It's been both cold and warm since my last post. Here's me all bundled up hiking in just above freezing temps. Note the new hat under my normal hat.
I'm planning to spend at least part of this weekend in Seattle, to see friends and hang out. This is happening because I finalized plans to meet my brother Robbie at Hart's Pass on the 17th, which means I need to start slowing down a fair bit. Some time in Seattle seems like a great way to slow down.
Leaving White Pass was a slow process, as it was a cold morning and there was a great little coffee shop. Definitely had too much caffeine that day. It was really hard to find a campsite my first day out. There were over 20 tents at the spot I picked near a creek, but thankfully there were still flat spots open. The far side of the creek only had 6 or so people.
That first night was cold. But the next day felt colder than the night. There was a persistent cloud cover around 5500 feet that I ascended into with a few hundred feet of visibility, and then descended out of to see good views with a hard ceiling. I was supposed to have great views of Ranier on Tuesday, but it wasn't meant to be. The cover photo is of me on this Tuesday morning. And the one privy spot I passed by at Chinook Pass (with 4 toilets!) was locked.
Tuesday night I camped with about 10 other tents. That night was frigid. I stopped at 6 pm and got in my tent by 7:15 pm, and it had already gotten very cold by then. It was cold enough overnight that I woke up in the middle of the night hungry and cold after eating more than my usual amount of food during the day. If you don't know what that feels like, lucky you.
On Wednesday the cloud cover dispersed, I got another good view of Ranier, and the highs were back above 65. That's mountain weather for sure. And there was an operable privy by Government Meadows cabin. With trail magic by Tom, Grant, and Bill(?). The meatball subs were wonderful, and fueled a solid 30 mile day.
On Thursday I only did 26 miles, to make sure that I didn't get to Snoqualmie too fast. And again got trail magic! This time from Steve, who made pulled pork sandwiches and coffee, with a spread of candy bars and protein bars. I've been getting spoiled out here. Thursday night I camped slightly off trail at Lodge Lake, and it wasn't even cold! When I woke up I almost didn't even put my puffy on to break down camp. (I did, but more to feel warm than to not feel cold, if you understand the distinction. I took it off before I started moving.)
This morning has been an easy 2 mile downhill into Snoqualmie and a pancake breakfast. I'm thinking about hitching to North Bend with Maverick and taking the bus from there, but we'll see what the day brings. I'm "only" 84 miles ahead of pace because I'm counting today as done, 2 miles in. Thursday night I was +102.9 miles.
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