Beyond My Doorstep: Washington PCT 2016: Day 30

Eating a warm breakfast

Day 30 was a good difficult hike. We had a few good views but mostly we say clouds overhead. We got up and ate a warm breakfast to fight the cool air. We got hiking and soon crossed the White Chuck River, following it for quite a few miles.

Laura and White Chuck river

Looking upstream toward old bridge location

Laura and log jam

Base of Glacier Peak

We then turned north, crossing a few other valleys where water runs down from Glacier Peak. We had a great time crossing Kennedy creek on its broken bridge. I also found a soggy but usable hiking pole here. I had so far used no trekking poles for the hike, only the occasional stick foraged from the woods. I decided to try this one out and leave it back in civilization if I didn't like it.

Kennedy creek valley

Broken Bridge

Laura crossing broken bridge

Base of mountain

Laura and base of mountain

Lots of glacial valleys

We hiked around spur after spur of the mountain but never quite got a glimpse of the peak through the clouds. It was very frustrating! We also took many rests because Laura was in pain again. We made a plan to always lay down during a rest in order to put our feet up and let them truly relax. That seemed to make a difference.

Laura walks on water

Little more of the mountain

Looking north

Can almost see the top!

Laura resting like a boss

Flowers and trees

Pretty clouds

Looking back south

The highlight of the day was Fire Creek Pass. We had been hiking in the woods and under cloud cover all day and it was magnificent to climb up out of the trees and see for miles again. We still didn't get a great view of the mountain but we were able to look farther to the north and see where we were hiking next.

Panorama south

Beautiful afternoon

Almost to fire creek pass

Cairn atop the pass

Laura looking north from the pass

Hiking down from the pass was just as magical and the evening before. We saw another marmot, who we promptly began talking to in order to cheer him up... poor Gus. After passing a small glacial pool, we hiked next to Micah Lake.

Winding trail to the bottom

Looking up toward Kennedy peak

Gus!

Gus and I chatting

Hiking down to a glacial pool... no big deal.

Laura below Fire Creek pass

Micah Lake

Micah lake looked full of tents so we chose to continue, especially since it was a little to cold for a swim. So he stopped a little further down the mountainside by a creek. We stopped, having hiked 15 miles, at a really great campsite perched above the Suiattle river valley! It happened to have one of the best pit toilets on the entire PCT! I wandered around a bit as Laura rested her weary knees for the difficult days ahead.