It rained on us for a bit last night. Nothing big, just a few showers. Stormtrooper likes to get moving early. He takes off around 6 while I’m packing, then I’m off to the trail.

I’m climbing up the next hill and look back to take a picture of the mountains in mist.

I’m thinking how interesting the mountains look in that context and was thinking about writing a long missive about it. A little later I run into a gal Northbounding named Megaphone. We are talking about the mist when she says it looks like smoke. Oh. As the day wears on it gets thicker and smells like smoke. Gone are my thoughts of romantic misty mountains.

Stormtrooper left me a Salty shout-out in the dirt. That brightens the mood a bit.

Took a few photos near the top of the next hill. Misty mountains (not!). Other hikers are telling me I should be seeing spectacular views of Mount Rainier. Instead I get this brown-orangy view of the last hill I hiked. Sucks.

Next comes a long decent toward a major highway which is the main entrance into Mt Rainier park. I finally break out of bug hell. It is Sunday, so I’m running into group after group of fresh smelling day hikers. One asks me how bad the bugs are….I just kind of chuckle and suggest covering up. There are some folks getting their wedding picture by the lake. They look all happy and bug free.

There is a parking lot next to the highway. Sunday, major road crossing the PCT. Often this is a good hunting ground for some trail magic. I diverted down and walked around and chat with a group of folks there waiting for the offer of something good. I get nothing. Damnit. The only trail magic I have received so far is a bag of Cheetos. Others are getting burritos, beer, and soda. Getting a little jealous. On the bright side, there is a nice pit toilet here saving me a squat in the woods.

Washington is getting much harder now. Gone are the easy days of 3k of easy climbing. Now it is 4.5k for this hike. Up/down/up/down. It will continue to get harder as we push North. I took some photos along the way. Visibility is like 5 to 10 miles, so they are kind of meh.

 

I hooked up with Stormtrooper on the last climb and we passed the time chatting about all sorts of stuff.  We continue the debate about where this smoke is coming from.  I continue whining about having zero tral magic.  

Roll into our destination of Mike Urich Cabin around 7.

I drop my pack at the front of the cabin and start chatting with a South African hiker who has a nice cold mountain dew and 3 bags of empty chips piled up next to him. I’m all hot mopping up sweat with a nasty paper towel I’ve been carrying all day. What’s up with that Dew man? He says there is a bunch of magic in the cooler inside. I cut off our conversation, throw open the door, and there it is !

I yank out a Mountain Dew. It is COLD. I pop the top and drain it in two long gulps. My head starts swimming from the sudden sugar rush. Ahhh Trail Magic. I grab some chips and a cold beer, snap a quick photo of the interior, and head out to the porch to repair my relationship with Mr South African hiker dude. The evening is looking up.

I make some dinner on the porch while talking to few other hikers that are already setup. Dog Bite and Hefe are two older guys on the Northbound route. I focus a bit more on that conversation given that I’ll likely see them again. Always the opportunist.
It is funny. The first thing Dog Bite says to me is “Today I’m officially on Medicare ! ” Now that might seem strange to you young people, but I know exactly why he is so happy. No more $2,000 health insurance.

Apparently this cabin is sponsored by a snowmobile club in the area. They have built it up over the years into a nice base camp. During the summer folks do off-road rides out of here. Wish California had more of these.

Around 8:30, I collapse into my tent feeling very satisfied.