August 2nd 2023

17 miles +3,287 ft -4,967 ft

Well the early start was a total bust. Oh well. I was really thinking I need to be waking up early since on race day I will be starting to run at 7:00am. I think all that I am doing out here, putting in these long ass days necessitates adequate rest, which overrides the importance of waking early, so there you go. It is 9:00am now and there is still no sun here in the forest. Another thing that makes it easy to sleep in.

I had these crazy dreams, one of which I need to write down as it pertains to my injures and my body. I had gone to visit a woman who has healing and psychic abilities (a person who actually exists in real life) and she told me my lungs were incredibly strong and my heart is strong, so my endurance is fantastic, but then she asked me if I have always kept moving all these years since my injury.

Yes, absolutely, I need to move. She said I needed to rest my muscles. It was a hard delivery of truth. She said that was how I was going to heal. And, she said I need to be taking Turmeric. Everything about this dream feels so real I am going to take heed and apply these recommendations. Well, at least I will start with the Turmeric.

I am trying to get a message out to my Mom from my InReach and it’s not working. Apparently the message I sent last night did not go through either. I am concerned that she will worry. This is my motivation to get my act together and climb up to where there is a signal. I have a feeling today is going to be a long day.

It’s over three miles and 2,800 ft of vert to get up to the views, I’m also told there is a steep talus field that last mile, so it’s going to all take a lot of time in what I imagine will be picking around slowly and precariously. The plan is to leave my camp here and take only the essentials, so that will help me move well. I think the talus will be good practice for me. That and I am told there is a rope ladder up there, so I am excited to try that. There will be rope ladders and talus at my upcoming race, so this is great training indeed!

I am just now starting at 9:58am, but I was able to successfully send a messages out to my Mom, so I feel better about that. The sun is just beginning to pour through the forest now, yet I am thankful for it’s late appearance as I expect it to be sunny and exposed for a fair bit of this morning’s climb. My body feels good as my blood circulates and my muscles loosen up. The climbing is not too steep and I’m confident that having such a minimal pack helps the effort a lot.

So I mentioned a rope ladder. This comes up just before you reach the last camping area up here, Glacier Meadows. I’d been expecting to already be above tree line but I am still in the forest. By the time I reach the ladder I am hungry and hot. I take my pack off to grab a quick snack as I know I will manage this sketchy ladder better if I have some calories in me. It doesn’t look all that bad from up here, but it is a thing to reckon with.

I put away my trekking poles so I have full use of my hands and start the project of making my way down. I feel an immediate surge of adrenaline when I step on the first few rungs. They are spaced quite far apart for my short stature so it is a reach. I have to figure out what to hold on to as well, the cable, the extra rope or the wooden slats? I find I need to grip the cable beneath the wood in order to fully hold my body weight and still reach down to the next step. My leg begins to feel fatigued so I switch legs. I look down between my feet with each step to assess a foot hold on a rock or the loose scree. I think the most nerve wracking thing about this contraption is that it moves.

This thing is like a dangling suspension ladder and in a few places it is placed crooked over a rock or tree branch that sticks out from the cliff, so suddenly you are leaning sort of sideways. It all feels overdramatized due to gravity pulling me down and I find the challenge is in trusting that nothing is going to suddenly give out on me. That trust is probably the hardest part. Yet, I spoke with several folks yesterday that did this, so I know it can hold weight, one of those folks was a man easily 300lbs. I think I am going to be fine. I continue to breathe steady breaths and stay very present with each move, just like rock climbing or crossing a river. Three points of contact at all times, concentrate.

When I make it to the bottom I feel a great sense of pride, I did it! I don’t know why I am feeling so proud of this one, I have done way sketchier things, like the Passage D’Ortieg last Summer on the Pyrenees Haute Route. That was way sketchier! Anyhow, I look back at the ladder and feel a sense of relief that the hardest part is over, as on the way back the climb up will be less of an issue for me. Climbing is always better than descending.

Shortly I reach Glacier Meadows campsite and the Ranger Station that is not a Ranger Station anymore. The trail continues to a split where you can choose to hike to the lateral or terminal moraine. I want to go up to the lateral moraine as this is where I’m told are the best views. From people’s descriptions I heard yesterday I am really excited to see this, they all made it sound pretty special.

The trail continues in the forest still, sometimes reaching an open section where some views come in, then it ducks back into the forest. The vegetation is thick with thimbleberry shrubs and there are these teeny tiny frogs scampering about from under my feet. They are the size of my thumbnail and so cute but it is work to negotiate not stepping on one.

I pass by a small stream and decide to stop for a water fill up as I’m told there is no more water the higher you go. Here I finally feel the sun on my back and that warmth from an external source feels wonderful. I make electrolytes and chug a bunch of the most deliciously tasting cold pure water; it refreshes me for the final climb through the talus. I anticipate something like I’ve had on the Sierra High Route, though maybe toned down a few notches, yet the talus isn’t really talus. It is more like scree with larger chunks of rock and it’s still a well worn trail. You don’t ever need to use your hands or anything like that. Thus, I make my way up, up, up and move swiftly towards the views above treeline.

Just before hitting the ridge I meet two women on their way up as well. We stop and chat and then finish the climb up to the ridge together. I tell you what, cresting upon that ridge and how those views just burst open in front of you is a sight to behold. Wow, not disappointed! I reach the top ahead of the two women and can’t help but start whooping and hollering, I see the glacier and it is so stunning! Oh my goodness this is just amazing, I feel like I am floating above the world.

I couldn’t ask for better conditions. The sky is a piercing deep blue, the cloud formations are as white as the glacier giving one that sense of where does the sky end and the mountain begin? It is like a painting it looks so perfect, just so pleasing to the eye. Not only that, the air is crisp, fresh and clear. It is a good day to stand on top of a mountain.

I share the joy of the moment with Linda and Helen for a few minutes, then continue along the ridge a little further. I want to walk this narrow ridge, it reminds me of the Goat Rocks section of the PCT. This kind of thing has a way of making you feel elevated and high on life so naturally I want more of it!

When I reach the terminnus of the ridge, I stop and take off my pack. I am hungry but just have a couple snacks so I shove macadamia nuts into my mouth and enjoy their buttery goodness. I snap a few more photos and take in the fresh air deep into my lungs. Noting the time of day and how far I have yet to go still, I turn back and walk the ridge in the opposite direction.

I feel really glad I did this and really thankful that I had the ability to get myself up here and will make it down in time to still have almost two days of rest before my race. Thus, I say goodbye to Mt. Olympus and begin making my way back down the talus and then enter the forest.

On the return the ladder is a piece of cake. Honestly it does not sketch me out at all to climb the thing and takes me all of maybe four minutes. How funny is that?

I fight with my own internal anxiousness to make good time and get back to camp, yet the beauty and serenity of the forest takes over and I have no choice but to give in. There is just nothing wrong with walking through a temperate rain forest in perfect 70F weater as the breeze picks up and ruffles the ferns and broad leaves, caressing my skin and tossling the highest of conifer boughs. How can I rush this feeling? In the distance I hear water cascading deep down, where it becomes a river after melting off the peaks that I was just looking at. This is pure glacial substance run off, it rushes fast and cold and is a constant presence now.

I am hiking down, down, down to get back to my camp and there will be more down after I pack up and continue. I broke this climb up into two segments between yesterday and this morning, but on the way back I am tackling the whole thing. I don’t know it yet but this will amount to just about 5,000ft of descent today. Let’s not think about that right now tho.

I make it back to my camp by 3:15pm, late. I am so hungry I have to sit and take a proper lunch, take off my shoes and the whole bit. I sit in the shade and it is heavenly. Once I set off again, it is 4:10pm and I know I need to make another 10 miles, hoping to get to either Happy Four Camp or Five Mile Island. I need the shortest out possible tomorrow, as tomorrow is theoretically a recovery day so I have to pound out some miles right now.

I tramp down down down to the bridge that crosses over the gorge of the Hoh River. It’s fun moving swiftly and I am still enjoying the beauty, softness and tranquility that this forest is offering me. It really is magical and I try my best to take it all in and soak it all up despite my swift pace. When I finally make it to level ground it feels pretty good on the body. Changing the pace, cadence and gait is always helpful.

From here I still have another seven miles to go, so I set my mind for that. It’s easy walking now but just takes some time. I don’t love being pressed for time, yet I want to get to camp at a decent hour but also want to enjoy the hike. I don’t know when I will be here again, to witness the beauty of this forest. It is easy to get lost in the beauty and revel in what this place is, like a faerieland of green that’s teeming with oxygen. I want to take it all in as much as possible and absorb it into my cells.

I find a steady flow along the trail and eventually two and a half hours have disappeared. I am starting to feel the repetitive motion of pounding out miles and my appetite has soared once again. I am really looking forward to my Annie’s Mac & Cheese dinner, I tell you that much!

When I make it to Olympic Camp I am tempted to stop here. It has a tranquil vibe, yet I know I will regret it tomorrow with too many miles to go to the finish, so I press on another few miles. I want to get past those two river crossings anyway since I have to get my feet wet, that way they can start drying.

Just before I reach the first crossing, I meet a couple of hikers who say they found a trail (more like a bushwhack) around the river crossings. They did not necessarily recommend going that way but I am curious what they did? Nevertheless, I decide to just stay the course I know will take me where I need to be and just deal with wet feet again rather than taking the risk of geting de-railed. At the first river crossing there is an entire family sitting at the banks, either preparing to cross or having just crossed. They had like six kids with them, God bless those parents!

I press onward, strumming up the stamina to get as far along the trail as I can. At 8:15pm I finally reach Happy Four Camp where there is a little sign pointing to the gravel bar where you can camp. I steer as far away from the crowds as I can and find a perfect little spot on a ledge of gravel above the River. Home for the night, whoo hoo!

It’s 8:30pm by the time I start cooking my dinner and setting up, and 9:00pm by the time I am eating, but hey it’s still light out and the sunset view along  the River is really special. I enjoy the sound of the waves lapping incessantly along the banks of the river as I eat my dinner while the world shifts into darkness. I am actually looking forward to sleeping by all this moving water, it has to be a good thing, right?