HILLS HURT, COUCHES KILL hiking log

It was fine. Pretty flat until just below the lake in the burn

You'll have to ford the river just past Pete Lake but its not a big deal

 

I was actually right back up on that same hike yesterday haha. Wanted to bring another buddy who's never been there..



The meadow area in the burn is really green and pretty right now with flowers and ferns everywhere

 

had same thing happen on Mt Humphreys in Flagstaff, Az a few years back

oxygen thief instagram ding dong got rescued twice in two days

A SAR friend of mine said unofficially he was told there wouldn’t be a third rescue

 

Sweet! Hopefully it won't be too high/fast since they are calling for some rain Friday night and Saturday. If anything, I'll just post up at Pete Lake. I was originally planning to go there, but a buddy at work talked me into sending it up to Spectacle.

 

Quick 6 miles up the Miller River. Wide flat trail, just wanted to get the dog out for a bit since we were out of town for a week


He knows where we're going

 

Waptus River to Waptus Lake
22 miles







Saw a mama Brown Bear and cub, across a meadow about 40 yds away heading off in a different direction. Mama bear was actually quite large..

 

I don't think it was a grizzly. I'm reading Black bears can be brown or "cinnamon" sometimes. She didn't have a pronounced hump between the shoulder blades. Still pretty big and I'm glad they were minding their own business

 

You'd know if it was a grizzly. Those things are the size of hippos.

 

Ran up to Kendall Catwalk at dusk. 6 miles one way and quite a bit of gain. Bugs were terrible







i-90 /Snoqualmie Pass





Mt Rainier in the distance with no snow on it
It shouldn't look like that until late September

 

Gearing up for a 6-day backpacking trip that starts this weekend.

PCT Section K, heading south from Rainy Pass (hwy 20) to Stevens Pass (hwy 2). It goes right down the gut of North Cascades National Park and around/over Glacier Peak. 123 miles and 26,000 ft of elev gain.

We're planning (hoping) for around 20 miles per day for 6 days.
5 days if the stars align and we crush it (25 miles per day).
Or possibly 7 days if things slow down for some reason (blisters, heat, etc)

 

This is about 80-90% of what's going on my back. Clothing, bedding, first aid kit, misc gear and 7 days of food. Not pictured is my half of the tent we're sharing and probably some more snacks



Can't forget the inflatable soccer ball

Pretty much ready to go, tomorrow we'll drop off the shuttle car at the exit trailhead. On the way back I'll grab a few more comforts like some candy, little bit of whisky and possibly some bagels. Sunday morning we drive 3 hours up north to the drop off



First few days are looking to be pretty hot, then hopefully cool off a bit for the 2nd half of the trip. No rain in the forecast, all clear day and night. Hopefully we'll be camped at Mica Lake Tuesday night and catch a meteor shower

 

What about water? Do you bring what you need or use one of those filtering devices and find it on the trail?

 

Filter

I'll drink out of a 2 liter bladder with hose and also have a collapsible 1 liter pouch if needed

 

Took on a bit more food and ditched the foam sleeping pad. I'll just use the air pad

Took 2 days to get my whole life into this thing



About 28 lbs including 2 liters of water. Not bad for basically a week worth of food and gear

 

Maybe tie the foam pad to the backpack with some rope?

 

Nah, too much clutter

 

is your 4 legged companion making the trek also ?

 

No he'll stay home for this one. With the overall distance and the heat it's not a good idea.

 

PCT Section K - southbound
125 miles, 24k ft climbing
Completed in 5 and a half days

First 3 days were under a heat advisory, temps in the 90s, luckily plenty of water sources along the trail. I tried to keep my phone in my pack for the first couple days and not take too many pics to conserve battery. I knew the better photos would be down around Glacier Peak


Day 1)
Rainy Pass to upper Stehekin Valley
23 miles, 2,300 ft climbing, 9.5 hours




Day 2)
Stehekin to Suiattle Pass to Suiattle River
30.5 miles, 5,400 ft climbing, 15.5 hours




Day 3)
Suiattle River to Mica Lake
23 miles, 6,200 ft climbing, 12 hours









Day 4)
Mica Lake to Red Pass
18 miles, 4,500 ft climbing, 9 hours







The meadows up on the north slopes of Glacier were beautiful. 45 degree slopes covered in green grasses and different flower colors like a box of crayons. Bumblebees everywhere, I was bumping into them just walking along.
The pics don't even come close to showing the variety of colors, it was very pretty.








A few glaciers left. It wasn't that long ago they used to cover more area and come down much farther into the valleys




Clouds starting building as we headed into Red Pass






We camped next to White Chuck cinder cone





Day 5)
Red Pass to Pear Lake
23 miles, 4,000 ft climbing, 12 hours

White Pass in the fog. Lots of mountaineering traffic through here to climb Glacier Peak



Not many views through here. I put the phone away to concentrate on hiking

My buddy caught a nice fish at Lake Sally Anne. We didnt eat it, he let it go




Day 5)
Pear Lake to Stevens Pass
18 miles, 2,000 ft climbing, 8 hours

Woke up to rain and it never stopped as we hiked out past Janus Lake and Valhalla Lake. Phone was dead so no pics. At the car by 2 pm

Next time I'm bringing more blister tape and less layers. Good times