9/30/2024
Section: Milepost 2502.9 to 2518.4
Total Trail Miles: 2585.4 Miles
Distance: 15.5 Miles
Moving Time: 07:18 Hrs
Elevation Gain: 3694 Feet
Note: Strava says Day 164 because it is counting a failed attempt at this section in June. I didn’t want to write about that so i am picking up where we left off in Fall of last year, on day 161. Just FYI.
We woke to a stunning blue sky this morning around 7 am. Our grouse friends were either still sleeping or had already awoken and weren’t interested in pestering us for food this morning. I had a …delicious breakfast puck and some coffee while enjoying the brightening morning. After breakfast we did our morning warm-ups by Reflection Pond and were underway around 8:30.
The first 3 miles of today’s stage are dedicated to a 1000 foot climb up to Red’s Pass, crossing under the watchful gaze of White Mountain. From the pass, the trail turns east and makes a 6-mile descent into the White Chuck river valley. At a little over 9 miles in, the stage bottoms out at 3800 feet and slowly starts its ascent up the north side of the valley. At the crossing of Kennedy Creek, the trail turns sharply uphill, pulling out of the valley. The PCT works its way up below Glacier Ridge, eventually topping out at 5800 feet, where the day ends at Pumice Creek.
We were on the trail by 8:30 this morning which was…eh, could have been better, but whatever. The sky was still crystal clear and we made our way up through the glowing alpine, views of Glacier Peak standing in stark relief out in front of us. I have my Suunto in Eco Mode because there was no way to get it charged with the epic failure of our battery pack. Really glad I'm carrying like 2 pounds for absolutely no reason on this venture. Hope the watch still picks up some details of our day because, otherwise, what’s the point!
We cruised through green meadows, feeling good despite being out of practice for over a year. We’re both really happy with how well our bodies are managing the distances despite the time off. Eventually we reached the short section of trail we had done 5 years before on our way to the southern climbing route of Glacier Peak. A small copse of trees denoted White Pass Camp where we had contemplated stopping on our way down after summiting. Shortly after, we came to the intersection with the North Fork Sauk Trail and left the short section of shared memories behind as we made our way north.
We traversed north across the steep southern slopes of White Mountain. Neither of us said it but we were both thinking it - this section would have been absolutely shitty in any amount of snow. The slope had to be 45 degrees at least and ran out below us over a thousand feet. Maybe not as harrowing as the knife-edge but damn near it. I sinched my bear can down a little tighter - I was in no mood to descend 1500 feet to go get it. I am, overall, happy with Hyperlight’s design to handle a bear can but I'm constantly worried it’s going to get free and fall way below me.
Eventually, we reached Red’s Pass where we ducked through a small notch in the headwall between White Mountain and Black Mountain. Who TF was naming these? Glacier was in full view before us and looking HAWT! From the pass, it was a steady descent through high alpine meadows, made insanely annoying by the slippery nature of the early morning trail dirt. The sun had hit the trail just as we were climbing towards Red’s Pass and by the time we reached it the frost had melted, leaving a very slick trail behind. Amanada and I both ended up on our butts more than once which slowed us to a crawl for a while. Occasionally, I would look up at the lower slopes of Glacier Peak, searching for the basecamp most climbers stay at the night before heading to the summit but i didn't have any luck finding it.
We made it below the tree line before noon and learned to trust the trail again. We noted one tent off in the woods but didn’t see or hear any occupants. The descent from here was very steep but had been well outfitted with a serpentining series of switchbacks, making it manageable. Just as our knees were starting to scream, the grade gave out to a nice cruise and our pace accelerated. We sped along the White Chuck Valley floor, enjoying the feeling of miles melting under our feet. Occasional blow-down would slow us from time to time but we were always quickly back up to speed. The grade was perfect. Before long, we reached the turn-off for Fire Creek Pass and stopped for a break. I’m really nursing this bag of Sea Salt and Vinegar Kettle chips along as best I can but it’s not going to last forever. I’m mentally preparing for the moment when all that remains is crumbs.
We rested for as long as we could stand before committing to our climb. We both knew it was a long ways up - almost the entire amount we had lost on our descent from Red’s Pass. Again, while daunting, we found this climb reassuring in its consistency and made good time, eventually pulling our way out of the woods and into the alpine. We crossed Alpine Creek in the afternoon and continued to climb, bobbing and weaving in and out of little tributary creek valleys and gaining amazing views into the White Chuck Creek Valley which continued on far below us.
We crossed over Glacier Ridge and wound our way back into the Pumice Creek drainage where we found a rocky outcropping to stop for the night. Again, we were able to stop before the sun sank too low in the sky which kept the twilight scarys from our time on the trail last year at bay. I did a little scouting up the trail to make sure there wasn’t a more optimum spot to stop as well as up the creek a ways, but the spot we had was a nice promontory above the creek with a direct view down the valley and pretty tough to beat. A little “slopey” maybe, but really good views. I went off to grab water while Amanda got our tent sorted. We made dinner as the sunlight began to fade. Coming back, I noticed a huge bear crap about 20 feet from our tent. Amanda hadn’t seemed to notice despite walking around the camp a bit and I decided it wasn’t necessary to tell her before bed - I mean, what’s that gunna do? Absolutely nothing. We watched the sun set and stayed out a bit to enjoy the stars as they began to show up but eventually the cold got to us and we escaped inside.
