Back in the Backyard

We left I-90 in the afternoon. There were wildfires burning in the next section so we were taking an alternate route that would take us around the hot spots. Starting from the Alpental trailhead, we started up a sharp but short climb to Snow Lake. It was a pretty popular spot, and as it was a beautiful day, there were plenty of poeple out. The nicely groomed trail quickly gave way a few miles beyond the lake to a rugged steep brush covered path. The alternate was to shave a few miles but the nature of the trail probably evened things out timing wise. Our goal was about 10 miles and when we arive we made camp. It would be a long night.

I fell asleep after a quick dinner and slept for a few hours. I was awakened by a strong rain against the tent and if that hadn't rousted the others the following thunder certainly did. It was quite the storm. What it lacked in wind it made up for in sheer volume. I could feel the thunder in my chest. It was rather startling. After a sky splitting explosion, I thought it was the very loudest thunder I had ever heard, only to be proven wrong by the following blast. When I opened my eyes the tent repeatedly lit up with the flash of lightning. They were so close together it was impossible to count the seconds between the flash and the thunder, but it was aparent that the storm couldn't get any closer.

The morning finally came and the rain subsided. We packed up our soggy tents and complained of the extra weight we had to carry now that things were saturated. We put in about 24 miles and made it back to the PCT. We all were thankful to be back on good tread. It was pretty uneventful hiking. It was raining most of the morning and we were rather soaked. Luckily when we joined the PCT some other hikers had stopped for the day and had a fire going. It was a lovely surprise and a nice little break before moving on. Near the end of the day we found ourselves in the middle of a climb and couldn't camp exactly when we wanted to. I've been hiking later into the evening with Buck, Kickstep and Annie so I get a little cranky when camping cannot be found and the day stretches toward 8.

We wanted to wake early and get a good start, but it was a rather cold morning and we all lingered in our tents before making our move to the trail. It was a nicer day from the start and we dried our things at lunch. There were some nice climbs. 2000 ft took us over a ridge and we came out with a nice view of Glacier Peak. We'd camp within 8 miles of the pass at a lake. It would be another rainy night.

In the morning it was not raining while I ate breakfast but when I went to get out of the tent of course the drops started to fall. That made packing up a very quick operation and we were soon on our way. More climbing and Buck 30 and I had broken away from the couple. Dad was at the pass with the BBQ so we didn't take any breaks on our way to the trailhead. It was funny being back at Stevens Pass. The trail follows the chairlifts up the backside of the resort and everything was familiar to me. I told buck about a bunch of trips up to the resort and where we would go; the cat tracks and shoots and diamond runs as if he cared. Up and over the last ridge, right next to the Tye Mill chairlift, we quickly made our way down and ran into Uncle Tony as he was coming up the trail to meet us. Then my cousin Josh came around the corner and we all walked down together. There were a bunch of people there to great us. Dad had the BBQ going just like he said and we ate to our hearts content.

It was fun to see everyone. After all the festivities we made our way into Skykomish and found a hostel type place to relax and dry out. I can't believe this is our second to last town stop. We'll get to Stihekan in about 4 days and then its only another four into the boarder. Somehow, even after the whole summer and all the miles, I'm quite surprised to be this close. I don't know how a goal that I've had my eye one for more than a year could sneak up on me, but it did. I'm sure it will be all over all too soon. I'm taking every opportunity to enjoy the time I have left and I'm glad I've made some good friends in Buck 30, Kickstep, and Annie to share it with.