Friday, September 07, 2018 – 13.80 miles
Bigfeet caught up with me early this morning, having changed his mind about taking another rest day at Stevens Pass. He explained that he’s resigned himself to being in pain for the rest of his hike – poor guy. After matching his pace to mine for awhile, he went on ahead when I stopped to rest at Pass Creek.
The scenery kicked it up a notch today, starting with a frustrating period of time during which pieces of Glacier Peak were hazelessly and tantalizingly in view. Finally the whole peak appeared around noon, and I sat down for lunch. The trail continued along ridges, offering views of splendid peaks and deep valleys. I enjoyed the quiet of the trail compared to the hubbub of Labour Day weekend.
When another hiker caught up to me, I was pleased to see that it was Caribou. We took a few breaks together and walked together for awhile. It’s touching when these ultra-strong hikers match my pace.
Speaking of ultra-strong, I had been wondering whether Caribou is an athlete since she’s been doing big miles despite only being on the trail since Crater Lake. Today I found out that she’s a mountaineer – makes sense. She told me some interesting things about Mt. Hood, which has apparently killed more people than Everest. Who knew? People fall into the fumaroles, which also release toxic gases.
Rain was in the forecast today and the clouds began sprinkling in late afternoon. Hoping to make camp before the rain began in earnest, I checked eTrails for campsites and saw a site only 0.1 miles away. It turned out to be a lovely, decently sheltered campsite with a view of Glacier Peak. The next campsites along the trail at White Pass were located on the side of the ridge facing the wind, so I decided to stop. So far the rain hasn’t amounted to much, but it did produce a double rainbow. But what does it mean…?
