Sunshine To The Rescue!

8/30/13

PCT mile 2620-2636 -  16 miles 

Elev 5575-6541

5:30 wake up, it rained all night and in exceptionally hard rain my tent sprayed condensation onto my face.  Last night,  in an effort to warm up from the wet and cold, I was in my silk sleep sack inside my down bag, wool hat, long sleeved sleep shirt, down jacket & wool socks on.

As I warmed up I moved my down jacket to my feet to warm them and then to various cold spots until I was all the way warm.  In the morning I called out to Peggy that I wanted to get to Hart's Pass and see if we could get a ride to a town and dry out. I was honestly thinking that I'd had enough of the rain. Peggy was agreeable, hoping that something would break and change my mind. 

I rolled up my tent, wet inside and out, stuffed my damp sleeping bag and everything else that was damp inside my damp backpack, put on the poncho and pack cover and we started hiking in the continuing rain.  Coming out of the forest we began a long hillside traverse and switch back up to Glacier Pass.  The views would have been beautiful but in the rain and swirling clouds I only got a couple of photos. 

I'm higher on the switchbacks looking down at Peggy as we climbed from our campsite up to Glacier Pass in the wet greenery. 

Ducking over the pass to get out of the wind and rain we watched clouds pour from one valley into another.  This pass had some nice campsites tucked into corners and on a clear evening would have made a picturesque place to camp. The area on top that we walked through was unusually stark, just low growing moss and ground cover and a type of tree I can't place. 

 The tree was sparsely needled in light green tufts, many of the older trees had branches like a deciduous tree. (not the Eiffel Tower shape of a fir tree.)

Crossing a cinder cone, over a short ridge walk (see the path on the ridge below)

we turned into a basin and met a woman our age going south, solo hiking for 10 days.  She was from Washington and was used to camping in rain.  I asked her the weather forecast and she said it was supposed to get better but that in Washington one never could be certain. When she found out that we'd started in Cascade Locks she told us we were "Gnarly Women!" and not to let the rain get the best of me.

These streaks were mud slides that made small gullies for us to negotiate. The trail crossed that hillside just above the trees.

As we rounded another mountain coming into a boulder field the skies looked to be clearing, big patches of blue sky coming our way.  We decided to unload our packs and use the warm boulders to lay our stuff out to dry. Everything we owned was laid out so that we looked like we were having a rummage sale!

It took a good hour, turning, fluffing and shaking things out.  Because we were close to Hart's Pass there were day hikers who began to walk by.  One group of ladies walked up and I heard one say "I know you!"  It was the lady,  the Canadian couple that we'd  talked to at Red's Pass days before!  We gave one another a big hug like we'd known one another for a long time. 

Jude, my friend from Red's Pass, is on the far left. 

She remembered me saying I craved apples so they found an apple in their packs that they gave us! This was a really encouraging moment for me because I'd been in my "rain funk" and discouraged with the trail. We exchanged emails and they continued their day hike south. 

We sat and ate the wonderful apple, repacked all our DRY equipment (and put my worries away).  We did a little happy dance in the trail, I made a sarcastic remark to which Peggy said "Jane's back!"  It gave me pause to think about how mental this hike is, how close I'd come to wanting to get off the trail and just how much I needed a pick me up! 

I've come to think of yesterday as my "Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."!

Hart's Pass was a few miles further.

(See how far to the Canadian Border?)

When we got to the Ranger Station we were told there was trail magic for hikers at the picnic table.  There was Walking Home and a group of locals from Winthrop who had come to meet him and celebrate his almost finished through hike!  They had brought sandwiches, peaches, nectarines, brownies, hard boiled eggs, bottled water, chocolate, cantaloupe and more wonderful food for hikers and we were invited to partake!  Walking Home's friends were welcoming and great to talk to and we had a good lunch there. 

There were still some miles to go to our camp so we left the Ranger Station for Hart's Pass and beyond. There were many cars parked at the trailhead at the pass and as we hiked north we met families hiking back to their cars.

From Hart's Pass the terrain is rolling, grassy, with fir, pine and these new trees. Really pretty.

Looking back toward Hart's Pass we can see the snowy peak in the middle near Glacier Pass where we camped last night.

The view of mountains west of our trail and Hart's Pass.

 I talked to one family hiking back to their car, asking them where they'd hiked?   "Tamarack Peak" I was told.  It struck me that the new tree I was seeing was a Tamarack or a Larch.  Lining the trail up to Tamarack Peak they'll turn a glorious gold color and drop their needles before winter, the only fir tree I know that does that.

A new trail sign told us we were going into the Pasayten Wilderness and only a few miles further we were at our camp on the back side of Tamarack Peak, a cold spring flowing by our tents. 

It's going to be cold and clear tonight at 6500 feet elevation. The sun is setting sooner in these last days as September is upon us, dinner took a bit longer to cook due to altitude and we were in bed earlier, journaling by headlamp before 7:00.   In the night I woke up and could see the Big Dipper hanging just above the trees outside my tent, beautiful!