Day 176
Start: 2476 End: 2498.4 Total: 21.3
We had a good climb out of Lake Janus and over Grizley Peak. It was smokey as we made our way up and stayed really smokey all day.
There were beautiful mountains and valleys but everything was covered in a layer of smoke and the smoke would stay stuck in the valleys.
There was a long down hill stretch that felt mentally challenging. The day was young and I was still pretty tired, another 8 hours of walking seemed like too much.
I was reengaged on the next climb up as I raced to get my heart rate up and do it as quick as I could. There were 2 sections but steep but the second was extremely steep, zig zagging up the face of this boulder field. It was a super unique and fun climb.
We went down the other side, passed the group we camped with the night before and went to a different water source 2.5 miles further. We took lunch there around 2 pm, having gone 15 miles already. Another hiker called Innocent joined us for lunch.
There was a big climb out of there and I plugged in The Brothers Karamazov and cruised up. We got to Lake Sally Ann and went for a nice dip in the lake, we then got some water for the night and continued on.
We went another 2ish miles to camp. We thought about pushing on but after refiguring some of our trip math we decided we were ahead of schedule. We were shooting to finish on the 13th and then be back at Harts Pass by the 14th, a Sunday, so it would be easier for Chris and Claire to come pick us up. That meant doing about 21/22 miles a day until the end, super reasonable.
We set up on a saddle of a mountain, next to a trail intersection. There were good views but they were still covered in a layer of smoke. We watched the red sun go behind the mountains and played some cards and caught up on our journals. I thought about how the finish line was approaching and it wouldn’t be too long now!
Day 177
Start: 2498.4 End: 2521 Total: 22.6
We woke up and all the views we had the night before were gone. In their place was a thick wall of white smoke, filling the entire valley, we couldn’t see a thing. We could smell it before we even emerged from our tent. There were ashes on the tent and everything that was left outside.
I texted my friend to see if there were any new closures or fires that were threatening the PCT. There was one fire that had just started in Glacier Peak Wilderness, where we were entering today. One of the side trails had been closed due to this active fire. However, we were assured that there was no direct threat to the PCT, but all this smoke was coming from larger, further fires, all to the East. Meaning that if the wind shifted it should clear all the smoke out. I checked the weather and found out that the following day there would be a rain storm, so that would clear the air up as well.
It was still quite unnerving to be in such a thick layer of smoke. We definitely did not love the idea of hiking in that and briefly debated turning around. Many hikers passed us that morning as we deliberated and we decided to keep pushing on and hope that it would clear up.
Not long after we left camp we hit the 2500 mile marker. We ran into a group of younger boys there that were figuring out their plans as their exit trail had been closed due to the new fire nearby.
It was a beautiful area, what we could see at least, but it was obvious we were missing a lot of it. You really couldn’t see far in front of you and only part of the closest mountain. We were walking a gray & white cloud.
We had some descents then a longer ascent, filling up our water before the last push of the climb. All of the close mountains were covered in a dense haze, you couldn’t even see the further mountains.
We crested over the peak and went down into a different valley. It would have been such a beautiful area. It was such an immense valley surrounded by huge mountains and peaks, many still with snow & glaciers on them.
We did 4 ish more miles down this valley to another creek and had lunch there.
After lunch we walked through a majestic woodland full of moss covered trees, lots of new mushrooms and many downed trees. It was so cool!
There was a very overgrown stretch of trail where we fought our way through bushes and small trees and then popped out into an open rock field with a muddy chocolate river running through.
I saw Jubilee(Mrs. Potato Couch) & Potato Couch on the other side of the rushing river and noticed a small log that could be the way across but seemed super sketchy. I called over the sound of the roaring river and asked them how they got across and they pointed to the said log. I gave them a very disappointed face back as I unbuckled my hip belt and made my way out to it.
There was a thicker log leading up to it then you had to climb on the roots to set up a better position. Water was rushing over part of it, making it pretty slippery. Jubilee and Potato Couch sat on the end of the log for me to help stabilize it. It was a narrow and quick crossing over the chocolate river, it wouldn’t be catastrophic if you fell but it would suck and hurt quite bad.
I carefully made my way across safely then watched Mantis get across. It was more nerve wracking watching him than it was for me doing it. Luckily, we both made it across without incident then took a small break as Jubilee and Potato Couch started the next big climb.
We soon were also off on the next long, steep 3000 foot climb. I had a blast as I plugged in my book and chugged up the mountain. There was a great view of Glacier Peak, although it was still covered in a dense layer of smoke.
I got to the water source up top and waited a bit for Mantis. We then filled our waters and went 2 more miles to Fire Creek where we camped nearby to Potato Couch and Jubilee.
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