The aborted departure

According to my original plan, I should now be a couple of days south of Steven’s Pass in the middle of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, heading for White Pass. Instead, I’m at my computer trying to see if I can reschedule the hike for September or October.

I did set off on the trail this weekend and hiked the PCT towards Trap Lake, but it became clear my toe was not in shape to handle the 75 miles to Snoqualmie Pass, much less 175 miles to White Pass.  I already knew this, so it wasn’t a huge surprise, or a let down, but rather accepting reality and dealing with it.

As with all trails within a couple of hours drive from Seattle, it was busy with day hikers and backpackers as well a smattering of thru hikers, both SOBOs and NOBOs.  Other than the NOBOs, it seems everyone was heading south to Thunder Lakes.  Way more than the fragile alpine ecosystem can handle. I imagine that in the not too distant future the Forest Service will have to introduce a reservation system for this part of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area.

Once I had come to terms with my aborted departure, the weekend hike became a much more relaxed backpacking trip , rather than a trek, and I treated it as a toned down version of the full integration hike I had originally had planned on doing last week. This was my first hike with my Gossamer Gorilla backpack, as well as the first time I had ever used an ultralight backpack. It sits well, and with the limited space, it keeps me from adding unnecessary stuff (see packing for your fears in a previous post). I like that back support on the pack can very easily be removed and be used as sitting pad.  It will take a while to get used the fact that the pack is essentially a long narrow tube, and finding things that work their way to the bottom is going to be a pain. Brightly colored waterproof stuff sacks have become my new friends. Bright yellow for clothes, blue for food, green for sleeping bag, orange for cook system, etc. Find the right bag, and you’ve found your stuff.

Ultimately we ended up camping at Mig Lake, a gorgeous little lake without the stunning alpine vistas of the higher elevation lakes in the wilderness, but incredibly serene. Oddly enough, there were only three tents at the lake on a Saturday night, which seems incredible. As an added bonus, the other two tents were thru hikers, so it was completely silent. Bushes with ripe blueberries covered the ground all around the lake, and the lake itself was not cold. A perfect temperature for soaking your feet. And there was enough of a breeze to keep the mosquitoes and black flies away.  Sometimes you don’t have to hike for hours or days to find solitude in the mountains.

The approaching heat wave had begun to sneak in, so we slept without a fly under a canopy of thousands of stars. We should have had a perfect view of the Perseid meteor shower, but only saw few bright streaks shooting across the sky. Regardless of meteor showers, it is truly marvelous to wake up in the middle of the night and see more stars than you can ever see in any city or town.

Postponing my hike was made easier with temperatures predicted to be in the 90s and even the 100s. I live on the damper side of the Cascades where 80s is hot, 90s is unbearable, and 100s are unthinkable. So the idea of postponing my hike to the end of September, early October, sounds better for each 90+ degree day. Granted, I run the risk of rain, cold weather, and will have much fewer daylight hours. But this will be offset by brilliant fall colors, no bugs, and far fewer people on the trails.  I’m hedging my bets by applying for Canadian Entry permit at Manning Park, so I can chose between southbound on Section J or northbound on Section L depending on weather, fires and logistics.

I have a couple of weeks of trail maintenance with Washington Trails Association in September, as well as an off-trail backpacking trip, planned, which should give me good feedback on what condition my feet are in and help dial in exactly what I can expect to be able to accomplish.

I am lucky that I am in a place where I can be flexible with regards to what I can do, and when I can do it. For someone who has had to commit to a specific time period, moving dates as easily as I can do is not an option, and they are faced with either bailing completely or pushing through despite any pain or discomfort.