September 3rd
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. But, the understory of brush was too thick to actually see the animals. Later on, in the afternoon, we would come across a young male elk, still in velvet antlers, who, upon sensing us, crashed across the trail.
The morning was marred by a bee sting on my right foot. Suddenly there was a burning, pricking sensation on the top of my instep just above the tong of the shoe. And a bee was burrowed down into my sock.
And while I’m listing complaints, the painful blister on my left foot has resurfaced. This time it has migrated about a half inch forward, rubbing up a newly sensitive and painful spot. But we pushed on trying to not let it affect the stride.
The trail was a series of short ups and downs as it rolled over a series of ridges, until it finally found one that started to climb the flank of Mt Adams. By late afternoon we were finally rewarded with close up views of this regal mountain. Simply stunning! Once on its flanks we began to circle around it, gradually studying its profile from several angles. As we soaked up Mt Adams glory clouds continued to roll in from the north turning our bright day back into a grey one.
We walked in and out of the trees, close to timberline. The trail passed a series of creeks, some glacial fed, and weaved among many alpine meadows.
We continue to be in a thruhiker void. We saw one hiker doing the Washington section, southbound. He confirmed that there is a “whole herd” of people a day to a day and a half ahead of us.
Once again we found ourselves chasing darkness. We made it to Killian Creek in the fading light, where we had hoped to camp on a spot just below the trail crossing. However, it was occupied by obvious weekenders. We stopped for water at the creek and one of the campers came up to point out the general direction of a couple of other spots. We searched out and found one of them, a nice place among the trees. After dinner, the clouds al disappeared and the night is full of stars.
