on coming down the ridge and hit the trail. The 1.8 miles to Indian Henry's was all uphill and very steep. It wore me out and at this point just wanted to get to camp and out of my boots! About an hour later I arrived at Indian Henry's Hunting Ground and it was very beautiful so took some pictures.
The trail sign posted Devil's Dream about 1.5 miles away. I had a snack on the move and saw the ranger from the hut there come out and start heading my way on the trail. He caught me asking me where I was going and he would check my permit there and took off. He did say the rest of the way was down hill and it was. I arrived at camp being the last one in at 1915 and got site #2 which is what I wanted per a recommend from a hiker. Got to the site, set up the tent and unpacked and headed to get water. Water access here is a bit tricky as the area is dark, damp and very slick with mud. I wasn't too happy about having to hike up and down a muddy slope to get water, but got water and back to camp. This camp was dark, damp and the mosquitoes were out in full force, which is the first time they have been a problem on this trip. I made dinner and got camp bedded down by 0845 and it was dark outside by time I crawled in the tent.
I was tired as all get out after a very long strenuous day, so tried to stretch out and relax and then fell asleep knowing tonight was my last night in a wet tent, at least for a few days.
Mileage: 10.7 miles
Klapatche Park: 5515 ft
Devil's Dream: 5060 ft
I woke up at the crack of dawn again and was actually in a good mood wanting to be positive about moving forward a day on the trail. Also, it was not raining, but a heavy misty fog and it was cold. I got dressed and had breakfast of cold cereal. I had an energy bar in my pocket night before I went to sleep, so stuck in my pot hoping the mice wouldn't get to it, but they did, not leaving too big a mess. Hope those dates gave them stomach problems. :)
Got my pot cleaned up and heated up some water and ate another meal as I was still hungry. This is becoming normal for me eating two meals at breakfast and dinner. I wanted to be by the lake on the phone at 0730 talking with the rangers to see if I could go on to Devil's Dream today and before they gave out permits to walk-ins. I called the White River Ranger Station, however, they didn't have the computers up yet, so I had to wait until they had it up and running. An expensive 15 minutes later, I got confirmation to go on to on to Devil's Dream, so I was really happy and knew I had a long day again. I called Jen to tell her I would meet them at Longmire on Sunday and if they couldn't get me a room for Sunday night, I would sleep in one of their cars. I went back to camp to pack up and left camp at 0855 and took a few pictures of Klapatche Lake.
Klapatche Lake
Headed uphill to St Andrews Lake and the park was gorgeous with the fog and the morning dew. My plan was to arrive at S. Puyallup River Camp in 3 hours since it was 4 miles away and have lunch, so wanted to move as fast I could today. I hit the ridge line and a miracle happened, yup after 7 days on trail, there was the mountain and the sun came out! I grabbed my camera and took some pictures watching the fog roll up from the valley below and then no more mountain. Well, that made my day and put a spring in my step. The mountain is beautiful up close like that.
WLT uphill thru Klapatche Park
Klapatche Park
Hey look, sun and Mt Rainier
Just that quick, the fog rolls in
I arrived at St Andrews Lake and the sun came back out and the fog was rolling about and got some good pictures there. I dropped my pack and had a snack for a few minutes and then moved on. The trail heading up and up to the ridge line. Also, it dawned on me that I was half way done with the WLT and on the west side heading to the southwest, cool! I met a few thru-hikers along the way from the Midwest so we chatted a bit and I had one guy from Ohio get my picture. I met another group of hikers and traded camp info and the woman like my GPS so we talked about it for a bit.
St Andrews Lake with Rainier
Me in St Andrews Park
After that it was downhill the rest of the way to the S. Puyallup River Camp. I met this bother-sister on the trail as they were humping up and they had these humongous packs! OMG! I had to wonder what they were carrying that was so big. I told them about the rain and how I yelled at the sky at Golden Lakes and they laughed about that. I made camp in 3 hours after crossing the river, right on target so I was happy about that. Small victories work wonders sometimes. I pulled into the group site and got some water and wolfed down 2 meals. Here lately, I'm just hungry all the time and really eating heaps of food. I wanted to lighten up my pack going up to the Emerald Ridge as it was going to be a nasty uphill for a while. I walked to the camp toilet and forgot that this camp has the lava rock formations, so ran back to get my camera and took a few pictures. Pretty cool rock formations! I think they call this Devil's Organ Pipes or something like that.
S. Puyallup River
Lava rock formations
I left camp at 1330 and headed uphill for the ridge and stopped along the way to take off the rain gear. It was not raining, just foggy and I was hot climbing the trail. I stopped and talked with several people comparing notes about the trail, weather, rain and camps. I met on couple from Wisconsin and like me were disappointed in the trip so far with a lot of hiking and no views. They had been on the trail for 6-7 days too! I asked them if they were enjoying the mountain view and they asked where the mountain was and I pointed behind them. The Tahoma Glacier should have been in our face, but all we saw was fog.
View of Tahoma Glacier from Emerald Ridge
The trail along the Emerald Ridge was thin, very steep and dangerous. I had to keep telling myself if I fell to fall right. A fall right would hurt but a fall left was fatal as in 5000 ft to the river. It looked like a major portion of the trail here had given way to a landslide, so it wasn't a nice part of the WLT that is for sure. This also jogged my memory of the woman I met who fell and cut up her face as I guessed this is the part she fell on.
Steep trail on Emerald Ridge
Trail on Emerald Ridge
Finally got up to the ridge looking for Marmots but didn't see any and up to this point hadn't seen any in 7 days. That is not common in the sub-alpine areas as they are usually everywhere. The trail started downhill and turned to rock, which really slows me down. About this time a group came from behind and scared the crap out of me. I know I startled them as well and they were the first people who passed me from behind in 7 days, not counting the ranger. They were moving fast, so I just got out of the way. Ah, to be young again and have the ability to move fast without the knees hurting. Still heading downhill to the Tahoma River met a large group and spoke with them for a bit. There were several women and one guy who had his wife with him, so I teased him a bit about being the only man of the group.
The trail heading downhill now got bushy, rocky and muddy so again took my time walking through it all. I finally came another suspension bridge this one higher and longer than the Carbon River one. I walked across it and had taken pictures before crossing and it was cool to see how the river flowed from up above. After making it across the river the trail sign said I still had 2.9 miles to camp. Again, I set another goal of 2 hours to make it 3 miles and was hoping to get to camp by 1900. I stopped for a break, took off jacket that I had put on coming down the ridge and hit the trail. The 1.8 miles to Indian Henry's was all uphill and very steep. It wore me out and at this point just wanted to get to camp and out of my boots! About an hour later I arrived at Indian Henry's Hunting Ground and it was very beautiful so took some pictures.
Suspension bridge over Tahoma River
Tahoma River
Indian Henry's Hunting Ground
Ranger Patrol Hut
Indian Henry's
The trail sign posted Devil's Dream about 1.5 miles away. I had a snack on the move and saw the ranger from the hut there come out and start heading my way on the trail. He caught me asking me where I was going and he would check my permit there and took off. He did say the rest of the way was down hill and it was. I arrived at camp being the last one in at 1915 and got site #2 which is what I wanted per a recommend from a hiker. Got to the site, set up the tent and unpacked and headed to get water. Water access here is a bit tricky as the area is dark, damp and very slick with mud. I wasn't too happy about having to hike up and down a muddy slope to get water, but got water and back to camp. This camp was dark, damp and the mosquitoes were out in full force, which is the first time they have been a problem on this trip. I made dinner and got camp bedded down by 0845 and it was dark outside by time I crawled in the tent.
I was tired as all get out after a very long strenuous day, so tried to stretch out and relax and then fell asleep knowing tonight was my last night in a wet tent, at least for a few days.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Wonderland Trail Day 6: Golden Lakes to Klapatche Park
Aug 14
Mileage: 7.8 miles
Golden Lakes: 5130 ft
Klapatche Park: 5515 ft
The human body is amazing as it can endure demanding physical activity day after day and come out of in good condition. However, what throws a wrench into the grand plan is the mental state along with its by-product, emotion. These 2 things just screw everything up and get in the way. Physically I felt fine, mentally and emotionally I had hit my breaking point. I was miserable, tired of the rain, gray skies, humping up and down with no views and the rangers telling me today was the day the sun was coming out!
I woke up once again to rain and it just weighed on me. Everything I had was pretty much soaked. Sure, I had pack cover and had things in plastic bags, but everything got wet anyway! My tent footprint was wet and very muddy which transferred to my tent floor. Amazingly enough, I did manage to keep my sleeping bag dry throughout this whole ordeal! I had it in a waterproof compression sack and in the tent I spread out everything plastic around the mattress pad to prevent it from getting wet. I didn't sleep well during this time as I kept waking up to make sure I hadn't moved during the night onto the wet tent floor.
So, what does one do when they wake up to day 5 of rain? Aside from wishing my friend Kris would come pick me up in his helicopter, I picked up the sat-phone and called Jim as I knew he would understand. Leaving a message for him, he called back and told him I wanted to vent; I was miserable, it had been raining 5 out of the 6 days I've been out here and that I was done with this. I had to keep moving forward, but that I was done and coming out early. Then the phone died! Great, but finally the rain stopped and I heard the sites on either side of me emerge and start to break down there tents and they were gone.
I got dressed and grabbed the water bladder, bottle and filter and headed down to the lake. I was starving and needed to eat and in a hurry! Grabbed the food bag off the pole and headed back to camp where it started to rain again. I got some water going and ate breakfast and some extra stuff as well. Drank some tea and water and felt much better. It stopped raining and the fog came in. As I was packing up, I kept asking for some sun. What do know, it actually came out! Wow, and it really felt good! I ran over to site #4 to grab a picture of the view from there. It's beautiful and I was bummed out I didn't get that site, but oh well.
I was still famished and boiled some more water and ate another meal, while the sun was out allowing it to dry out my stuff for a little bit. Again I had another late start, but sitting in the sun eating a meal felt good, so I didn't worry too much. I walked out to the ranger hut and Paul was leaving and seemed startled anyone was still here. He asked me if I beat the storm in and told him what happened and he just shook his head. I asked about Klapatche and he said it was uphill and unlike yesterday the trail was steep and not nice. He also mentioned to get water before I got to camp and not to drink out of the lake. Klapatche Lake is a scum lake and he said there was a stream right after the river crossing to get water there or I would have to hike 2 miles to get water! He then left for Indian Henry's and had a long day of like 18 miles. I left right behind him at 1035 after taking a few pictures.
The trail out of camp was up and down and the rest of Sunset Park was beautiful. I ran into some hikers and we talked about the weather, the misery and the ability to keep going. North Puyallup (pronounce Pew-oll-up) River Camp was 4.9 miles away and I set a goal of arriving there at 1300-1330. Met a guy who was moving and had left from Longmire and was going to Mowich Lake. What?! He then said he was doing the trail in 3 day and I can't imagine doing that! Met a two other groups of 2 guys, one of which said Klapatche was freezing cold last night, so they came down to North Puyallup for the night and they were done and bailing off the trail. The other group told me there was a stream to the south of the lake they used for water, not to hump it up the hill. All of the groups said that people have bailed off the trail because of the weather. I made to the North Puyullup camp at 1310, so made good time. Crossed the river over a nice wood bridge and stopped at the group site for a snack. I still debated going out via a trail to the Westside Road, but kept going.
After a break, started uphill for Klapatche and found the stream that the ranger had mentioned and listened to my gut and dropped the pack to fill up the bladder and my water bottle. Filling up the bladder meant unpacking the pack, but I needed the water so it wasn't a big deal. After getting water and repacking, my pack was heavy once again as water weighs around 8 lbs/gal. The uphill trail here was tough and steep and nothing like the gradual nice uphill of yesterday as the ranger had said. It was nothing like Ipsut Pass though!
I passed this tree that had these huge rocks still embedded in its root system and one had fallen down to the trail. Pretty cool to see that!
Met some people coming down with one couple telling me that the ranger was at Klapatche eating lunch and that was at 1400, so Paul had hiked 7.8 miles in like 3 hours. Wow, guess when you have a very light pack you can move! The wife had her face all cut up and she told me she fell down some steep part of the trail coming out of Indian Henry's and fell on her face and even lost a tooth! I'm thinking I would have been done at that point, but here she was, hiking on. The trail continued on with up and more up and then the switchbacks got longer. I hit a flat spot thinking I was at the top until I looked at the map, nope, more up and steeper, then finally the switchbacks got shorter and I came out into Aurora Park and the fog.
I finally made it to camp and took site #3 on a recommend from one of the guys I passed on the trail. I was the only one in camp and I think I got to camp around 1630. The fog was thick and it was cold at 5900 ft. I got the tent and camp set up and ate some more snacks. I had dinner limiting myself to one meal here although I easily could have eaten two of them as I had to water ration until tomorrow. After dinner, I looked around for the creek the guys talked about, but never did find it, so glad I humped it up the hill. I also called Jim and Jen and worked out a plan to come out early not really sure on how it would all work out. I wanted to get to Longmire or keep heading south on the trail so that the hike on the road wouldn't be that long. I had 3 choice at this point:
I went to sleep with a light rain and the question of how things would pan out in the morning. I was the only on in camp again and I don't like being the only one in camp.
Mileage: 7.8 miles
Golden Lakes: 5130 ft
Klapatche Park: 5515 ft
The human body is amazing as it can endure demanding physical activity day after day and come out of in good condition. However, what throws a wrench into the grand plan is the mental state along with its by-product, emotion. These 2 things just screw everything up and get in the way. Physically I felt fine, mentally and emotionally I had hit my breaking point. I was miserable, tired of the rain, gray skies, humping up and down with no views and the rangers telling me today was the day the sun was coming out!
I woke up once again to rain and it just weighed on me. Everything I had was pretty much soaked. Sure, I had pack cover and had things in plastic bags, but everything got wet anyway! My tent footprint was wet and very muddy which transferred to my tent floor. Amazingly enough, I did manage to keep my sleeping bag dry throughout this whole ordeal! I had it in a waterproof compression sack and in the tent I spread out everything plastic around the mattress pad to prevent it from getting wet. I didn't sleep well during this time as I kept waking up to make sure I hadn't moved during the night onto the wet tent floor.
So, what does one do when they wake up to day 5 of rain? Aside from wishing my friend Kris would come pick me up in his helicopter, I picked up the sat-phone and called Jim as I knew he would understand. Leaving a message for him, he called back and told him I wanted to vent; I was miserable, it had been raining 5 out of the 6 days I've been out here and that I was done with this. I had to keep moving forward, but that I was done and coming out early. Then the phone died! Great, but finally the rain stopped and I heard the sites on either side of me emerge and start to break down there tents and they were gone.
I got dressed and grabbed the water bladder, bottle and filter and headed down to the lake. I was starving and needed to eat and in a hurry! Grabbed the food bag off the pole and headed back to camp where it started to rain again. I got some water going and ate breakfast and some extra stuff as well. Drank some tea and water and felt much better. It stopped raining and the fog came in. As I was packing up, I kept asking for some sun. What do know, it actually came out! Wow, and it really felt good! I ran over to site #4 to grab a picture of the view from there. It's beautiful and I was bummed out I didn't get that site, but oh well.
View from site #4
I was still famished and boiled some more water and ate another meal, while the sun was out allowing it to dry out my stuff for a little bit. Again I had another late start, but sitting in the sun eating a meal felt good, so I didn't worry too much. I walked out to the ranger hut and Paul was leaving and seemed startled anyone was still here. He asked me if I beat the storm in and told him what happened and he just shook his head. I asked about Klapatche and he said it was uphill and unlike yesterday the trail was steep and not nice. He also mentioned to get water before I got to camp and not to drink out of the lake. Klapatche Lake is a scum lake and he said there was a stream right after the river crossing to get water there or I would have to hike 2 miles to get water! He then left for Indian Henry's and had a long day of like 18 miles. I left right behind him at 1035 after taking a few pictures.
Ranger hut at Golden Lakes
The trail out of camp was up and down and the rest of Sunset Park was beautiful. I ran into some hikers and we talked about the weather, the misery and the ability to keep going. North Puyallup (pronounce Pew-oll-up) River Camp was 4.9 miles away and I set a goal of arriving there at 1300-1330. Met a guy who was moving and had left from Longmire and was going to Mowich Lake. What?! He then said he was doing the trail in 3 day and I can't imagine doing that! Met a two other groups of 2 guys, one of which said Klapatche was freezing cold last night, so they came down to North Puyallup for the night and they were done and bailing off the trail. The other group told me there was a stream to the south of the lake they used for water, not to hump it up the hill. All of the groups said that people have bailed off the trail because of the weather. I made to the North Puyullup camp at 1310, so made good time. Crossed the river over a nice wood bridge and stopped at the group site for a snack. I still debated going out via a trail to the Westside Road, but kept going.
Sunset Park
Flowers at Sunset Park
Sunset Park
Trail on way to N. Puyallup River
Bridge across N. Puyallup River
N. Puyallup River
After a break, started uphill for Klapatche and found the stream that the ranger had mentioned and listened to my gut and dropped the pack to fill up the bladder and my water bottle. Filling up the bladder meant unpacking the pack, but I needed the water so it wasn't a big deal. After getting water and repacking, my pack was heavy once again as water weighs around 8 lbs/gal. The uphill trail here was tough and steep and nothing like the gradual nice uphill of yesterday as the ranger had said. It was nothing like Ipsut Pass though!
I passed this tree that had these huge rocks still embedded in its root system and one had fallen down to the trail. Pretty cool to see that!
Those rocks aren't small
Met some people coming down with one couple telling me that the ranger was at Klapatche eating lunch and that was at 1400, so Paul had hiked 7.8 miles in like 3 hours. Wow, guess when you have a very light pack you can move! The wife had her face all cut up and she told me she fell down some steep part of the trail coming out of Indian Henry's and fell on her face and even lost a tooth! I'm thinking I would have been done at that point, but here she was, hiking on. The trail continued on with up and more up and then the switchbacks got longer. I hit a flat spot thinking I was at the top until I looked at the map, nope, more up and steeper, then finally the switchbacks got shorter and I came out into Aurora Park and the fog.
Uphill to Klapatche
Aurora Park in the fog
Klapatche Lake in the fog
I finally made it to camp and took site #3 on a recommend from one of the guys I passed on the trail. I was the only one in camp and I think I got to camp around 1630. The fog was thick and it was cold at 5900 ft. I got the tent and camp set up and ate some more snacks. I had dinner limiting myself to one meal here although I easily could have eaten two of them as I had to water ration until tomorrow. After dinner, I looked around for the creek the guys talked about, but never did find it, so glad I humped it up the hill. I also called Jim and Jen and worked out a plan to come out early not really sure on how it would all work out. I wanted to get to Longmire or keep heading south on the trail so that the hike on the road wouldn't be that long. I had 3 choice at this point:- Bypass South Puyullup River Camp and go on to Devil's Dream which would put me in Longmire a day early.
- Hike the trail out here at Klapatche Park onto the Westside Road and meet Jen at the gate.
- Hike to South Puyullup River Camp and take the trail out to the road and meet Jen at the gate.
I went to sleep with a light rain and the question of how things would pan out in the morning. I was the only on in camp again and I don't like being the only one in camp.
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