Adventures in Wonderland: Day 6, Five Silent Miles

Mirror image at St. Andrew's Lake

Guide books warned of small rodents eating through your backpacks to get to whatever they might find enticing. Because of this, we kept our packs in the tent with us. This led to cramped quarters as the tent was of the two person ultra-light variety. The cramped quarters was one of the factors that led to a sleepless night. The other factor was numerous itchy, red, mosquito induced bumps all over my arms and legs. Several times throughout the night I woke up already scratching myself and couldn't get back to sleep as I tried many positions to get comfortable. Finally I maneuvered my body around so my feet weren't touching my pack. Once I did that, and after fifteen minutes or so of scratching, I finally fell back to sleep. By the time I woke up around 8 am, Emily was already packed up and eating breakfast.

Today was to be a short hiking day, just shy of five miles, so I planned on taking my time. Lying there with my eyes open, I reflected on our trip so far and speculated on what was to come. Finally, my belly urged me out of the tent to boil some water for oatmeal and coffee. As soon as I sat down on a log and got my stove out Emily gave me the news that she would be leaving on day 8 when we reached Mowich Lake. The disappointing news struck me as a painful rejection. A good friend was planning on meeting us at Mowich Lake to bring us our second food cache and now Emily planned on going home with him. This was quite a blow to my mental state and a dark cloud hovered over me.

I tried to convince her to stick it out for two more days, but she admitted to not feeling well and was insistent on going home. I was outwardly upset and inwardly angry and frustrated. I felt like it didn't matter to her that she would be leaving me out in the wilderness alone for two days. Still, I tried to put myself in her shoes. To be away from the comforts of home when you aren't feeling well is no fun at all. Nonetheless, I ate in silence trying to imagine spending the night out here by myself. I convinced myself that I would do it. My lack of humility could not allow someone else to determine my success in completing this hike.

I took my time eating and enjoyed a hot cup of mocha. In every day life I need my morning coffee, but I have never enjoyed it as much as I did on those chilly mornings up on the mountain. Finally, I packed up and we headed out....in silence. 

The first 3.5 miles were a non-stop ascent. It was strenuous but methodical. One foot in front of the other...once I got in a rhythm it was difficult to stop even with sweat dripping down my face. One of the most useful things I packed for this trip was a highly absorbent sports towel. It clipped to my pack and hung there always ready to wipe the perspiration that stung my eyes. The best feeling was when we soaked the towels in an icy creek and draped it around our necks to cool down.

Thankfully the bugs weren't bad as we hiked higher and higher. Before long we reached a plateau where we met two elderly women; Janice and Shirley. They reclined on a group of large rocks and with a twinkle in their eyes they informed us that the big one was named "Lunch Rock", hinting that we should have a seat and rest. We took off our packs and chatted with them for quite awhile. I felt like I was conversing with the person I wanted to be when I am in my seventies.  Fascinating and humorous, they told us of their many prior backpacking trips together and their planned one for three weeks from then to the Appalachian Trail. I was intrigued as I listened to what lie ahead for us (they were traveling counter-clockwise). It turns out they were heading home early because they believed that they had contracted food poisoning.  I felt I needed to hear it from them in order to feel more empathy for Emily, so it was good that our paths had crossed.

We ate our lunch as they told us how to deal with bears; by clicking our trekking poles together, especially around blind corners. So, you know it, the rest of our hike was punctuated by the sound of Emily's clicking trekking poles. I was reminded of the old movie, Parent Trap, with Haley Mills. The twins in the movie tell the unwanted fiance of their father that hitting sticks together will ward off the attacks of cougars. It was all an attempt to make her look like a fool.... Foolish or not, to my disappointment we saw no more mammals, of any kind, for the remainder of our trip, save a chipmunk or two. 

Before Shirley and Janice parted ways, they supplied me with some blister care items for my battered feet. They were such pleasant people I could have chatted with them all day. I was sad to see them go, but I believe I was somehow a better person after having just met them, a mark we should all strive to leave on those whose lives we touch, no matter how briefly. 

So far in this day we had been seeing more people than in the previous days, and with the tension between Emily and myself, that was a good thing. I struggled with my thoughts toward her and even prayed for the grace to cheerfully accept her choice to leave.

The clouds rolled in the higher we climbed. The hiking got easier and the terrain was definitely of the sub alpine type; flowery meadows, fir and hemlock that had been gnarled and twisted by winter snow. Soon we reached the crystal clear St. Andrew's Lake. Large boulders made for a good resting place, but I was happy with a patch of soft grass. We sat for quite awhile at the lake's edge knowing we were pretty close to camp and it was still so early in the day, about 12:30 pm.

There we snacked and watched a foggy cloud encroach upon us. Our views of the still, mirror-like lake began to become obscured. A thicker cloud rolled down off the mountain and settled right on the lake in front of us. Had we gotten there any later we would never have been able to see the majestic and silent lake that was flanked by snowy patches. A chill filled the air and we decided to continue on to camp. 

Nearing camp, we approached a large group of hikers who were wishing they were almost done hiking for the day. We chatted with them at Aurora Lake for a short time. The lake was teeming with pollywogs and mama frogs watching over their young. We observed the amphibians for awhile and after saying goodbye to the hikers we reached our camp in just 200 ft. A slight mist began to fall and we wanted to set up the tent before it became too wet. The sites were very nice and had it not been raining we would have had a great lakeside view. But all around us was foggy because we were, quite literally, in a cloud.

Emily hung our food and I crawled into our tent hoping to find warmth. The day was still young, but I settled in for a nap and set the alarm on my phone for dinner time. Despite the unsettling news of Emily's desire for an early departure, it was a good day full of friendly people and beautiful lakes.

Pictures from Day 6:

The sky might have been dull, but the meadows were a lit in a rainbow of wildflowers.

So. Puyallup River

The weather changes so fast on the mountain, here the clouds began to roll in.

St. Andrew's Lake moments before the clouds blanketed its beauty.

St. Andrew's Lake

Aurora Lake, just before our camp at Klapatchee Park was teeming with frog children and off to the edge of the lake sat the mamas. This made me think of my kids.

Camp was set up quickly to stay warm.

Biding our time inside the tent.

Adventures in Wonderland: Day 4, 14 Long Freakin' Miles!

Mt. Rainier from Reflection Lakes



I recently read back over my posts about this trip and loved recalling the beautiful scenery, the solitude, the absolute freshness of being in such a pristine place where the only 'taste' in the water is cold. When I read my journal entry for day four, however, I noticed a "slight" change of tone. This was the first paragraph in the Rite in the Rain spiral notebook that I brought with me,

"I want to be home!!! It's the end of day four and I can hardly walk....literally. I just got done popping seven blisters on my feet. I hobbled into camp barely able to hold myself together. Okay, I couldn't actually. I threw an all out tantrum when I couldn't hang my food from the bear pole."

I laugh at the memory now, but Emily can fully attest to the account of my negativity following day four's fourteen-mile hike.

I will tell of the day from the beginning so as to not start off on a sour note. We woke at 6 am with the intention of leaving by 7 o'clock. We knew we had the longest hike of our whole trip ahead of us, but we were excited because today was the day we would stop in Longmire and pick up our resupply items. We also planned on stopping at the restaurant there and getting a giant juicy burger with fries. I couldn't begin to tell you how good that sounded after days of eating mostly dehydrated foods.

Once more the weather was ideal. We packed up, ate a quick breakfast of whatever we could stomach. For me it was a landjaeger (German-style pepperoni stick) and a protein bar. Then we stopped by the creek on our way out of camp to purify water and fill our bottles and Platypus bags. We were on the trail by 7:20.

Leaving Maple Creek

Not five minutes into our hike we heard a loud growl nearby in the woods just off the trail. I stopped quickly and turned to Emily thinking maybe I was hearing things. "I heard that too," she said before I even spoke a word. We hurried along the brushy path. The scenery changed frequently from the picturesque Sylvia Falls which was framed by a mossy forest to berry patches (unripe berries, it seemed we were just a few weeks too early for prime berry picking) to river banks where parts of the trail were pretty sketchy from the complete destruction and rebuilding following the devastating floods of 2006.

Here the trail consisted of loose rocks and wobbly pebbles (come to think of it, those two things are the same, oh well), but soon it spit us out onto a section of freshly laid pavement, with the smell of tar assaulting our senses. We crossed the road and dipped back onto a more natural feeling gravelly section of the trail.  After continuing for almost a mile we came to the first and largest of the Reflection Lakes, Louise Lake. We saw a lot of people here taking pictures of the mirror-like lake with Mt. Rainier directly behind. We stopped and took a few pictures ourselves and forced smiles as a rather obnoxious group of adults asked us to take their pictures.

You can see here the growing irritation in my face.

 In another half-mile or so we reached an area where we had to walk along the road for at least .5 miles. The funny thing is .5 miles to me now sounds like nothing. But the same amount of distance in the mountains with blistered feet can seem like forever. I remember thinking to myself, "Look at all these people with so much energy. They walk with such ease! I wonder what that feels like." I even felt myself becoming irritated at their smiles as the blisters on my feet were more prominent than ever while walking on the pavement.

I was amazed at my stamina throughout the trip, though. I was never overly exhausted. My body never became sore. My legs felt stronger each day. It was my feet that seemed to fail me. Just as when my feet are cold, my whole body is cold; when my feet hurt, so did my mental attitude, and my feet were hurting! 

We passed several other lakes with many people "ooh-ing" and "aah-ing" over them, but we just wanted to get to Longmire. Once we were back in the woods and out of sight of the crowd we came to a series of gentle switchbacks. We opted to skip the opportunity to see Narada Falls which would have added another .4 miles to our already long journey. We had both seen it before and our feet were screaming, "You see one falls, you've seen 'em all!"

We passed Paradise River Camp and knew then that we had "only" 3.8 miles to go before reaching Longmire...and "only" 3.7 beyond that to Pyramid Creek where we would camp for the night. The farther we hiked the more hopeful we became as the trail widened and day hikers became more prevalent. Still, though, those 3.7 miles dragged on and on. Finally, we could see the Wilderness Information Center where our food was cached and the other buildings, including National Park Inn where we would enjoy our fresh, hot meal.

Business first. We got our cache from the rangers and switched the food that we could no longer bear the thought of eating (specifically any dehydrated breakfast meal). I also cached an extra roll of toilet paper which I stuffed in my pack. From there we walked into the National Park Inn and stood there; dirty and stinky and wearing our backpacks. After standing there awhile, a kindly looking woman came over and asked if she could help us. "I need food!" I literally blurted out. At this point in the game my tact was no longer intact.

The restaurant wasn't the hiker/climber hang-out as I expected. It was more retreat-like with many older people looking to "get away" from the noise of the city. It was a place where people looked out their windows and gazed at the flower-filled meadows and large trees and perhaps an occasional deer passing through. We felt out of place but with our tired and hurting feet, together with our appetite for fresh food, we would have been fine had we walked in on a black tie event.

Dinner was excellent. We ate slowly, and savored every bite. All too soon we were finished and it was time to get back out on the trail. Not before stopping at the "little girl's room", however. I have to add a little TMI (too much information) here because the story of the day just wouldn't be complete without it. So I invite any gentlemen who might read this to please skip ahead a paragraph.

I must say I have been very poop shy out in the woods. The trees and outhouses just weren't cutting it for me. At Longmire, however, things changed. Emily and I thought we were the only ones in the small restroom and there was no background music. So when my shyness ended I breathed a sigh of relief. "Lucky!" said Emily from the other stall. "Hey, I've been waiting four days for that!" I replied. We laughed and silence fell on us once again. "I wish there was some background music in here," I said as we continued our business. "Maybe I will just step out and give you two some privacy," came an elderly voice from outside the stalls. What!? We weren't alone?? As we heard the door close we laughed so hard we cried and then wondered how we could leave without making eye contact with the poor old lady. It was the comic relief we needed on this long and difficult day, the last stretch would be torture.

My feet ached from all the blisters and the steep uphill after leaving Longmire was almost more than I could take. As we hiked, silence filled the air as we each struggled inwardly with different weaknesses. The trail took a downward dive and spit us out at Kautz Creek.

At Kautz Creek you can see the damage from the floods of 2006.

This area was heavily hit with mudflows in the flooding of 2006. The damage was impressive and could still be seen seven years later. At the time the trail was wiped out and the existing trail felt freshly made. It was sandy and hard to distinguish in some places. I knew at this point that we were close to camp but I felt I had reached a point where I could go no longer unless I stopped to take my boots off. So far in all of our hiking our boots didn't come off until we got to camp, but my feet were screaming. I soaked them in the freezing cold water of Kautz Creek for 5-10 minutes then laced them back up and, out of sheer willpower, forced myself to go on.

In twenty minutes we reached Pyramid Creek Campground. It was small, but we wasted no time setting up our tent, blowing up our air mattresses, and pulling out our sleeping bags. I was at the end of my rope at this point and the aforementioned tantrum was imminent. It began when I tried to hang my food on the bear pole. I must have been pretty weak because it seemed like an impossible task to me. Some of the poles you use to get the food up there with were bent and quite difficult to the average person, but to the person on the verge of losing it, it was beyond imaginable. I hobbled back to camp threw my food in the tent and said in a voice that I'm sure I learned from my seven-year old, "I can't do it! I don't care if the bears try to eat my food, Let them!"

Then, because the bugs were out in full force, I dug through my backpack to find the bug spray. I sprayed one arm before I used it all up. A moment of panic set in as I realized I was helpless against an army of blood sucking flies and mosquitoes. I gave up and retreated to my 'bed', buried my face in my sleeping bag and allowed the tears of frustration to flow like the water of all the falls we had witnessed that day.  The last lines in my journal sum up how I was feeling at that moment,

"I stink, I'm hairy, dirty and in severe pain. It's only day 4! How am I supposed to walk 50 more miles with these dang feet?!"

I remember being mad at my feet as though they weren't apart of me, but yet were failing me. Emily was the calm that got me through that day. She didn't say much. She let me have my childish fit but didn't indulge my negativity with added complaints....and she hung our food for us.

Before I went to bed, I popped all my blisters with a pocketknife that I sanitized by heating with the flame from my cooking stove. I don't know if all that was necessary but it worked. I doctored them up with some First Aid ointment and left them without bandages to heal overnight. I was in bed by 7:44 pm.

More Pictures from Day 4

An awe inspiring outcrop of andesite columns not far after leaving Maple Creek.

Day four, definitely time to start covering our heads!

I think I was the one who needed a hug this day.

Beautiful waterfalls marked this day on the trail.

Mt. Rainier summit from near Longmire

Louise Lake

Sylvia Falls

Near Longmire

One of the many beautiful waterfalls we saw this day.

First sight of the Reflection Lakes



Painful memories



I'm sure this picture was taken early on in the day.
I would have liked to have seen one of me by the end of the day.