We awoke to a cold morning with clouds moving in. They would stay with us all day. Thick, low clouds – overcast and gray. There was a humid mist most of the day. A light drizzle fell a couple times though not for very long. The rain gear came out more for warmth than anything else.
Ripe huckleberries made for a pleasant distraction when not too wet to pick. As we climbed down the flank of Mt Adams we climbed out of the clouds, literally below their “ceiling.” And a couple times they parted briefly to show blue skies, but all too soon returned to their overcast position. Needless to say …
The morning was cold and damp in the forest although blue skies prevailed overhead. The vegetation lining the trail was still wet from yesterday. To stay warm and dry we wore rain jackets the first couple hours.
Fresh elk tracks and “sign” littered the trail and occasional side trails to and from water were so deeply furrowed that they looked like cattle trails on an open range heading for the water tanks. Before long we heard the distinctive thrashing and crashing of trees and brush that gave away the location of the elk prints owner. They either heard us or smelled us coming and took off. The footprints told of flight. …
In the middle of the night I awoke to the scritching sound of mice. I unzipped the tent netting, reached out and shook the food bags. Then I checked the “offerings” we had left. All gone. Time to sacrifice a few more crumbs to keep the vermin out of the food bags, and maybe snack on a few tidbits myself.
We awoke to the sound of water dripping on the tent. The promise of a clear morning had been unfulfilled. I never heard it actually rain last night. It could have been that I was sleeping very soundly. Or it could have been that a heavy mist was accumulating and drops …
It’s always hard to leave the luxury of a nice comfortable bed in town and so, as usual, we slept in later than we had originally planned. We still had groceries to organize and spent some time going through stuff. Of course we had to go to breakfast at the Cascade Inn, the restaurant where we had a farewell breakfast ten years ago. We were finally all set to leave town and were walking toward the bridge when a familiar face rode up on a bicycle. It was “Charlie” who we had last seen in Agua Dulce. He had hiked from Campo to Kennedy Meadows, a 700 mile section, and …
This morning it was still dark at 6am. The days are getting shorter from both sides now. Our tent had a heavy dew even though we set it up in a well ventilated, higher ground area.
The connecting trail to Eagle Creek was very steep, as well as longer than expected. So our travel was slower than expected. We are glad we didn’t try to do it last night.
The Eagle Creek trail is stunning, definitely a highlight of the entire PCT. The waterfalls are stunning, perhaps running slightly higher because of the recent rains. The trail passes behind one waterfall at “Tunnel” falls and the effect is truly amazing.
We start to …
