I was up at the crack of dawn just to make sure that I wouldn't have to worry about my lost permit. This was just easier to get on the trail while most everyone else was still sleeping. The morning was quiet. The trail was quiet as I followed Bridge Creek. I was once again enjoying the nice conditions. This trail was clear of all debris. It was even brushed out perfectly so I didn't have to even worry about touching the vegetation. It was easy going except that it was all uphill. Yesterday, I spent the whole day going downhill. Today, I got to spend the whole day climbing uphill. I was starting at about 2200 feet and would end the day at about 5300 feet. So the climb was not crazy. 3100 feet over 15 miles isn't bad at all.
The trail here was so much different than most of my hiking on the PCT. It felt more like Eastern Washington than Western Washington. The trail was dry and almost dusty in places. The terrain was more open with big trees still, but not nearly as much underbrush. I was moving pretty fast because I was down to the last days of food that I had to carry. I was meeting my dad at Rainy Pass and he was coming to camp with me for the night 5 miles up the trail at Porcupine Creek. I was pretty excited for that. I had been in constant communication with him due to my inReach device. He had left his house at 6 AM and we would meet up eventually at the pass. For now, though, I was trudging along uphill. The weather was getting warmer quickly and those wet shoes were no longer a problem. Still, the sore/numb foot was an issue. I really did not have a choice but to keep on keeping on with that one though. It stopped bothering me after a little bit anyway and since I had switched back to my original insoles, it wasn't getting any worse. My Achilles were a little bit more so now that I did not have the inserts, but they still loosened up after a few miles in the morning. Nothing as bad as what I experienced in Oregon.
I had crossed the water two times. Once near the North Fork where the bridge was in great shape and another at Maple Creek where I had to hike uphill in an odd way to get to the bridge. Either way, it was an easy trail and soon I was starting to see the weekend warriors moving in. I always felt a little awkward when there were people fresh from the city and here I have been out for many days. They smelled so clean and fresh. Who knows what I smelled like? My beard, too, was probably so awkward looking, but whatever. I didn't feel that self conscious until I got around busier areas. This was definitely becoming a busier area. I passed Six Mile, South Fork, Hideaway, and Fireweed camps.
From there I was able to leave North Cascades National Park and soon I was right next to the road. This part of the trail was actually pretty quiet because most people parked at the Bridge Creek Trailhead. Once I was beyond that, it was quiet for the mile and a half until I got to Rainy Pass. Here was the mass of humanity. Not since Cayuse Pass were there so many cars in one place. The only one I really cared about was seeing my dad and his car. I saw him across the road as soon as I came out of the trail at about 1:30 pm. It was great to see him. We talked about the hike and his drive as we went to his car. I spent an hour or so, repacking as he was my resupply point. I even got to throw down a bunch more food while I waited as he had some snacks for me.
Eventually, I got myself ready. This was actually going to be pretty easy. I only needed to take enough food for tonight and the next day as he was planning to meet me further on up the trail at Hart's Pass the following night. I brought only enough stuff for this one night of backpacking. We still had a bit of a hike as it was 5 miles to where we were hoping to camp. It was mostly uphill as the trail switchbacked through the dying forest. We wondered about the trees together with drought and beetle kill being the dominant thoughts. Dad was great company and it was nice to have someone to talk to. We finally arrived to where we were going to camp and there was a friendly gentleman there that offered to let us stay at his site because he said the rest of them were full. I was skeptical of this, though, because I hadn't had trouble finding a site previously. I wandered around a little bit and found lots of sites back in the woods. We picked one. Unfortunately, I picked a spot that was on a slope which would make my sleep a little bit poor. We camped at about 4:30. We ate dinner. Played some cribbage. Eventually, though, the bugs became so annoying that we had to go hide in our tents. We still were able to chat for a bit, but we read our books and enjoyed the outdoors and each other's company.
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