July 26th, 2020
Mile 227.8 to Mile 249.8
I slept in today and had the slowest morning ever. I got up at 6:30ish and didn’t break camp until 7:45. Which I think is a new record for sleeping in. But I still managed to hike 22 miles!
I felt pretty slow and bloated this morning but that could have been because I was starting the day on an ascent. Once I got over the top of the pass I had a lot of downhill. I didn’t feel particularly fast today but I must have been moving at a decent pace.
At the bottom of the long downhill I saw a sign for a Washington Trails work party! I didn’t know they started doing those again. I didn’t see the volunteers though. I found a very nice mossy rock to sit on to eat second breakfast. My feet were a little sore and needed a break.
There was one major stream crossing today that didn’t have a bridge. I waded across in my sandals and the current was surprisingly fast. I met these two guys on the other side that had a dog named Bebe. Bebe didn’t like me and kept barking. The guys were section hiking Stevens Pass to Snoqualmie. I’ve actually met a decent amount of people doing this as a section hike. It’s definitely the most accessible section to Seattle.
The guys and I leapfrogged all the way to Spectacle Lake. I’ve done this part of the trail before but I expected to be coming downhill on it, not up. I didn’t realize I’d be doing the climb again until this morning when I was looking at the map more closely. It’s a steep climb in a burn area so there’s no shade, and of course I was doing it at the peak of the afternoon heat. It went by quickly though.
I ate a couple of cheese and spinach wraps at the top and looked out over Spectacle Lake. I said goodbye to the guys who were going down to swim. I tried to continue climbing out but I was super full and super sleepy. It was a slow walk.
Over the pass I experienced the consequence of bad water judgement for the first time. I was low on water and passed a couple ponds that looked pretty brown so I didn’t fill up. This was a mistake because I was almost completely out of water by the time I got to the next water source. I had to sit there and chug water out of my filter to rehydrate.
After gaining my strength back, I followed a ridge around the side of the mountains. I saw Mt Rainier again for the first time in a while. I hiked until a little after 8 and then pitched at the first available campsite. Excited for a shower tomorrow!
