Memories from August 20
The requisite picture if Mt Rainier. Having Adams, St Helens, or Rainier overlooking a forested valley is one of the more common views when there’s a break in the trees in southern Washington.
A nice view of Horseshoe Lake.
Morning fog in the valley.
Hope I didn’t leave anything behind since I guess there’s no going back. I wonder how out-and-back weekenders deal with this. I’d been hoping one of the ski runs would cross the trail so I could take it straight down to White Pass, which is a ski resort, instead of walking half a mile down the road into it. Unfortunately, I didn’t see one. In hindsight, it should have been obvious that the trail named Chair Lift #12 was what I was looking for.
I resupplied at the Kracker Barrel at White Pass. This started when I walked in around 11am and started a tab. It ended when I stopped eating around 4pm. In addition to eating, I chatted with other hikers as people came in and out to resupply. My resupply box was short on calories so I supplemented from the store. It’s funny how the mark up on Clif Bars specifically is especially bad at stores near the PCT. A hiker who had a room at the nearby inn invited me to come see the men’s gold medal water polo match since we’d both played in high school. Unfortunately we couldn’t find the game on at the appointed time (water polo never gets the respect it deserves) but I got to use the shower which is nice because the trailside lakes I’ve encountered recently during bathing hours (early enough in the afternoon that the sun will dry you quickly) have been scummy.
The lakes I passed in the evening were very nice. Here’s Sand Lake.
It took longer than usual to lose cell service so a few friends called me back which was fun and I didn’t quite make it as far as I’d intended despite hiking a little past dark. When I went to collect water from Buesch Lake were I camped, it wasn’t immediately clear from the light of my headlamp if the water was good. Fortunately, it was.
Isaac Takes A Hike 