Epic Hike – Post 12 of our August Seattle trip

Our trailhead was about 4 hours away (depending on traffic), so we decided to drive out the evening beforehand and camp in a campground near the trailhead, so we could get an early start. There were a good number of campgrounds on our approach, not too far from the trailhead.

But after we got out there, we discovered that the campgrounds were all full. And it wasn’t even a weekend! Now what? Sometimes camping is allowed at trailheads – and sometimes it’s not. We hoped it would be. We knew it was unlikely that we could just pull out on a side road somewhere. Most of the area was a national park (we were planning to hike just outside the park). Boondoggling (camping at large) is usually not allowed in the parks. Also it was all very rugged and steep – no gentle, accessible meadows with meandering dirt roads for boondoggling. Just a highway cutting through sheer drop-offs.

We couldn’t camp at our trailhead, but luckily across the highway was a Pacific Crest Trailhead where there were no signs indicating we couldn’t park overnight. We figured if it didn’t say we couldn’t, then we could! It was great to be so close to our trailhead.

Perfect except for the mosquitoes! The mosquitos were thick and swarming and hungry. We spent the rest of the evening cowering in the van.

When John got up in the morning he announced it was sunny.

Lucky for him, he had taken a photo and could prove it, because by the time I got up a few minutes later, it was getting cloudy:

I jokingly gave him a hard time about it because he always puts an overly positive spin on everything. Yes, there’s a patch of sun on that mountain, but the sky is cloudy! This is not “sunny.”

I remember when I lived in the Pacific Northwest it would often look like it was going to be a nice day when I first woke up, but by the time I got the kids up, fed and dressed it was rainy. It was so frustrating.

So yes, it was clouding over, but wow, was it ever beautiful on that hike!

I look like a dork in this outfit, but as you know, I hate mosquitoes and the whole region was one big swarm of them.

The lake was beautiful.

We kept climbing…

At this point in the hike I was feeling pretty confident. We had been hiking uphill for awhile and I was doing well. I was pleased I was able to hike again after my cancer treatment in 2020 knocked me down for awhile.

If we had turned around here, the hike would have been relatively easy and I would have had all these epic photos. But no, we kept going. And it got harder.

There were still some idyllic moments.

Interspersed with not-so-idyllic moments.

It was impressive as we reached the top, but also a bit intimidating.

By this point, it was also drizzling.

Can you see the marmot in the middle of this next picture?

If you look in the top left of this next photo you can see a blurry mosquito. I’m surprised you can only see one. They were swarming.

The route down from the pass gave me pause.

I’m afraid of heights. I hung out at the top for a bit to get my nerve up.

Ok, here I go.

It helped that a confident and cheerful young couple headed down first. This first part wasn’t too bad. I asked John to keep the dog away from me, because I didn’t want her bumping into my legs.

It was a good trail and quite safe, but I had to not look down.

This next part was hard – drop off on both sides. Even though the trail was wide and flat and easy, I had to keep my eyes on the ground and not look out or around. It was a shame to miss the scenery, but it was too sheer for me.

One more exposed stretch and then I was able to stop and take a look around.

Terra firma on both sides of me, yay!

Trying to smile, but looking tired.

At this point I thought the worst was behind me, but I hadn’t gotten very far down before I started having trouble with one of my knees. I hobbled out of there painfully, leaning awkwardly on my walking stick. But it was worth it!

We got a bunch more great pictures on the way down.

John took this video of the lake – it’s not of any action, it’s just a panorama shot. You can see the mosquitos flying around – and the sheer heights are more impressive in the video for some reason. The pictures just don’t look as dramatic.