PCT Washington Day 20: Baekos Creek to South Fork Milk Creek

I slept very peacefully and almost through the entire night. The temperature was perfect. My campsite was quiet and I just slept like a log. I was waking up now and moving pretty early, so that was not a bad thing. The weather was still overcast and the thought of fires being on the trail was now a thing of the past. This was going to be the day of the worst blowdowns, so I was prepared for a long one. It started almost immediately. There were constantly big trees to get around. The trail was downhill for the first mile to get to Chetwot Creek. It just felt so dark and ominous, but it wasn't quite wet yet. I crossed Chetwot Creek on an old bridge and then there was a fairly easy ford around Sitkum Creek. It was Kennedy Creek that I was worried about as the footbridge was broken likely to never be replaced. 

It looked like a large drainage on the map and when I got there it felt even bigger. You could tell that a large glacier used to make its home here which now had turned it into a large river. Whatever bridge used to be here was probably broken beyond recognition never to be seen again. The lucky part was that once I got there I quickly found some logs to cross. It is sort of a funny decision though because either it goes smoothly or my whole trip could be ruined pretty rapidly. I got myself together and made the crossing. Even on my numb foot I could still be very careful. I balanced the logs and soon found myself on the other side of the river with all of me and my belongings dry. My reward for that was a trip uphill in the woods through the pouring rain crossing many deadfall trees. These weren't just little guys either. These were old growth forest with massive logs coming down. 

When I wasn't crossing blowdowns, I was dealing with huckleberries growing right over the trail. Huckleberries, especially the blue kind, have the ability to retain a lot of moisture until you brush up against them with your leg. As soon as you do, though, it goes rushing down your pants and into the top of your socks and shoes quickly making damp feet into wet feet. There was no avoiding it on this day. I was just going to have to accept the wetness and keep plodding along uphill. The goal today was to make it up to Fire Creek Pass. Once I made it there, I knew I was going to be able to go downhill after that. I sure had to work for it though as the trail seemed steeper uphill than most of the rest of the PCT had been in Washington. I kept myself entertained and luckily I had a lot of energy for it. After a while I started to find my way out of the forest and into some more open meadows. It still seemed pretty brushy and the wildflowers were very thick. This portion of the trail traversed around the slopes of Glacier Peak and what was unique about today was that I would be spending the entire day on one section of my National Geographic map. Usually I would cover one, two, or three map sections in a day. But this was so much of an around the mountain trail, that I would never leave page 10 at all today. 

Every little piece was a win, though. When I got to Glacier Creek the trail continued to climb until I reached Pumice Creek. Then the trail sort of flattened out in the way that it went downhill, then uphill again, so not really flat, but more evenly distributed. It opened up in places and eventually the rain stopped and revealed some pretty nice landscapes. The weather got significantly better as the day went on, but since I started the day with wet feet, that was how I traveled through it. Pass Pumice Creek, the next big landmark was Fire Creek. This announced to me that I would be going uphill again. At the morning, I started at around 4000 feet. Fire Creek pass was at 6300 feet, so I was going to have to work for it. I put in the miles and was rewarded with some amazing views.

Getting on top of the pass was pretty monumental. There were 360 degree views. There were mountains to the north, mountains to the west, and Glacier Peak to the east. Behind me to the south was the journey I had taken to make it to this point. The sun even made its appearance and I felt new life return to me. There were times where I was even able to sneak peaks of Glacier Peak showing its face. From what I had heard, it was not the most difficult mountain to climb, just difficult to reach. I truly appreciated the pleasure of being out here where not many people would actually go. This area was just as breathtaking as any other National Park, but since it was so hard to get to, not many people got to experience it.

I enjoyed some lunch which was still beef jerky and dried mango. I was getting really thin at the same time my beard was getting rather shaggy. Fire Creek Pass would be a fantastic campsite to spend a few days at just enjoying the peaks around it. You could climb one or two and really have a great campsite. I could not spend too long there, though, as I still had a full day ahead of me. It was time to keep going. From here, the trail went downhill. It started out incredibly open with just some fantastic views. Every few minutes it seemed like another piece of Glacier Peak would show its face and I would get excited to see it. Here I was, right on the doorstep and I could barely see the mountain because the weather had been so cool and wet.

This was obviously not something to complain about as I would take the cool weather over the 90 degree days and fire danger at any point. As I wandered on down in a round about way, the views just seemed so amazing all around me. This was definitely the day where I seemed to take the most pictures without many of them being able to be shown on this blog. The highlight of this day had to be Mica Lake, though. Here was a mountain tarn that was just about perfect. If the weather had been warmer and it would have been closer to camp time I would have taken a dip. The depth of the blue in this lake was so very striking and here I was enjoying it by my very lonesome. 

I didn't stay long, though it felt like a place I could hang for a very long time. There really were not a lot of people around on this day. I saw only a handful in this section as the south bounders were really starting to fizzle out and all that was left were section hikers like me. The trail continued going downhill and soon it would become very brushy. So on top of the downed trees to climb over frequently, the trail was now almost completely engulfed with salmon berries. The one benefit of this was definitely salmon berries as I ate like a pig. They were ripe, red, juicy monsters that provided me with a few extra calories while I walked. I met another couple that were obviously European and they were enjoying them also. I actually passed them which was strange for me because they were doing the whole thing and I passed them. That never happened.

Down and down I went until I found my way to a beautiful bridge. There is nothing like coming out of a brushy mess with slippery roots and whipping branches to an absolutely well built beautiful bridge. I was actually a little bit nervous about crossing Milk Creek as I thought the bridge was gone. What turned out happening was that the bridge was gone, but this bridge was on another trail and the PCT had been rerouted to meet up with this bridge. This put me slightly off the traditional path, which actually led to my wife contacting me on my Garmin inReach Mini to let me know I was off the trail. I assured her that was not the case as there was nowhere else to go in this sea of vegetation. 

For all my hard work finally getting across Milk Creek, my reward was to go up a massive amount of switchbacks through extremely brushy trail. There was even a set of tools left at one point that if people wanted to, they could use their energy to help brush out the trail. I was happy to leave the machete and loppers for another brave soul as I continued to fight my way up the haphazard trail. It got a little better once the reroute was accomplished, but it still took a lot of energy to force my way up those switchbacks with the occasional deadfall to keep me on my toes. The views got better and better as I got higher though and after a little while, I was lucky enough to get a full view of Glacier Peak.

This day was starting to crawl to an end. I was feeling good, though, and really I just kept going uphill. As the clock approached 5 pm, I was ready to find a place to camp. I was lucky because this area was one of the most beautiful and most peaceful of the places that I had hiked all day. There were big views including those of Glacier Peak. I needed some water, though, and when I finally found it, I was near the headwaters of the East Fork of Milk Creek. I filtered some water and then looked for a campsite. Luckily, one appeared right around the corner. It was almost on an island in the middle of this huge mountain drainage with streams flowing all around me. 

The first site I tried seemed so impacted that the soil was fluffy. As I walked on it, it poofed out in little clouds around my feet. I figured I could make it work, but when I put up my tent, I realized I would be inhaling dust all night. So I looked to the other side of the creek I was camped near and saw a less impacted site on the other side of the creek. I decided to carry my tent over there and this turned out to be a much less dusty site. My original site was taken later by the European couple I had talked to earlier. I was pretty tired, but still went through with all my camp chores. In the end, my watch said I had climbed 499 floors which is about 5000 feet in elevation. This was my biggest day so far, but my reward was this beautiful mountain meadow to spend my evening in. This was a challenging day, but I met it with excitement and this was truly a fantastic day out on the trail. 

PCT Washington Day 19: Saddle Gap to Baekos Creek

I was in the habit of waking up early, so now I felt like my body was used to it. I had a good night sleep, but my body felt tired when I woke up. That was interesting because I felt so good the previous day and today I was feeling kind of flat. When I got out of the tent, I was greeted with foggy conditions. Up here in the mountains, it really just felt like I was right in the middle of a cloud. I left my beautiful camp site and headed uphill for a short distance before I made it to Saddle Gap. From there, it was downhill to Pass Creek. So far, I had run into a few blowdowns, but the trail was in very good shape. I was a little concerned about it, but had only had to deal with a handful of blowdowns so far. Most of the time, though, the trail was in very good shape.

I ran into a couple who gave me the low down. They said the trail was pretty good all the way to Red Pass, but after that, there would be lots of blowdowns. The forest was feeling a little bit more wild. 
I came to a junction for the Pass Creek Trail and after that, I spent a long time climbing uphill. The climb first started with some time in the forest, but quickly morphed into more open scenery. The day was cool and I was keeping the poofy on for longer than normal on this day. The trail zigzagged up an open bushy hill. I just kind of plodded along like usual eventually arriving at Lake Sally Ann where there was a group of people hanging out. I assumed that the trail would be rather quiet today, but I was wrong. I saw many people.

Some of the people seemed unconcerned with my presence like the guy who was probably slightly older than me that came up behind me. He seemed to pass by with barely an acknowledgement of my existence. Another group I talked to for quite a while. The guy had a PCT hat on so that helped us strike up a conversation. He seemed really interested in my hike and wanted to be out there doing it himself. I encouraged him because I was definitely enjoying myself. Those were always the people I enjoyed were the ones enthusiastic for the experience. The trail was rather flattish after Lake Sally Ann with ups and downs, but really just lots of open country with what would be big views without all of the low clouds. 

Still, I was happy that there was no rain and all I was dealing with were cooler conditions. It made the hiking easier and a bit more enjoyable. What was not enjoyable was my foot. It was getting sore again after the one day of rest. I knew it would continue to be a problem until the end. It felt like I had an extra large foot in my shoe even though my foot was not swollen at all. There was definitely some numbness, but it didn't affect me too much, so I just continued on. The ups and downs of a few hundred feet here and there continued until a downhill stretch that would take me to Indian Pass. Here was a nice big open area that met up with the Indian Creek trail. There were so many trails coming in from so many different parts, I wondered how accessible these areas were given that it really felt far away from any roads. 

Along with the groups of people to keep me company, there were also many marmots. They were here and there and everywhere. Some hid when they saw me. Some came out of their holes to squeal. Some watched as their children played in front of them. This was the day of marmots and it was definitely the right habitat. I even ran into a fellow PCT hiker who was just sitting there watching the marmots as I made the long trek up from Indian Pass to White Pass and then continued on up to Red Pass. He seemed to be 20 years older than me at least and was really just enjoying their playfulness. He told me his name was Woodchuck and he called the marmots woodchucks. I enjoyed that I actually got to pass somebody, because that was a rare occurrence for me. We talked for a bit, but I had a mission and that mission was switchbacking my way uphill. 

I would have loved to say that the clouds peeled off and I had a great day full of big views, but that would be a lie. I got a short reprieve for small sections of my afternoon where tall, scraggly peaks would show their rough edges for short periods of time. Those peaks would be enclosed within a short period of time and soon I was back in the clouds. This was ever more apparent as I closed in on Red Pass. The fog became very thick and the views which should have been fantastic were almost non-existent. Still I felt the thrill and exhilaration of having made the big climb as Red Pass was nearly 3000 feet above Pass Creek and almost 15 miles away. By the time I hit Red Pass, I had already hiked over 17 miles and it was only 3 pm. 

From here on out, it was all downhill. I was happy about that because I was foot sore, tired, and the day had been especially dark and dim. The big open views were capped with clouds, so that the alpine scenery was more shrouded than usual. Still, the trail was in great shape and those many blowdowns just had not occurred yet. I continued with my breaks every hour and sometimes I would listen to my audible account. Since I did not have any music, that made these days feel especially dimmer. There was also no cell service at all in this section as not even a check of the Mariners game was possible. Still I continued downhill as I would now be dropping all the elevation I had gained throughout the whole day. 

The trail went from nearly 7000' all the way down to close to 4000'. This took me through more open scenery until I was back in the forest. Here the trail seemed to hug the shoreline of a creek that would turn into White Chuck River after all of the forks came together. It was very peaceful and quiet. There were beginning to be a few blowdowns to negotiate, but not anything too wild and crazy. There were also the benefits including small waterfalls to enjoy and the thick, milky outflow of glacial sediment coming through the creek. For some reason, it just felt pretty comfortable in the forest. As it was approaching 5:30, I began looking for a place to camp. I was hoping to make it to Chetwot Creek, but when I got to Baekos Creek, it felt like far enough for the day. I had worked hard on this day putting in 22.5 miles in some of the hardest terrain yet with multiple passes and continuous climbs. The creek was easily crossed and there was one other group camping there. I camped across the creek from them, so we did not interact much that night only seeing each other when I went to filter water from the creek. I camped at a site only a few feet off the trail, but I never saw a soul hike by the rest of the night. I enjoyed my dinner, did all my camp chores and settled in for the best sleep I had on the entire trail.

PCT Washington Day 17&18: Rest Day in Cashmere before Stevens Pass to Saddle Gap

 I spent the day in Cashmere. I did laundry at the laundromat. I had breakfast with my dad and Laura at a cafe. Mostly what I did was stay off of my injured foot. As I did not use it, I felt the feeling slowly return. It did not get back to normal, but it improved. I had the other insoles for my shoes, so I was going to give those a try. It may put more pressure on my Achilles, but I had to return the circulation to the right side of my right foot. So much for thinking ahead. I got to watch the Mariners game, only for them to lose. The main goal was rest and recovery and I felt bad for my company. They had nothing to do in Cashmere. We had dinner and then got to bed early. Part of the day was spent talking to my wife. 

She was insistent once again that there was imminent danger ahead that I would have no way of avoiding my untimely death. This time it was fire starts from the previous thunderstorms. I looked on the Watch Duty app and there were a couple right in the direction that I was headed. I could not believe that these fires that had been listed as 0.1 acres could really impact my trip. I checked the PCT closures app and it did not have anything about them. Consulting with everyone again, I decided to continue my journey and gain more information while hiking. So when the morning came around, we were up early and on our way to Stevens Pass. Dad hiked with me for the first couple of miles. The trail was flat in this section and it was good to have company for a little bit.

After he left, I realized how good I was feeling. It is amazing how much a day of rest can rejuvenate your body. Even though my pack was quite heavy, I was feeling really good. Maybe because this was my last section, I was feeling the excitement of each mile that I put away behind me. The weather was great being a little cool and a little overcast. A few miles after my dad left, I realized that I did not have my mp3 player. This was not that big of a deal, I just would not have any music for the next week. The people I talked to along the way seemed to not have had any issues with fire, except there was an unreported blaze occurring in a valley near the trail. I could see it, but within minutes, I had passed it by. 

This part of the trail was quite woody. There was a lake about 6 miles in, Lake Valhalla which had a slew of campers about it, which broke up that woodiness. There were also some high peaks to gaze upon, but for most of the day, I was in the forest. Having left a pass, it meant that I would need to do quite a bit of uphill on this day. It really was just a lot of up and down between elevations of 4000 feet and 6000 feet. Up to Lake Valhalla. Down to Lake Janus. Up to Grizzly Peak and down to Pear Lake. I talked to everyone I saw and they all just seemed so pleasant. They warned me of what was to come with the deadfalls around Glacier Peak.

I talked to one guy who had hiked most of Washington, but had actually turned around at the deadfalls because he did not want to go through it with his injuries. I felt bad for him, but he seemed in a good mood about it, so that was good. Mostly it was just a really pleasant day on the trail, pretty quiet, with lots of friendly people. I was feeling so good, too, that it didn't feel like work on this day. The views from Grizzly Peak were the best. I had enjoyed such great weather on this trip that it just felt so pleasant. Seeing Glacier Peak out in the distance made me realize the thing I liked most about the PCT. It was seeing a far off peak or area knowing that in a day or two, I would be there with just the effort in my legs. 

The meadows were amazing, though, not as many berries on this day. Around Pear Lake, I actually got lost for a little bit, which was rare. Usually the PCT is the most dominant trail in the area, but so many people had camped down at Pear Lake, that I just followed a trail to its shores. When I looked on the map on my watch, I realized that the PCT was actually above me. I chose to bushwhack rather than backtrack. This worked out okay with a little bit of fight through the forest going uphill. It wasn't long before I was right back on the trail continuing on my way. I thought when planning the PCT, that I would always want to stay at a lake. Given the chance to stay at Pear Lake, though, I continued because moving north became just so much more important.

On this evening, I made it to a campsite near Saddle Gap. There was a really nice campsite there with running water and I was in a very good mood. I had a great day. My legs felt loose, my pack felt light, the sun was out and everything seemed to be coming up aces. The terrain was starting to open up more with big sweeping views. My foot was feeling numb, still, but it was working just fine. It did not seem to be getting much worse with my original insoles in. I was looking forward to another big day tomorrow having packed in 22 miles or so on this day. But for the night, I was in a great camping spot and was ready for a full night of rest. A few people wandered by after I had set up camp, but no one else camped beside me.

PCT Washington Day 16: Deception Pass to Stevens Pass

I got an early start even though I did not to. Having tuned my body into the schedule of waking up early, I was now on that schedule for good or for bad. My foot was pretty sore still, but I was going to use a routine of taking it out of my shoe each chance I could to massage it. I was still kind of worried about it. It was now August 1st and I had been on the trail for 16 days. This was going to be my chance to escape for the day, though, because my dad and his wife Laura were meeting me at Stevens Pass. It was hard not to get too excited for a chance to sleep in a bed and relax for a little bit. I couldn't get too relaxed, yet, though because with a sore foot, I still had 21 miles to hike through difficult terrain. 

The trail went uphill right from the start. There were lots of mosquitoes around to keep me company and unfortunately, many of my electronics were on the edge of dying. My inReach was dead, so my wife could not track my every move today. My cell phone still had about 60% charge left and my mp3 player was down to its last bar. That was okay, though, as being out here was what I enjoyed. The trail climbed toward Pieper Pass with the Deception Lakes coming into view to provide a break from the big views of far away mountains. I seemed to be moving pretty well on this day with a lighter pack than usual and the mosquitoes to motivate me to not stop for very long. 

I gained over 1500 feet to get up to Pieper Pass, then quickly lost it. The trail seemed rather quiet for being so near to a major road, but maybe not as many people came this way from Stevens Pass. I am not sure why not, though, because there were lots of interesting mountains to climb and amazing looking lakes. I talked to a few people, but mostly it was me out there putting in the miles. The trail seemed to either be going up or down on this day. There was no long stretches of flat terrain. I spent a lot of the day on ridges with large sweeping views that I thoroughly enjoyed. One of the best views of the day was Trap Lake. It seemed like an awesome place to spend some time with large mountains all around it. 

It was properly named as the water seemed to be trapped right on the edge of a big valley below it. The trail was even more quiet after this lake as there was an easier way in to this area than hiking the PCT. I wondered if the blue liners all went out that other way and only red liners were out here with me. After Trap Lake, it was downhill to Hope Lake, which wasn't much. Then back uphill. It didn't seem like much when looking at the map, but it felt like I was going over three passes today even though officially there was only one. There were soon salmon berries along the trail and they were getting bigger and redder as I hiked further north. The trail seemed to want to avoid Stevens Pass as it came ever so close to the road, but seemed to hook around to avoid it.

Soon I found myself in the ski area. It kind of wound around the power lines and chair lifts through open meadows filled with berries. There were a few people out here picking huckleberries and a lady laden with a large pack started to chat with me. She asked if I was Peter. I knew then that my dad was not too far away. It was only a few more bends in the trail before I ran into him. He offered to take my pack, but we walked the 2 miles back to the parking at Stevens Pass together. It was good to catch him up on all the happenings on the trail and I really appreciated the lift. This was not a short trip for him because it was 4 or 5 hours from his house to get to Stevens Pass. From there, we drove past the expensive tourist town of Leavenworth to the much warmer town of Cashmere. Here we had a hotel room for two nights. We got ourselves some pizza and had some ice cream and I settled in to catch up on the Mariners games and get some rest.