September 11th, 2022 by Jon
We woke up to find it so dark beneath the heavy pine canopy overhead. We got up and packed fairly quickly, giving ourselves enough time to have a leisurely breakfast. It was warmer this morning, partly due to the natural temperature fluctuation, but also because we camped lower for the first time in a long time. We hiked through fairly flat dark forest for many miles. In recent years, a bridge has been built over the Suiattle River, and the PCT has been rerouted to cross it. It added about 6 miles, but the river crossing is not very safe, so it’s totally worth the extra miles.
The hiking itself was actually quite nice. The old-growth forest has such a quiet, peaceful feel. At one point, it started sprinkling for about 45 minutes, but it was very light, making it easy to hike through. We crossed the bridge, thankful it was there, as we watched swift glacial water flow beneath. The downed trees in this valley were insanely huge. The largest we have seen on the trail. At times, we would walk an extra 100 feet around a tree because it was completely impossible to climb over. Sometimes this meant hiking straight up the side of the mountain. It was so tiring.
We had to stop at a small stream a few miles after the bridge to fill up for our last big climb on the PCT. We had about 3500 feet of elevation gain over 10 miles. Nothing too steep, but a very long, continuous climb nonetheless. After getting water, we began. The trail switchbacked up and up through pine forest. In many places, the brush next to the trail was substantial and required a bit of lush to get through. We fought our way through and felt more blowdowns on the way up. We crossed many small streams and reached a small flat spot where all 5 of us had lunch together. It’s been so humid this morning with all the rain that we all were sweating profusely. We’ve all eaten most of our food and snacks at this point, and all I have left besides meals are bars. I don’t know how long it will take before I can eat the dang things again. We finished eating and tackled the second half of the climb.
This half was much more exposed, and we climbed along beautiful ledges surrounded by towering rocky crags. It was absolutely incredible. The trail continued winding up the mountain before crossing over a ridge and entering another alpine bowl high up on the mountain. Green grass and rocks were everywhere. We had an amazing view of the valley below and the many streams that combined along the way to form the river at the bottom. I found Biscuit, Wilco, and Missile all waiting at the top, and we decided on a campsite about 4 miles away. There were some comments about nearby dead trees, but many also said it was a great site. We decided to check it out for ourselves and move on if it looked unsafe.
Hiking down into the bowl was so amazing. The rocky trail crossed many streams as we made our way down, then rounded the bowl, climbed a ridge, and reached the other side of the mountain. We switchbacked down this side for a long time. About halfway down, we passed by some burned trees before getting to the bottom and walking across a log to reach the other side and keep hiking. Shortly after that, we can go to the campsite we had been heading for. While there were one or two dead trees nearby, nothing looked remotely unsafe, so we made camp there. This is our last campsite on the PCT.
It was strange putting up the tent, and I have so many feelings about this entire experience. The gratitude I have that Singsong and I were able to take the time off to do this, the people we’ve met and made friends with, the endurance, both mentally and physically, we’ve built to sustain us through this crazy adventure, the time to ponder some deep questions during long days, the views we’ve seen way out in the wilderness away from any easy access, the sense of adventure, tactical planning, and adaptability when the inevitable road bumps come out way. These are only a small portion of what this trip has meant, and I can’t believe it’s coming to a close.
Tomorrow, we have 12.5 miles to reach a road where we can catch a bus to Stehekin. From there, we plan to ride into town, gorge on delicious pastries, and spend a night in their campground before taking the ferry the following day.
