8 miles +4626 ft / -2782 ft

July 30th 2023

I wake in a swirl of heaviness. I have slept, slept, slept. Wow, I feel like I got hit by a truck. I can’t remember the last time I felt this way. I can feel the remnants of Ibuprofen in my system, the resultant nagging headache that it always gives me. But, I hope taking it helped my body restore in the night.

The neighbor group is chatty, clanking pots, bantering and such. As I make my coffee I hear them exclaim “look, a bear” and then the general level of excitement increases. I casually glance over to where they point, I don’t see the bear, and I don’t care right at this moment, but inside I’m glad to know they are aroud. They should be, this is their home.

I make coffee and begin the slow process of waking up my brain. My left leg is sore, my hamstring is sore, my right upper back is sore, my neck is sore and I feel like I had too much alcohol last night. What is going on here? Apparently I am not in backpacking shape. It’s definitely not trail running, that’s clear now. I am concerned about how my body is going to feel for my upcoming race, was this hike a bad idea?

I guess it’s a good thing I only have an 8 mile day today. Even with that, there are two major climbs. Steep climbs. I think that steep stuff is what caused my leg to hurt, not used to that especially with a full pack. I will take my time. That’s the best I can do. I am now feeling thankful for the shorter day ahead of me. Initially I had wanted to come in here and cover 120 miles in 6 days, thinking it would really help condition my legs and prep me for climbs and descents. Good theory. I am glad for what happened with that road closure on my original plan, changing the arc of my week, toning it down just a notch.

I just made a new breakfast which I am very excited about! You would normally turn your nose up to oatmeal, especially if you have backpacked a lot and gotten totally turned off by the thought of it, but I decided to give this stuff a try. It’s by Nature’s Path and deemed “superfood oatmeal” in Creamy Coconut flavor. It has hemp seeds, chia seeds and coconut, it’s unsweetened and unsalted so I have added a pinch of Himalayan salt and some Untapped Coffee Infused Vermont Maple syrup (the best stuff ever!) and wow, we have a winner!

With only eight miles to hike today I take my sweet time this morning. It reminds me of the PCT days when I started my first long thru-hike and I would sometimes begin walking at 11:00am. That is not thru-hiker style mind you, I learned that in the first three hundred miles of the PCT. But it was fun while it lasted. This morning feels that way, like I have all the time in the world. I spend a lot of time stretching before setting off and when I finally go it is after 11:00am, probably one of the latest starts on trail I have gotten in years, good for me!

Anxious about the climbing today, I start off with a mindset that I am going to really listen to my left leg and tune in and rest it as much as I need to. I really don’t want it to be an issue in the race next week, or for the rest of the Summer for that matter. When I reach the trail junction for lost pass I look straight up. Here we go!

The first half mile has me climb 700 ft already, sheesh! It continues this way all the way to the pass and I make it a point to stop often and take all the pictures I want of the wild flowers. I stop every time there is level ground, say at the end of a switchback, get the tension out of my calf muscles, allowing them to relax. I am actually surprised, I feel pretty good today. I feel strong, I feel relaxed and happy and my leg is sore but not getting worse. This is all wonderful!

By the time I reach Lost Pass I feel like I could be crawling, I am moving so slow. I’ve been trying to change up my gait to allow my glutes to fire and give a rest to my calves but honestly the hill is so dang steep it’s often impossible, you have to go up on your toes to walk up hill or risk falling over. When I reach the sign I am feeling like celebrating and enjoy the views of the surrounding mountains and valley below. 360 degree beauty surrounds me, how wonderful!

I get a little break for a few miles meandering along a lovely trail on the contour of the hillside as it undulates and crosses a few creeks, dips into a thick forest and then out to the sun again. Shortly, though, I know I am in for my second climb of the day, up to Cameron Pass. This trail is another steep one and from Lost Pass I could see it shooting straight up the mountain in the distance, feeling a little sense of doom. I got this right?

I am enamoured with all this beauty, I just feel like such a sponge soaking it all up. As I crest a higher point on the slope, I gain some views of the interior ranges of the Olympics which are still covered with snow fields. I wonder if this is the Bailey Range? I feel like it is. That is a massive and rugged range that people do cross via a gnarly cross country route. I have heard stories. It is both attractive and scary to me. I wouldn’t do it alone, that’s for sure. Thus, I remain on my steep but predictable nice trail here.

The climb up to Cameron Pass is another doozy. It seems to go on for a while but eventually I make the summit where there is no sign but a nice rock cairn. I have the most excellent views from up here, this truly is worth all the effort. I am feeling good too, my leg is still sore, but again, no worse for wear, I think my strategy is working. From here I will dip into Cameron Basin and now that the afternoon is getting on I am ready to have lunch!

But first I have some work to do. There is a long descent on loose, steep scree that goes on for a little while. It’s the fun kind of loose scree, no big consequences and only a couple spots that are a little sketch. The trail winds down the slopeside dodging snow fields while boasting views of the Cameron Basin all along. Definitely a place worth visiting. Once I make it to a flattish spot that is out of the wind and near a creek I stop for my lunch which I am really excited about. No surprise there!

 

It is a lovely lunch spot indeed and I rather enjoy some beef jerkey, a tortilla with cheese, mustard and avocado and the views along with the rushing water. The water has a different sound here as it’s mostly crashing over rocks and there is no vegetation to muffle or absorb the sound. It is a harsher sound, if flowing water can sound harsh. There is a breeze too, so I sit with my down puffy on the whole time. The temp reads about 59F but with that breeze, it feels a little chilly.

I watch the towering mountains that line the Cameron Basin, clouds are rolling in and around them. It’s a lot of mist and swirl and I can’t see the peaks of the mountains I am purportedly climbing up to this evening. Hmmm. I wonder what it will be like sleeping up in the clouds? I briefly contemplate sleeping lower in the valley since it will be warmer and I will be able to see things, but that will just set me behind on tomorrow’s plan. I have to do this last big climb up into the clouds. The third climb of the day, it’s a big-un.

I make my way down more rocky terrain until I finally reach the green zone. The land of vegetation. The land of heavy plant matter. It is lovely. The trail is lined with more wild flowers, deep purple lupines and I see my first Bear Grass! I love these little cuties, they remind me so much of the PCT in WA as that was the first time in my life I’d seen them and they were all over the place.

I am now walking through a thick wooded forest of Cedar. I am wondering if these are the Yellow Cedars? They have a lighter colored bark that peels in a way that reminds me of a Eucalyptus tree. The forest is messy in places, evidence of yet more destruction. There are fallen logs to scramble over and areas where you can see some nice humans did a lot of trail work cutting logs. Whom do we have to thank? This would have been a lot to get through had they not done that work! I have to crawl under one such large fallen tree and take my pack off for the task and scootch it under while I nimbly climb over the top. When I go to retreive my pack I see the foam pad that rides against my back has two very large gashes in it from a sharp broken branch it got snagged on. All I can say is I am so thankful that did not happen to my back!

I meander along the trail which is now a little dodgier overall, there are holes, rocks, it is narrow in places, and there is surprisingly a lot of gain and descent as it follows along paralleling the creek. The vegetation remains thick and once again I am feeling the plants brushing my skin, thankful that it’s not anything nefarious, that would not be good. These plants are soft and welcoming. It feels like I am a part of this wilderness. I walk heavy with anticipation about this climb up to Grand Pass and am surprised when I check my maps and see I still have a full mile before the turn off. It feels like I should be there already.

When I finally make it to the trail junction it’s after 4:30pm. Where did the day go? I need to pee, mix up electrolytes, doctor up my scrapes from dead tree snags, stretch a bit, layer down as I’ve been walking with my wind jacket, buff and sun gloves on since lunch. I know it’s going to be a sweaty climb. I am craving something sweet and energizing so I pop several pieces of sugary ginger candy in my mouth and delight at the spicy gummy sweetness of these treats. Other than these I have packed no other sugar on this trip. That will change.

So this climb. Well, I don’t want to know but I do. It’s important for my headspace to have an idea of how far, how high and thus how long I think it will take. There is only 1.6 miles to go and I will be done for the day, but in those 1.6 miles there is 2,300 ft of climbing. Yes, that is correct. It’s 4:45pm when I set off, tucking my head down, again with the focus on changing up muscle groups so as not to overstrain anything, though it may be too late for avoiding that!

About halfway up the climb I am officially in the clouds. There is a mysterious feel now about the environment, it is quieter and softer even though I am rising above treeline. I am looking at the tops of trees now and then I pop into a grassy slope where suddenly I hear a very loud marmot. This animal is definitely responding to my passing through, it is persistent in it’s alarm calls. I see another of it’s kind who is silent and frozen like a statue up on it’s hind legs. That one I get a good photo of and say hello. I am in Marmot land!

I press on, grinding away at the climb. It’s going well and it’s not that I feel tired even, I am definitely strong enough to do this, it’s just that sore leg. I am walking carefully and really trying to activate the glutes but like I mentioned earlier, this trail is so steep that makes it difficult. I feel pretty good overall though, so I keep on keeping on up and up and up into places I can’t see.

There are what I would call several false summits, meaning I keep thinking the trail levels off ahead and I will take a muscle rest break, but then it just continues into the clouds some more. I am above treeline now and there are mostly grasses and flowers with a lot of rock. Mostly a shale type of rock, which I do love. It has a nice grippy texture that ensures solid footing even when it moves from under the feet. It also has some lovely warm tones of burnt orange, ochre yellow and there are even some white crystalline rocks thrown in the mix.

I am nearing the summit but calculate I still have 300 more feet to go when I ask myself why people like me do things like this? My immediate answer is transcendence. There is something in the work, the mental fortitude, the solitude, the silence, the vastness, the long pushes of physical endurance and discomfort that is transcendent. I start thinking about heaven now that I am up here in the clouds. In many cultures we have the association with Mountain Gods being up high in the peaks, up in the clouds. Several times already on this trip I have likened the slow, steady pace at which I climb, with my short steps on steep rock that make me wonder if this is what climbing in the Himalayas will be like? A place I long to someday visit. The place where the Mountain Gods were born.

About 100 vertical feet before reaching the pass I notice the clouds beginning to part and see a patch of blue sky. Hooray! I am elated that after all the hard work, and at the end of a tough day I will have the reward of some views. The mist and clouds make for dramatic accent to the craggy rocks I am now walking among, though views are always nice. Surprisingly I still have quite a lot of daylight remaiining as well, so sitting in camp with no view would be a little underwhelming. Welp, let’s get to the top and see what we see!

When I reach the pass I am sweaty and there is a slight breeze. I pop my jacket on and begin looking for the campsite. The ranger had said there is a site literally at the pass, though I want to get down away from the wind and closer to water. There is a small tarn about 200 ft down the trail so I aim for that. It’s a sweet spot here and the tarn is surounded by a curve of steep rock and a little snow. It feels protected and like a good perch for the night. Cool, I’ll take it. I have this whole place to myself, by the way.

I make my camp, make dinner and enjoy a leisurely evening. The days are so long here it feels like it’s not that late, but then I realize it is late. I finally crawl into bed when it is still not dark out, which always feels strange to me, though I know I have put in a full day and need to rest. As I am about to fall asleep I hear footsteps in the rocks. I know there are no humans here, but whatever it is, it is large. I think perhaps a bear, so I unzip my tent to scare it away, but then I see it’s just an elk chomping away at a little patch of grass. Well how cool is that?