Mile 2484.1 – 2513.2

As we left our campsite and began to climb, I couldn’t help but think this section of trail from Stevens Pass to Stehekin is shaping up to be one of the best in Washington. It feels like a bunch of moving pieces have finally clicked into place. The sky is blue, the smoke from fires has blown away, and the heather on the mountain slopes is starting to change color. After so much smoke and haze from Northern California on, it is such a pleasure to finish out the trail with good conditions.

As our feet carried us up to a saddle, we saw the North Cascades unfold like an accordion behind and before us. In the rows of peaks, you could see heavily glaciated mountain tops. My heart fluttered a bit as I remembered the Sierra and how magical they were in the snow. I hoped our course would take us near some of these mountains, but I didn’t know for sure. One thing I did know, however, was that we would be going around the base of Glacier Peak. Every once in a while, it would poke it’s head out as we crested a ridge as if to remind us it was still there.

As the day progressed, we largely stuck to the ridges and enjoyed grand views. Washington doesn’t have the highest mountains in the country, but their vertical relief from the valley floors is impressive. If you imagine a graph of humankind’s technology progress, Washington’s valley floor is just before the Industrial Revolution and the mountains are the exponential growth until modern day aiming straight for the sky.

Once afternoon came around, we started to descend into the forests we had be hovering above. The trees were clad in wisps of moss and large streams flowed beneath their giant branches.

We were walking along when suddenly Bedazzled stopped and cried out in pain. “I’ve been stung by a wasp!” she cried. She motioned to the spot. “In the boob?” I asked incredulously. “Yes,” she nodded. I asked her if she wanted me to extract the venom, but she said no.

When we were a few miles away from camp, we encountered a section of trail that was extremely overgrown and had extensive blow down. It took acrobatic feats to get up, over, and around all the fallen trees. I felt like this must be the most neglected piece of trail on the whole PCT. We even encountered a bridge that had snapped in the middle and formed a shallow “V” shape across a river of glacial melt water from Glacier Peak.

As evening came upon us, we found a nice campsite out of the trees and at the end of a valley. It was great to finally see a sunset again.

Before bed, I asked Bedazzled if there was any swelling from the wasp sting to her boob, she answered, “no, unfortunately not.” This girl has a sense of humor too.