July 10th, 2020
Mile -30.1 to Mile -14.7
I am here!!!! Today I woke up at 5am, said goodbye to my parents, and drove 4.5 hours with Matt to Hart’s Pass. We drove slow up the Forest Service Road and didn’t arrive until 11am or so. We had some pretty stunning views of North Cascades National Park on the way in.
We loaded up our packs and started walking!! It was so exciting to be on trail finally. We started with a steady incline and then had a lovely couple of miles on a ridgeline. A few miles in we hit snow, but it was pretty manageable with just our poles. We packed microspikes just in case though.
We crossed paths with a few thru-hikers and a couple others that had done the border tag already. We’ve heard that Rock Pass is still covered in snow but is doable, especially in the morning. An older hiker told us he didn’t attempt it. We’ll be waking up early tomorrow to try to pass over it around 7am.
Because we started hiking so late and had to go 15 miles, we didn’t stop for a long lunch. I mostly snacked today. I need to seriously reevaluate my food plan because I only ate half of what I packed for today. But I suppose hiker hunger will hit eventually.
My body felt okay for most of the day, but the last two miles to camp were pretty brutal for my poor feet. They’re going to turn into pancakes by the end of this.
I had a rice side for dinner with refried beans and spinach! A hot meal was much needed. Our campsite is pretty magical as well.
Matt and I had some difficulty with the bear bag (we both have way too much food and only one bear line). I was contact-less so I couldn’t really help hang the food. But it was way too heavy to lift. We got it off the ground to keep it away from rodents but hopefully a bear doesn’t find it. I am very worried and had a bit of a meltdown.
It’s already 10:30pm and we have an early morning so it’s just off to bed now!