Washington PCT 2015: Day 14

Day 14 was the closest we would get to Mount Rainier. The PCT gives Rainier a bit of a wide berth, which is probably for the best. There are a lot of people hiking around the mountain and the PCT would just make it more crowded. This was also a tough day for Laura. She was not feeling great and had to really challenge herself.

Rainier!

Our day started beautiful and cool. The most memorable part of the morning is Bumper Creek. That water was painfully cold, the coldest water has ever felt to me! We crossed the creek and took quite some time to let them warm up. In fact, this was a moment when I became acutely aware of having tight heels. When I stepped into the water, it felt like the tendons in my heels shrank. I am more careful about them to this day!

Coldest water ever!

Pretty meadow

Hiking on from the creek, we passed through some mountain meadows and eventually arrived on the west side of a range of mountains. We would get a great view of Rainier to the west before turning into a long valley full of trees. Thirty minutes later, we would come out of the valley on the other side. It was beautiful!

Hiking along the mountainside

Rainier's foothills

Rainier again

Laura and more wildflowers

Rainier again!

Looking back south

 This game of hiking long amounts of time to come out of a valley not far from where we started eventually took its toll. Also, Laura was feeling tired and her knees were starting to hurt. She was also really affected by heights after the Goat Rocks. She thought she may need to stop short for the day.

Mount Rainier and Dewey lake ahead

At Dewey lake, we took a long break. Laura took some time to relax, breath, and sleep if possible. I played in the water and stretched out my heels a bit. After most of an hour, we talked about the rest of the day. Laura really wanted to keeps going and I was happy to support that decision even though she wasn't sure how she would feel after a bit more hiking. We hiked around the lake and up the next ridge.

Playing in the water

Rainier from the lake

Dewey Lake

Climbing out of the valley

Looking back at Dewey Lake

One thing I really admire about my wife is her tenacity and commitment. When she decides to do something she does not hold back! We sailed up over that ridge with her leading the way! At the top, we got a good view of the valley we had hiked out of as well as north toward Chinook Pass.

Heading over the ridge...

...and down to Chinook Pass

The hike down into Chinook Pass was magical! The sun was lower than we were used to and it caught all the wildflowers just right, bringing out colors that we had never seen before! We were so thankful that we chose to go on at this later time of day.

Ecstatic hiker

Pretty evening

Hiking in the evening shade

Lots of flowers!

Sheep lake is somewhere over there!

Crossing the highway

Looking back from the north side

We crossed the Highway at Chinook Pass and started up the other side. After a few miles, we arrived at Sheep Lake. It was a magical little place perched on the north side of the pass between mountain peaks. Here, we set up camp after a hike of just over 18 miles! As a special treat to ourselves, we made a small fire and cooked s'mores. This was our first real experience hiking in the evening light and it would not be our last!

Sheep lake

Yummy!

Good night!