To PCT mile 2511.3 (stats here).
The night was clear and I slept well. I got up 5:45am and was hiking 6:30am. The guy in the MSR tent next to me was still sleeping when I left. My sleeping bag was damp, though. Should not cowboy camp anymore as the weather is like this. The open meadow and vicinity of the stream played part also. Luckily the weather was now fine so I could dry out the bag later.
My pace was slow. The feet hurt immediately a bit. After only few miles, I encountered the female hiker that accompanied me at the Mountaineering Lodge. She had left one day earlier but had a really tranquil pace. Just a moment later and I caught up with Nintendo and Just in Case. I had not seen them since Cascade Locks. Soon they blazed forward as their flight would leave in a week from Vancouver. They were under a lot of time pressure and I could not match their speed.
I had my first break at a really nice place, at a top of a mountain whit a nice meadow. It was also next to a border for Glacier Peak National Park. The sunny weather gave me a chance to dry out my sleeping bag. Soon after a guy went past me who I shared the tent site with. He turned out to be Tan Free, a German hiker that I had seen a long while back in California. People I've met ages ago are now passing me by numbers as I am slow this slow. I must have been quite fast until mid-Oregon as this happens only now and I've been crawling a while already.
The scenery today was gorgeous. There is already a bit of autumn in the air. After my first break, there was a long downhill and I took a peaceful pace in order not to agitate the feet. The strategy succeeded and the feet felt much better. The pain in the left feet went away totally. After the long downhill a long uphill followed. It felt like nothing as the weather was super and the views even more so. At the top and on the other side of the mountain ridge, you saw a wall of really ominous looking clouds. It looked like a storm was coming, not that I really now about the types of clouds. The evening would be interesting.
The day ended with an descend down to a valley that was covered by a forest. After 22 miles, I stopped to have my last break and to filter water for the night. The cloud coverage had increased and it eventually started to lightly rain. I contemplated with the idea of making my camp then and there in order not to get truly wet, but decided to do few more miles and not to be intimidated that easily. The undergrowth of the forest got quickly wet and it was irritating to go through this. I understood to stop hiking after 24.7 miles as the rain seemed to continue and ascending from the valley and from the cover of the trees in dark did not appeal that much. I managed to get a really good tent spot. There were no other hikers. After feeling stupid and kind of low in spirits the previous day, because of too early departure from Stevens Pass, today I felt good.
The night was clear and I slept well. I got up 5:45am and was hiking 6:30am. The guy in the MSR tent next to me was still sleeping when I left. My sleeping bag was damp, though. Should not cowboy camp anymore as the weather is like this. The open meadow and vicinity of the stream played part also. Luckily the weather was now fine so I could dry out the bag later.
My pace was slow. The feet hurt immediately a bit. After only few miles, I encountered the female hiker that accompanied me at the Mountaineering Lodge. She had left one day earlier but had a really tranquil pace. Just a moment later and I caught up with Nintendo and Just in Case. I had not seen them since Cascade Locks. Soon they blazed forward as their flight would leave in a week from Vancouver. They were under a lot of time pressure and I could not match their speed.
 |
| Today was varied and gorgeous regarding the views. |
I had my first break at a really nice place, at a top of a mountain whit a nice meadow. It was also next to a border for Glacier Peak National Park. The sunny weather gave me a chance to dry out my sleeping bag. Soon after a guy went past me who I shared the tent site with. He turned out to be Tan Free, a German hiker that I had seen a long while back in California. People I've met ages ago are now passing me by numbers as I am slow this slow. I must have been quite fast until mid-Oregon as this happens only now and I've been crawling a while already.
 |
| Ascending few thousand feet feels like no chore at all with views like this. |
The scenery today was gorgeous. There is already a bit of autumn in the air. After my first break, there was a long downhill and I took a peaceful pace in order not to agitate the feet. The strategy succeeded and the feet felt much better. The pain in the left feet went away totally. After the long downhill a long uphill followed. It felt like nothing as the weather was super and the views even more so. At the top and on the other side of the mountain ridge, you saw a wall of really ominous looking clouds. It looked like a storm was coming, not that I really now about the types of clouds. The evening would be interesting.
 |
| Rain? Thunder? Cats and dogs? Unicorns? |
The day ended with an descend down to a valley that was covered by a forest. After 22 miles, I stopped to have my last break and to filter water for the night. The cloud coverage had increased and it eventually started to lightly rain. I contemplated with the idea of making my camp then and there in order not to get truly wet, but decided to do few more miles and not to be intimidated that easily. The undergrowth of the forest got quickly wet and it was irritating to go through this. I understood to stop hiking after 24.7 miles as the rain seemed to continue and ascending from the valley and from the cover of the trees in dark did not appeal that much. I managed to get a really good tent spot. There were no other hikers. After feeling stupid and kind of low in spirits the previous day, because of too early departure from Stevens Pass, today I felt good.
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