Day 9-14 (aug 15-20) miles 2295.9-2394.1


















 On day 10 I left White Pass to start the longest stretch of Washington, 98 miles. It was a very hot day with several pretty exposed climbs. Near the trailhead, I encountered a group of pack llamas which I’ve never before encountered. It turns out that they are part of an organization called Pass to Pass (passtopass.org) that supports people with Parkinson’s and brings them out into the outdoors. 

 Eventually I entered into Mt Rainier national park, greeted with spectacular views of the mountain. I set up camp at mile 2315.6, for 19.6 miles for the day.


Day 11 consisted of a a series of beautiful ridge walks with incredible views of Mt Tahoma (rainier). It was also quite a bit cooler, with some overcast skies. In the late morning there was an incredible amount of day hikers out in a lake strewn section that must be very popular. I then arrived at Chinook Pass/ hwy 410, one of the entry points to the national park. There wasn’t much there except for a parking lot. I also went by the crystal mountain ski resort. I set up camp at mile 2338.0 for a 22.4 mile day


 Most of the morning of day 12 the trail went through an expansive burn area spanning several different valleys. I would guess that the fire happened 5-6 years ago. There was a 10 mile water carry, and while there was a source 5 miles into the stretch near Mike Urich Cabin, there have been lots of reports of hikers getting norovirus from the water so obviously I skipped it. It is very popular with day hikers, so I imagine a lot of them do not practice good LNT principles. 


Right after that water carry there was another 12 mile carry, stretching my day out to 26.5 miles, camping by a stream at 2364.5. Hit the 200 mile mark for Washington!


On day 13 I awoke to the smell of smoke and orange-filtered sunlight through my tent window. The air quality shifted suddenly overnight and took away all the views. Fortunately or unfortunately it was a fairy boring stretch so I didn’t miss many views. I set up camp at mile 2383.0 for a 18.5 mile day. 


On day 14 the smoke was still in the air, but it didn’t smell that bad and didn’t irritate my lungs as I felt it was the day before. Maybe the air quality improved or I was just getting used to it i’m not sure. It was only an 11.5 mile hike to get into Snoqualmie Pass. I passed by mirror lake, which was swarming with day hikers. I have become aware that a lot of thru hikers are calling day hikers “muggles.” somehow it seems fitting. 


At Snoqualmie Pass I met up with my dad for lunch, who brought me a resupply to get me to Stevens Pass. This was very appreciated because there wasn’t much resupply options.  

Comments

  1. SherrieAugust 21, 2023 at 1:56 AM

    Views are spectacular! I hope the air clears soon for you and glad you are restocked! Thanks for sharing your journey.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousAugust 21, 2023 at 5:31 AM

    Love all your pictures and hearing of adventures. Stay safe. Cyndi

    ReplyDelete
  3. K. LarsenAugust 21, 2023 at 6:10 AM

    'Tis smoke season indeed! Stay safe and breathing healthy.
    Thanks for the beautiful photos.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousAugust 21, 2023 at 11:00 AM

    Ian- You are in the section that I hiked once upon a time. It's nice to see! Thanks for keeping us all updated. --Tonia (Trinity office)

    ReplyDelete

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