Sunday, July 15 2018
Brush Creek (43.2) – Rainy Pass Trailhead (61.2): 18 miles / 91.1 total miles walked
Phew….what a day! I didn’t really sleep well, with the campsite being all slanted, and my head full of dreams and flashbacks…so when my alarm went off at 5:30 I really didn’t feel like hiking. But I got up and out of camp, walking by 6 am anyway.
The trail was still a bit overgrown though not nearly as bad as the day before. There were a ton of stream crossings today and on one of those I tried to use a not quite stable log and my left foot plunged into the water. Dang….
At around 7:30 after almost 3 miles I took a break, had coffee and fig bars and put on dry socks. And then the climb began.
2200 feet of elevation over almost 5 miles. And it was getting hot. And the mosquitoes were out in force.
Thankfully a trail crew has already been here and removed all the blowdowns that would otherwise block the trail. I mean some of those trees are so big it would be hard to get over.
I made it to the top at 10:45 and immediately sat down to make lunch (Ramen with tuna) and Sink and Croc showed up a few minutes later. The break ended up lasting until 12 and then the trail beckoned.
A few hundred feet downhill and then another 800 ft climb up to Cutthroat Pass. Brutal. Especially because it got really hot today.
The trail was also almost nonexistent in places, with a drop to one side and a cliff face to the other and barely a foothold to walk across. Dangerous and not so fun.
After the switchbacks up to Cutthroat Pass there were also a few snow fields to cross, but those were more fun than anything else.
Once we got that donewe were rewarded with the most breathtaking view yet and decided to soak our sore feet in snow melt-off.
And then we made the mistake of cutting across a snowfield to the switchback below, assuming it was the PCT….which it was not. So we had to backtrack and climb back up, adding unnecessary mileage to our day.
By 4:45 we finally started the 5 mile descent and got to Rainy Pass Trailhead by 7. The trailhead is right next to Highway 20, kind of unnerving with cars going by constantly. But at least there are toilets and we are 4 girls in total camped here tonight.
Women are ruling the SOBO crowd this year it seems 😁
Tomorrow I should make it to Stehekin, where hopefully my first package awaits me.
Keeping you posted….