When Trails Go Bad

On the trail again! After a couple miles of road walking out of Snoqualmie, Vanish and I reached the trailhead for the Goldmeyer Hotsprings Alternate. The boys weren't with us because they were taking their time leaving Snoqualmie Pass (as usual). Just as a reminder, we were taking this alternate route to avoid some elevation gain and extra miles. It looked fun and we were all pretty excited.

It was grey and cloudy when we hit the trail. Visibility was poor because we were practically in a cloud. I could see maybe 30 ft in front of me at the best of times. But, that didn't stop us from trucking right on up a big climb to reach the entrance to Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Once I reached the top of the hill I could see a lake far off in the gloom. Suddenly I was bitterly cold. The wind off the water was icy and the wet, thick air covered my face with a clammy layer of mist. I sped up my pace to try and warm up. Soon I was skirting the edge of the lake and heading downwards. All at once, the trail plunged down the side of a steep hillside. I rounded switchback after switchback of steep, slippery trail. Rocks constantly tripped me as I walked and the wet leaves slipped under my feet. The trail was rough. It was not the PCT I know and love. It was unpleasant to say the least.

I continued my descent for what seemed like ages. Once I had dropped at least 3000 feet of elevation the surrounding foliage began to change. We had previously been in a dense evergreen forest but now I was passing through dead underbrush thick with ferns and vine maples. Every now and then the undergrowth completely vanished as I walked on scree and loose rock. The trail kept getting worse and worse. Goldmeyer was turning out to be less fun than I anticipated...

I didn't take any breaks for the next four or five hours. It was too cold to stop. I kept going to the bottom of the giant descent and finally the trail leveled out. For a while I followed a creek upstream until I came to the trail's namesake: Goldmeyer Hotsprings. It was a backcountry spring area but there was a built up campsite and several cabins nearby. The springs were managed by some organization that served as steward for the area. It was something I had never seen before. It cost $15 to use the springs for the day and $20 to camp overnight. Normally, I am accustom to hot springs that don't cost a dime and are completely undeveloped. So, naturally I was a little confused.

I didn't stop to check out the hot springs; I kept going. No one had caught me yet and all I wanted to do was complain with someone about the terrible trail conditions but I was alone. At least I had my music to make the day a little brighter. Oh wait, no I didn't because I had misplaced my headphones somewhere deep in the recesses of my bag...great. I trudged on hoping someone would show. I waited at a bridge for a minute or two but nothing changed and I walked on.

After a short hill climb I reached an unpaved dirt road. I followed it for about half a mile until it ran by a river. I stopped for water in the hopes that someone would show up while I was filtering. I gingerly navigated the rocky ground down to the water and filled my Sawyer bag. Soon I had about a liter of clean water and was filtering my second. As I was sitting there focusing on my filter bag I looked up across the road and my heart dropped. Staring back at me was a mountain lion, stalk still and unblinking. My fight or flight reflex kicked in as my heart began to pound and I jumped up and began screaming and yelling. I leaned forward to grab my trekking poles and began banging them together. I even unzipped my rain jacket to make myself look as big as possible.

The cat was unfazed. Finally, with enough rock throwing and yelling it went away. I was once again alone but this time much more flustered. My heart was in my throat, I was shaking, and my thoughts were racing. That cat had been too damn close. And what had me freaked out the most was the look in its eyes. I could see that it thought I was prey. Its body language, its gaze, everything indicated that it was stalking me. I decided immediately that I needed to put some distance between myself and the cat. So I grabbed my stuff and left. I hadn't made it a quarter of a mile down the road when I reached a trailhead. This time the lion was on the trail waiting for me. It was in front of me, staring with the same cold eyes as before. Again, I screamed. My reaction was more panicked this time and I yelled and waved with all my might. The cat didn't seem very disgruntled until I threw a rock straight into its forehead. That got it moving away.

Ok, now I was sufficiently terrified. I decided I was not going to step anywhere near that trailhead until someone arrived. I walked back a little ways, planted my back against a rock wall, and waited for my group. It was over 2 hours later that Doc, who I hadn't seen in a long time, walked up. I told him about the cat and he seemed unmoved by my story. He left after a few minutes. About 20 minutes later Vanish showed. I sat her down and told her that I had been stalked by a mountain lion. She took the situation to heart. We immediately decided to stick together, especially since it was getting dark. It was only 2 miles to the campsite so we quickly grabbed our gear and headed towards the place where I had seen the cat. It got dark while we walked and I spent the next 45 minutes nervously eyeing every dark corner of the forest. Every rock, tree, and bush looked like it was an animal or predator. My adrenaline was still pumping and it was all I could do to hold a conversation with Vanish. I tried to play it cool and act like I was completely fine but on the inside I was still very perturbed.

We reached camp as complete darkness set it. Doc was there and we set up our tents quickly as a light rain began to fall. Nathan showed up shortly after and told us his Goldmeyer story. Apparently the trail had tried to kill everyone that day. He had fallen off a log at a river crossing and nearly broken his tailbone and probably gotten a mild concussion. So, it sounded like everyone was displeased with our choice to take the alternate.

A while later the rest of the group showed up with similar stories of pain and misery. They did not like the sound of my mountain lion story. Especially since Matt had noticed some large eyes in the glow of his headlamp that night. Spooky.... Anyways we all went to bed grumpy and sore. No one was impressed with this new trail. The goal was to get the heck off Goldmeyer as fast as possible the next day.

When I woke up the following morning it was grey and dismal just like the day before. I got up and put all my rain gear on and took my tent down in a hurry. I wanted to leave the Goldmeyer trail behind as fast as possible. All I had was a steep pass in my way and then it was smooth sailing on my beloved PCT.

I left camp after Doc and Vanish. I caught Vanish quickly but it took me a while to reach Doc. He was breaking near a river, probably to fill up his water, and he didn't even notice me walk by. Soon I was on my own again just like the day before. The trail was still just as rocky and wet but at least it was generally level. Well, until I began my climb, that is. This was not a 3% grade, of that I'm sure. My path shot straight up a hill, gaining about 600 ft of elevation in less than half a mile. Thats crazy! My legs were burning and I was pouring sweat but mercifully I reached a plateau where I could rest for a second. I checked my Halfmile app as I stood there panting and realized I was at the top! Woohoo! I put my phone away and walked through some sparse trees until I reached the other side of the pass. In front of my was a steep descent to a beautiful lake. Beyond the lake the clouds were breaking and the sun was finally shining out onto the valley. Finally, the alternate was almost over. It was only 5 or 6 miles until we rejoined the PCT. Thank goodness.

I began my descent. It was just as awful as what I had gone down the previous day. But thankfully, it was much shorter and soon I was at the bottom near the waters edge. The sun hit me for the first time in over 24 hours and I stopped to soak it in. I saw a small clearing ahead and realized it was the perfect time to dry out my tent and wet clothing. Hurray for dry things! I stopped awhile, munched on some snacks in the sun, and watched the steam coming off my drying tent.

Once my things were mostly dry I headed out again. Nathan caught me a few minutes later and we hiked the rest of the 5 miles to the PCT. Once we rejoined our beloved Pacific Crest Trail we stopped to breathe a sigh of relief. The PCT may be a difficult and sometimes cruel mistress but she is far sweeter and forgiving than we had ever realized. It felt good to be back on our home turf, so to speak. Even the ground felt more firm and solid beneath our feet. Nathan and I stood there enjoying the moment and then hiked on until we reached a good lunch spot. We bathed in the sunshine as we devoured our food.

The rest of the day was a blur. I was so happy to be on our normal trail I went into tunnel vision. I hiked very fast without stopping until I reached the last water for the evening. Nathan was there eating and filtering water when I walked up. We chatted for a while as we got our water. I left before him and caught Doc a few miles later as the sun went down. We hiked the last two miles together in the dark. He's a fast hiker but I stuck with him because there was no way in hell that I was going to hike alone in the dark with a cat somewhere in the area. No way, no how.

We got to the campsite around 8 pm. It was a great big open spot below the trail. It even had a small stream right next to it which meant we didn't have to walk up the trail to get water at the creek farther back. In other words, it was a cush camp spot. It even had a fire ring and some firewood that someone had left there so I got a roaring fire going. Everyone else rolled in (except for Ride) while I sat around the fire eating another delicious, hearty meal of Ramen noodles. I stayed up long enough to do Highs and Lows with everyone and then I went to bed. Ride hadn't showed up when I crawled into my sleeping bag. But that was normal so I fell asleep pretty quickly.

Around 6am I woke up to the sound of someone walking by on the trail. Then I head a "kookoo" noise. That was Riderdieh's very distinct bird call. I knew it was him. I howled back and then decided it was time to get up. Today we were arriving at Steven's Pass where I would once again get to see my folks! So, once again, I was in a hurry to leave camp in the morning. After I had some breakfast in me I left camp before everyone else. I caught Ride at a water source about 5 miles away and we sat a while and chatted until several of the others showed up. We all chilled for a minute before going on because we knew we had a tough hill climb coming up. But eventually we got moving and pretty soon Vanish and I were headed up a series of switchbacks. At the top we found Doc resting in the sun and just down the way I found Nathan perched on some boulders basking in the sun. I stopped and joined him and pretty soon the whole wolf pack was sitting on a boulder field soaking up the warmth of the day. We sat there enjoying our food and laughing about any and every little thing that came up in the conversation. Someone laughed loud enough that it echoed across the valley we were surveying. It was a tremendous echo. Soon we were all yelling and howling across the valley, creating a cacophony of sound bouncing off the mountain walls.

I left before I got too comfortable. If I had stayed longer I would've ended up taking a nap. And that couldn't happen because it was Stevens Pass Day! I walked for a long time until I caught Matt at a small lake. I sat down with him and munched for a while. From there it was about 7 miles to the highway. I didn't stay for too long with Matt. I waited until the boys showed up and then I quickly gathered my gear and headed for the pass and my parents. Between me and them was one more big climb. Luckily it happened all at once. It was very steep but very short. Soon I was cresting a hill underneath a chairlift at Stevens Pass Ski Resort. I walked by a ski area map sign and started to make the last descent of the day down to the highway. I cleared thicket of trees and from there I could see the lodge! Once I was close enough I could see my parents sitting outside enjoying some beer. Awesome! I walked down to them and planted myself at their table. It hadn't been too long since I saw my mom and dad but it was always a relief when I met back up with them. I chilled with mom and pop for a while and eventually the rest of the gang showed up. The plan was that they would go into Skykomish and stay at a trail angel house (Hiker Haven run by the Dinsmores) and I would stay with mom and dad in their trailer at the pass.

So the Wolf Pack and I hung out for a bit and then migrated over to my parents' trailer. Mom made us a bomb spaghetti dinner and we ate ourselves silly. After we were full (which is quite a monumental occurrence) my dad drove everyone down to the Dinsmore's. Aren't my padres the best trail angels ever? Yeah, they definitely are.

The next day I chilled with my parents in the morning and went to pick up Ride in Skykomish. It was great getting to spend some very mellow time with mom and dad. A relaxing morning of drinking coffee and chatting was just what I needed. Later that day, mom and dad hit the road for home and I met back up with my people at the ski resort. It was 2pm when Vanish and I once again left the boys at the trailhead. We had 12 miles to do before dark so off we went.



The next section included some intense elevation change and the infamous Glacier Peak Wilderness. It was the last big push before Stehekin and Canada. Off in the distance we could see Glacier Peak. Somewhere beyond that mountain was our last town stop...

-Smokey