Nostalgia and Volcanoes

We had spent the night at the trail head near White Pass and boy was it cold! I woke up to frost on my tent and on the ground. Getting moving that morning was definitely a struggle. I headed out first and spent most of the morning and early afternoon by myself. Once I left the morning frost behind after an initial hill climb I found myself enjoying some easy hiking. There was practically zero elevation gain or loss the whole morning. I was effortlessly doing 3 miles an hour ( I normally do 2.5ish) as I hiked by lake after lake after lake. I could see the landscape changing around me and it began to look more familiar the farther I went. The excitement began to build in my stomach because I knew we were getting close to Mt. Rainier National Park, a place that is near and dear to my heart.

Before the park boundary, however, I needed to stop and eat some lunch. I decided to relax in the sun near a large creek with a wooden bridge. As I sat there munching on dried pineapple and goldfish Nathan arrived. He joined me and we lazed in the sun as Vanish and Matt walked up. We all enjoyed a long lunch break and then I headed out. I really wanted to get to the park before the sun sunk too low in the sky.

So, I tromped down a hill and finally gained most of the elevation for the day on a long hill climb shortly after. Once I crested the top of the hill I came to the park boundary sign! I kept going, feeling very pleased. I could see the Mountain hiding behind the trees. As I continued walking it became obscured completely until I rounded a bend. The view that greeted me at the other end of that corner was astounding. It looked as if the trail ran straight into the heart of Rainier. I was staring down a tunnel of trees with a giant volcano at the other end. And just to top it off, Nathan was there enjoying the view. What a spot I had stumbled upon! I stood there with Nathan for a while and enjoyed the incredible view.

Eventually I left the lookout area. It was another 7 miles to Dewey Lake where we were planning on camping that night. I wanted to get these miles done and get to the lake, not only because I wanted to get off my feet but also because I had been to this lake before. This lake was special. Very special. Dewey Lake is where I first learned to backpack. I was a young kid when Rachel Haughton took me along with her and her kids to Dewey Lake. I remember being hot, sweaty, covered in bug bites, and tired beyond belief. Little did I know that I would come back to the same place in the same condition!  Dewey Lake is where I fell in love with backpacking and wild places. I was coming full circle! Back to the beginning, my friends. And it felt so good to be back.

I made it to the lake with Matt around 7pm. It looked familiar and different all at the same. We even picked a campsite near where I had stayed as a kid. Awesome. We set up camp and got all our warm clothes on very quickly because the sun had gone behind the trees and it was COLD. Camping next to lakes is always cold so we knew it was gonna be a chilly night! Once the sun went completely down, we were treated to a super moon eclipse. It was as if the PCT was welcoming me back to the lake in the only way it could, with amazing nature stuff! Anyways, the super moon eclipse was beautiful. We stayed up around the fire watching it fade.

The next morning was freezing. But the sky was clear and it was shaping up to be a beautiful day. We were heading to Chinook Pass today which meant we were going to be passing by Crystal Mountain, my home ski hill. This section was just one nostalgic moment after another.

But first! The three miles to Chinook pass and bathrooms! Huzzah! You gotta love a clean bathroom. We motored on out of the campsite and got to the pass in no time.

After we enjoyed the comforts of a toilet seat, we left the pass and climbed about 2 miles up to a lookout. From there we could look back and see St. Helens to the south and Rainier was peeking over the ridge to the west. We took a moment to enjoy the view and then kept going. As we walked, I called my parents. There is great cell service near Crystal. I chatted with mom and dad about logistics for my Snoqualmie Pass zero day for a while until it was lunch time. I planted myself on an outcropping on a ridge line and enjoyed lunch in full view of Crystal Mountain Ski Resort.

After a delicious lunch I left my perch and headed for the Ulrich Cabin. It was a cabin night! A night of warmth! And no rain! WOOT!! I was getting stoked  for the cabin as I rounded a corner and BOOM! Mountain goats! There was a herd of about 40 goats chilling on the trail. That was a surprise. I immediately called Shelly and told her what I was looking at. I had just enough battery left on my phone to snap a photo of the goats and talk with Shelly for a minute or two.

I waited for the goats to disperse. It took a minute but they moved eventually. I scooted on by the fuzzy friends and motored the last 9 miles to the cabin. It was great. It was pretty clean on the inside. No furniture, but there was a loft and a fireplace. That's all we needed. We sat around a roaring fire and ate our dinner while listening to some Jeff Buckley. It was perfect. We were warm and comfortable (more or less). I slept like a baby.

I was reluctant to leave the cabin the next morning. A warm, covered space or the cold outside?...eh...Ok fine I'll go. I signed the cabin log and skeedaddled. On my way I met some very nice elk hunters. They gave me a knuckle bump and sent me on my way. My morning was spent walking through a beautiful burn area. I finally caught Vanish and we hiked together for a while. We had such a good time chatting away while we walked that we completely missed the only water source for 11 miles! So, that was an "oops" moment. We missed it by over a mile which meant we couldn't walk back without losing a ton of time during the day. So we trudged on, worried and thirsty. I turned to Vanish and tried to reassure her that we would be fine. She had less than a liter and I had just over a liter.

"Don't worry, Vanish. It'll be fine. I don't know how, but somehow, the trail will provide. It always does."

She laughed and agreed with me. I couldn't tell if she was just playing along or if she believed me but we walked on. After a very steep little hill we had almost reached an unpaved jeep road. The climb had made us even more thirsty. Right before we got to the road a van drove by. My heart sunk because I knew I could've flagged them down and asked for water but I was too late. The van was far away by the time we crested the hill. Vanish and I paused on the road and drank some of our scarce water. I turned to watch the van drive away and saw an amazing sight - the van had turned around and was heading back towards us. We stepped to the side and it slowed as it rolled up. Three men got out and instantly started asking us about the trail and our trip. At this point we were totally used to this and we answered all their questions. They then asked if we needed anything, like water. Huzzah! I knew it! We believed in the trail and it provided, like it always does.

We chatted with our new trail angel friends for a bit and then headed up the rest of the hill, rehydrated and fully stocked with water. I spent a couple more hours hiking with Vanish and then I went back to hiking at my faster pace. Around 2pm I stopped for lunch at a water source and Vanish caught me shortly after. We sat munching on our grub in what sunshine we could find until the boys arrived.

I finished lunch and left quickly. I still had a big climb before camp so I was wanting to get it over it. I spent the next few hours climbing the hill into what looked like a christmas tree massacre. There were trees down everywhere and it reeked of chainsaw fuel and pine dust. It was a massive tree cut. I thought it looked like a timber sale but I wasn't too sure. I kept going through the downed trees. It reminded me of Winkleworld Christmas Tree farm and my family's yearly trip to tag a tree. It was another nostalgic moment. I spent the next hour or so reminiscing as I walked.

Soon I had finished the hill and was going down an absurdly steep descent. The kind of descent that your knees remember the next morning. Finally I reached camp and I set up my tent as dusk fell. Vanish and Nathan showed up as I ate my Ramen. Later, as I was about to go to bed, Riderdieh and the Oklahomies arrived. I fell asleep happy that everyone was in camp.

The next morning I left later than normal.  I missed my alarm so I was running behind. The day brought lots of short and intense little climbs. But I didn't slow my pace. It was Snoqualmie Day! We were getting to Snoqualmie today and that meant I was going to see my mom and head to Leavenworth for a zero day at Gramma's house. I was excited to see my family so I practically ran to the pass. About 1.3 miles from the road my mom was waiting for me on the trail. I hiked out with her and we hit the road for Leavenworth.

We arrived at my gramma's house about an hour and a half later. I took a shower, changed into some comfy clothes, and hung out with my family for the evening. It was wonderful to see my gramma and my cousins and uncle. I stayed up as long as I could chatting with them until I couldn't stay awake any longer. I fell into bed, tired and content.

The next day mom had to leave for work so she headed out early in the morning. Gramma and I spent the day together watching the news, walking the dogs, and relaxing on the couch. Later on my dad arrived and the three of us went out for dinner at Gustav's, our favorite restaurant in town. My uncle Colin and his family met us there and we all enjoyed some good food and good laughs late into the evening. When we got back from dinner I spent some time with my cousin Torin who is learning to play percussion. My dad had brought over an old snare drum of mine and I gave it to Torin in the hopes that he would use it to practice and perform and better himself as a drummer. He seemed to like it and it was fun to watch another Brine fall in love with percussion. Hopefully that drum gets a lot of use in the next couple years!


I stayed up with the family for a while and then hit the hay. Dad and I had to be up at the crack of dawn to get me back to the pass before everyone left. So, 5am rolled around and we said goodbye to gramma and headed for Snoqualmie. We arrived around 8am and I met the rest of the pack at the Summit Inn. We snacked on some donuts and then Vanish and I headed out. We walked the road until we found the Goldmeyer Alternate trail. We had decided as a group that we were going to take this route to save ourselves some gnarly elevation gain and shave off a few miles. So off into the mist we went to find out what Goldmeyer had in store. Little did we know....


-Smokey