Sunday, 5 August 2018
Mirror Lake (268.3) – Tentsite (285.5): 17.2 miles / 315.2 total miles walked
After all the yelling kids and drunk adults finally calmed down I managed to get a few hours of sleep. I really wanted to ignore my alarm that went off at 5, but I didn’t.
Sink and I managed to pack up in record time and were moving by 5:30. It was pretty cold, but very humid and I was sweating like crazy in no time, especially during the first climb of the day.
Somehow this section seems so much easier than the last two, it’s almost comical.
I hiked alone most of the day, but met up with Sink at water sources (which are getting rarer and less ideal) and for breaks.
Morning break was at around 8 am, I had some oatmeal and Sink made Turkish coffee. Perfect, except for the cold, it was still only about 45°.
The rest of the day was taken up by being sucked into the Internets, since I discovered I actually have phone service in spots out here. Trail was good mostly, except for about a million dirty roads I needed to cross.
And the distant gunshots I kept hearing. Not fun. Thankfully they stopped after a while.
The climb up to our lunch spot was pretty iffy, almost straight up, but it wasn’t long. I had the rest of my Mexican rice with Ramen and tuna for lunch, and Sink made more coffee.
I am also already exceptionally dirty. But I don’t really mind, as it keeps the bugs away and I don’t need to use sunscreen. 😁
At the last watersource we met up with Bill and Ae again, a couple from Washington who are section hiking and who we had seen at most break spots of the day. Ae is originally from Thailand and of course we got to talking about Thai food…..hmmmm, so good.
At the last water source I also did a stupid. I bent over to get water and my phone dropped on a log, shattering the screen. DAMN!!!!!! Thankfully it still works, but I just want to kick myself for the stupidity of it all….
The last 3 miles to camp flew by and after dinner I enjoyed the first view of Mt. Rainier. Quite impressive.
Sink and I decided to try and make the 73 miles to White Pass in three and a half days. Seems very doable.
Keeping you posted….