26 th August
Well what a great nights sleep in a fantastic setting..eventually I had to get up later than expected lol .funny all the other hikers seem the same lying in not pushing miles must be a Washington thing.
My first chore was to crack another hill , all refreshed I ploughed on and up and up and up Washington seems very much like this. Oregon was flat in comparison .Up and up several young hiker’s past me..but as usual once over the rim the views were stunning just wow.I made my way down the other side passing many fantastic lakes
Time to climb, i think I spent what seems the whole day climbing .up and up I lost count of how many switchbacks I’ve been up and down eventually I was coming down and crossed over a river bed.
I decided well my tummy did that it was breakfast. So I sat and had cereal topped up my water and washed my socks They don’t smell clean but its the best I can do till town
Now typical I’ve only had new shoes for several weeks and the lace on my left is not staying tight. .so its driving me nuts .don’t think I can get them swapped out but ill try grrrrr.
Back to the trail and its back up till I cross over the saddle and wow i’m dropping down into a vast valley surrounded by huge granite walls and lakes at the bottom just so beautiful then it was the log game again but they seem to be getting bigger and harder to get over .
I was posing doing a selfie by one particular log jam when Freedom arrived .shortly followed by Shredder I followed them to the next obstacle a very fast melt water Creek. Luckily there were to logs across as a bridge
But they were quite springy .freedom went first then myself followed by shredder. .See you up the trail guys as they are so fast. I plodded on enjoying the scenery which was fantastic especially after the next climb.
There were mountains as far as you could see. .I walked for several more hours before ping it was lunchtime.
I sat high on the ridge just starring at the amazing views..Come on snail we need to walk I wasn’t doing the mileage
Well its all up hill and I wanted another 10 to put me closer to the next town. So I pushed on passing Shredder and Freedom sat by a lake both wet as they had been swimming
Have to say it did look inviting but I want miles.so pushed on .They eventually caught me up and passed me.see you in town Snail.
I plodded on up yet another steep climb again amazing views but I was tiring my pack was light as all of my food is almost gone I got rid of my crap
But i was still struggling with the hills. At last I crossed that saddle and again the views were knock out with mount Stewart centre stage I took a five minute break when three hikers came by Hiya Snail!
The man said
He was with us when we were firing guns many weeks ago. He helps his wife who is disabled walk the trail
And it was him who saw that I had left my phone and charger so a big thank you And spooky that I ran into him again see Trail Karma
I pushed on knowing I had at least one more large climb. And I was dreading it ss I was tired .it was s hot day and I was just exhausted with all these hills. So it was nice to go down for a bit although it was s huge scree into another valley at the bottom I topped up with water hoping that I wouldn’t go much further but was early. As I was leaving xxx arrived how much further you going snail you going up the pass
I want to if my legs can get me there! !! Lol
So the last climb and it was steep up and up and up omg switchback after switchback back and forth no good I needed to rest so I stopped dropped my pack and chilled for 5 minutes.
As I sat two ladies and 2 dogs came down there were hiking to Snoqualmie which seemed a popular hike as all the hikers that I met were doing this single hikers couples groups.
They told me I was almost st the top thank god.i moved on puff puff come on snail st last I crossed over the saddle and it was like starring at s different land . just wow.i checked my watch I would walk another hour
and set off down the other side i tried to speed up to make the miles go faster come on snail ping oh that was quick okay a flat spot .I pushed on for another half hour come on flat spot mm should have stopped earlier but great perfect I found a flat spot beneath some trees put up my tent made tea and relaxed
Should be an easy day tomorrow
Fingers crossed
Night