Day 131, 21.4 miles

I woke up in the lodge in a long reading nook in the main rec area. Although there were 75 bunks in the place, I figured I’d give everyone a break from my snoring and shut myself in the large room. It was actually quite cozy and I slept great! 

I packed up and headed down to the kitchen to make some pancakes yet. No one else was up, not even the hosts yet, but I found all the cooking tools for pancakes and had a super yummy breakfast!

My favorite! (More peanut butter and syrup than actual pancakes)

A few of the others started to get up and get ready. I told them I’d meet them out on trail; I knew there was a big climb out of Snoqualmie and I wanted to hit it ASAP before it got too hot. I put my money for the nights stay in an envelope in the payment jar and I was out the door by 8:30!

Yes the hill was quite large and my pack quite heavy with food, but knowing that a “mere” 20 was the goal I did not feel behind therefore not stressed. I climbed and climbed and climbed, passing many day hikers along the way. Soon I got a grand view of Mt. Rainier!

It was such a beautiful day! The days of on and off cloud cover and mist and fog were completely gone from my mind and I was just enjoying a beautiful and gorgeous sunny day! I LOVE WASHINGTON!! I met a family taking a break near a super beautiful area called the Kendall Catwalk. I pet their dog and they gave me some delicious salami. Then I proceeded to walk this!

The Catwalk

Steep and long way down!

Amazing!

What a cool little section of trail! Man, today was soooooooo beautiful!! Around every corner I was met with more breathtaking views, it was seriously hard to narrow down all the photos I took because I loved them all! The views continued and I met two cool hikers named Big Boy and Patient Zero. I hiked with them and we soon crossed the 2,400 mile mark! Soon after that we came upon Ridge Lake.

These feet been walkin’!!!

Ridge Lake

We decided to take a break near the lake and I somehow convinced Patient Zero and Big Big to jump in with me! Numbers and a section hiker named Bella came up shortly, and Hauser and Happy Feet were close behind them. The three of us jumped in (and right back out). It was a suuuuuper cold lake but it felt nice on the hot day after a long 7 miles of uphill.

See Rainier?

Ahhhh!

The beautiful day continued, with the trail going way up and the way back down again. And then again. Although it was a tough day, the beauty of it all made me not care one bit! I was just taking it slow and enjoying it! The others went ahead and I began hiking with Hauser for a while. Although we’ve been in the same “group”, we haven’t really hiked or even talked together much. It was really great getting to know him and converse for a while.

Hauser

Also, there were SO many huckleberries today, only on ONE specific ridge! Most people went right by the berry goldmine without even seeing them, and I had no complaints with that! Look how big the one at the bottom of the picture is! It’s the biggest one I’ve seen yet on trail! 

Hauser being stoic

Can’t get enough of this view

Yosemite-esque rock formations 

Hauser and I met four really cool locals who were out for a 3 day adventure. They knew what was up! They had their sweet dog with them and they shared some of their local knowledge with us! We talked with them at their great view of Rainier for a few minutes before headed up a big scree slope. Scree (or talus?) made up 80% of the trail for the next mile or so, so we took t slow and just enjoyed all the beauty around us while trying to not twist our ankles! 

Hauser ascending the scree

Crazy views...

Amazing!!

Ahhhhh...

What a day for views! Well guess what?? It didn’t stop there! We descended way down the other side of the mountain and caught up with Patient Zero and Big Big at a very impressive waterfall! Patient Zero and I did some (safe) rock climbing nearby on the nice huge boulders to the side of the falls. I went under the bridge to take a photo of the falls and slipped in the water and got a whole foot/shoe/sock wet! Still worth it!!

Numbers and Happy Feet were close behind, and we all trotted off down the rest of the mountain to get to our campsite for the night. We went through a beautiful burn area with a lot of really pretty flowers. We came upon a small site and river where Big Boy and Patient Zero decided to stay, and Hauser, myself, Happy Feet and Numbers went on just a bit more to a bigger site.

Patient Zero on left and Big Boy on right (yes, Big Boy is the girl) 

Beautiful burn area

We’re below 4,000 ft. elevation, and the evening is not yet as cold as past evenings. Although we only did 20 miles it was still a very tiring day! The sun was so welcome although we all feel a little drained by it. The mountains were so beautiful yet they made us work extra hard for the right to see them. Today has been my favorite view day in Washington!! So nice!

Tonight is a little of a late night and I’m hoping to get some good rest for another beautiful day tomorrow! Life is good!

Thanks for reading!!!