August 25th, 2022 by Jon
After getting into camp late last night and then staying up for longer than we should have, it was very difficult to get up when the alarm went off. We ended up sleeping another 40 minutes before finally getting up and going. We packed and had breakfast, then got on the trail by 7:15. We wound our way up the hill we had been climbing for miles and picked our way past broken, burnt trees. It seemed like there were more and more green patches as we went through. We had pretty amazing views of Mt. Adams through the trees, including the cloud that obscured its top and the sunshine that punched through its edges.
We passed a number of small, flat meadows with a sandy patch in the middle. It seems like there are lots of little spots to set up a tent or two if you are willing to camp without water. We finished the climb and then walked along a fairly flat ledge for a while with great views of the west. We could see Mt. St. Helens most of the morning, and then all of a sudden, we came up a small rise and had a view to the northwest. We got our first big look at Mt. Rainier. This mountain reminds me so much of home; it feels strange to see it in a different context sometimes. We continued hiking, passing over some lava rock flows and glacial melt streams that were cloudy with sediment.
We climbed over a few logs to cross a larger glacial stream, then reached the other side and found a small tent site under a large pine tree for our first break. We sat under the tree eating our bars and chilling for about 15 minutes before we got going again. We walked along the ledge for a while more, admiring the views of all the mountains around us before descending gently down the side of one of the ridges extending from Mt. Adams. We hiked down the hill for about 5 more miles, and it was basically a green tunnel of pine trees and lush bushes, with a few easy stream crossings.
When we got to the bottom of our little descent, we crossed a large 25-foot-long footbridge that spanned Muddy Creek. This branch of the creek was actually quite clear, though. We crossed the bridge and had lunch in the shade of the trees. We filtered water when we were done eating, and by 1:15, we hit the trail again. We hiked separately for this section, and the trail had small ups and downs, passed a few streams, crossed a few dirt roads, and before we knew it, we had gone another 6 miles walking through the forest, and came to another stream. We filtered some more water there and steeled ourselves for the upcoming climb.
It wasn’t necessarily a long climb; it’s just that it came at the end of the day, and those feel tough. We climbed through a dark, thick forest, passing a few small ponds covered in pine needles. We also came across a few large tent sites that were big enough for 4 or 5 tents each. We passed them all, both Singsong and I, and I felt like we were struggling up the hill. Thankfully, she told me about some of the podcasts she has been listening to to distract me, which was very kind of her. We made it to the top after a long while and began the climb down the east side of the ridge. With the setting out west, it was totally in the shade of the ridge. We walked through more forest, and the mosquitoes started chasing us through the woods.
With a half mile to go, we had to stop and put DEET on, and Singsong actually hiked the rest of the way with her bug net on her head. We finally came to a small stream, noticed a side trail running downhill, and stopped at an area with a few small tent sites. Most were right up against a tree, so they could actually be pretty flat. We found one that wasn’t too bad and pitched our tent there. Once everything was inside, I went to grab water back at the stream while Singsong began cooking. We ate pretty quickly, feeling much better now that we were stopped and had food in our bellies. We talked about our day, then made some hot chocolate to enjoy in our tent. We were inside by 7:30.
It’s gonna be an early to bed kinda night because we want to be fully rested for the Goat Rocks Wilderness, which we entered a few miles ago. For many, it’s one of the best sections on the trail, and we are super excited for tomorrow’s hiking.
