TR: Washington PCT with Enhancements 6/22-8/8 2019

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Harlen
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Re: TR: Washington PCT with Enhancements 6/22-8/8 2019

Post by Harlen »

Stanley Otter wrote:
... so I took the east site and did my best to ignore the idiot who howled a lot.
: :lol:

and later: ...
Then it was the small matter of a 3400’ descent to the Suiattle River — oh, my knees — who thought hauling sixteen pounds of food (again) was a good idea? Idiot. 18 miles.
:D


and finally (so far*) this:
Tried drying some stuff but clouds and fog rolled in after a few minutes.

... Fog enshrouded Red Pass in the morning. I believe I wept.
:D :D

Oh Stanley! I am only part way through this Stanlerian Epic, but you have me laughing out loud! I don't know why the suffering of others appeals to me so, but when I reached the part where you wept, I laughed till I too cried!

*I don't reckon you really wept- cursed quietly is more like it; but you have really got us hooked on your tale so far.... "They dropped me off at the Hannegan Pass Trailhead on June 22, which is now known as The Day The Weather Pattern Changed." I took a sneak preview of some of the later images, and they are really breath-taking! I called Lizzie over to see them, just as I have called her over to listen to your stories. We think you have penned an HST classic Stanley. Thanks a lot!

p.s. We are very happy to see that you got your share of good views in the end- AND BEARS!!!. Lizzie and Ian.
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Stanley Otter
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Re: TR: Washington PCT with Enhancements 6/22-8/8 2019

Post by Stanley Otter »

Wandering Daisy wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2019 8:01 pm ...
I assume that the gravel I see in the photo of Ohanapachche River is Indian Bar. Does the PCT go there or were you on another trail.

People tend to underestimate the difficulty of the Cascades. Although the peaks other than the big volcanoes are around 9-10,000 feet, the valleys are very low elevations and elevation gains and drops are significant. Your mileages are pretty impressive, regardless of what the PCT hikers do.

What tent did you use and were you happy with it given the rain?
Yes, that photo of the river from the distance includes Indian Bar in the lower portion. The WT crosses the river on a bridge right near a falls and climbs up to the right toward Panhandle Gap.

No, the PCT doesn't go into Mt Rainier NP -- the WT is one of the "Enhancements" I added to my PCT trek. The PCT stays some 4-8 miles east of the WT. I marked up the planning map for MRNP to show what I did. It involves some road walking, a price I was willing to pay. The Hwy 410 portion is a "heads up" case with narrow/non-existent shoulders, but the access road to the White River Entrance and Sunrise has good sight lines and wide shoulders.
Rainier Access from PCT.jpg
I agree re: ruggedness. Those are some steep-sided mountains with some low lows for sure.

I bought a Zpacks Solplex tent a few years ago (not too long before your tent decision, if I remember correctly). Spendy, but I didn't have a daughter in college at the time so I was relatively flush. I have absolutely no complaints about its performance in rain and high winds. It has a nice "bathtub bottom" and it kept me dry through the Cascades and did very well in some significant downpours in the Sierra last summer, too. I'm 6'-nothin' and can sit up in the peak with a taut enough pitch, but then the "wings" for the vestibule don't close all the way down near the bottom, which is my one gripe. Just a few more grams of material would have made a great improvement. Plenty spacious to lay down in with at least a foot of room to spare and enough room on the sides for a bit of sprawling. Room inside for everything except my ginormous bear canister. I see Zpacks doesn't make this tent anymore.
Zpacks Solplex Tent.jpg
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Last edited by Stanley Otter on Thu Dec 26, 2019 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Stanley Otter
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Re: TR: Washington PCT with Enhancements 6/22-8/8 2019

Post by Stanley Otter »

Harlen wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2019 8:38 pm Stanley Otter wrote:
... so I took the east site and did my best to ignore the idiot who howled a lot.
: :lol:

and later: ...
Then it was the small matter of a 3400’ descent to the Suiattle River — oh, my knees — who thought hauling sixteen pounds of food (again) was a good idea? Idiot. 18 miles.
:D


and finally (so far*) this:
Tried drying some stuff but clouds and fog rolled in after a few minutes.

... Fog enshrouded Red Pass in the morning. I believe I wept.
:D :D

Oh Stanley! I am only part way through this Stanlerian Epic, but you have me laughing out loud! I don't know why the suffering of others appeals to me so, but when I reached the part where you wept, I laughed till I too cried!

*I don't reckon you really wept- cursed quietly is more like it; but you have really got us hooked on your tale so far.... "They dropped me off at the Hannegan Pass Trailhead on June 22, which is now known as The Day The Weather Pattern Changed." I took a sneak preview of some of the later images, and they are really breath-taking! I called Lizzie over to see them, just as I have called her over to listen to your stories. We think you have penned an HST classic Stanley. Thanks a lot!

p.s. We are very happy to see that you got your share of good views in the end- AND BEARS!!!. Lizzie and Ian.
I am glad you are enjoying the tale. This forum is a great resource and a lot of fun. One of your adventures, Scouting the High Route, helped inspire my planned hike in the Great Western Divide last summer (the reality turned out differently and I didn't make it over Triple Divide Pass or Glacier Ridge -- TR forthcoming). I'd love to develop ski-touring skills someday. Anyway, now that my extended fam has cleared out of the house and returned from whence they came, I am pecking away at the final installment of this TR...
Roaring in my ears,
the mountain temple's silence.
Nobody else here!
-- Edith Schiffert
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Re: TR: Washington PCT with Enhancements 6/22-8/8 2019

Post by Stanley Otter »

The Final Stretch — William O. Douglas Wilderness, Goat Rocks Wilderness & Mt Adams Wilderness
August 3-8

August 3: I spent a fine sunny day hiking south through the gently rolling terrain in the William O. Douglas Wilderness. Many small lakes that would have been at home in northern Wisconsin (should Wisconsin have an actual wilderness area within its borders, which, alas, it does not). Stopped at the Kracker Barrel convenience store a half mile west of the PCT at White Pass for two beers and two slices of pizza and made some calls home. Finished with a hike up to Ginnette Lake on the boundary of Goat Rocks Wilderness. 19 miles.

August 4: Another glorious, sunshiny day, this time hiking along the ridges of the Goat Rocks Wilderness. First up was the long, sweeping path below the Hogback Mountain ridge to a point above Shoe Lake with views of Mt Rainier back to the north. Then a dip down into the woods to cross Tieton Pass before starting the 2000’ climb above McCall Basin and the ridge line to Old Snowy. Beautiful. Great views and some modest exposure and mushy snow fields. Made camp on the south slopes of Old Snowy with views of Mt Adams to the south. 18 miles.

August 5: Yet more sunshine for the Cispus Pass crossing before a deep dive into the long green tunnel for the rest of the day. Lots of mosquitoes. Actually listened to some music to pass the time, something I don’t normally do. Finished with a long gradual hike up the lower slopes of Mt Adams along a disturbingly straight former jeep road. Hot and sweaty — great chafing occurred. 26 miles.

August 6: Left the PCT at Muddy Meadows amid a great cloud of mosquitoes to connect with the Highline Trail. My plan was to hike around the east side of Mt Adams if not prohibited at the Yakama Indian Reservation boundary. Reports on whether or not this was allowed varied among those polled as I had made inquiries on my way south over the past weeks. There was consensus that camping in the established sites at Avalanche Valley and Sunrise was okay but not in the trail-less section between them. So I forded the icy runoff stream of Lyman Glacier and continued on trail to the reservation boundary where there were not any no trespassing signs as there had been back at Cispus Pass on the PCT. The trail gradually faded on the way to Avalanche Valley. After locating a safe spot to do so, I made one more frigid crossing of Little Muddy Creek which runs off from Wilson Glacier and then set up camp below Goat Butte with its curious little sedimentary formation that looks like it belongs in the desert southwest somewhere. Rusk Creek down in the valley was roaring, so I was a little concerned about finding a spot to cross in the morning. Clouds rolled in as the afternoon wore on. 12 miles.

August 7: Rusk Creek flow much diminished in the morning, but it still took some doing to find a spot to cross. I decided to cut across some small ridges of glacial till and contour around at about 6400’ rather than descend to 5800’ as recommended in some trail reports. The required shrub-wrestling at the small stream crossings slowed me down, but I eventually crossed over Battlement Ridge and emerged onto the large glacial ridge north of Big Muddy Creek with truly impressive views of the eastern aspect of Mt Adams. I followed this ridge up to the west and crossed rock covered ice and tributaries to Big Muddy Creek at roughly 7000’. Having sent my traction devices home several weeks ago, I was worried about climbing Klickitat Glacier to Sunrise Camp. There was a layer of snow in most places with an inch or two of soft snow on top. Slow going, no fewer than three points of contact at any time. Sunrise Camp is a moonscape. I never did find the cairned route that is supposed to exist down to Hellroaring Overlook (which had more of purgatorial atmosphere to it — the spring runoff must be spectacular, though). I did eventually pick up the Round the Mountain Trail and followed it to Cold Springs Campground which looked like it belonged in the sixth or seventh circle of hell — the area had burned and every single tree had been cut down. Oh, and there are no longer cold springs nor any other species of spring at Cold Springs Campground. Fortunately, a group of climbers shared a couple liters of water with me. I was just physically and mentally worn out and decided to make tomorrow my last day and start the Multi-Modal Transit Journey to Portland. 13 miles.

August 8: Plenty of water back up on the Round the Mountain Trail at Morrison Creek where some nice campsites exist — should have stayed high yesterday. I made my way around the southwestern slopes to Horseshoe Meadows and picked up the PCT once again. There are some good spots to leave the trail and climb higher on the next trip. ;) Ripe huckleberries in superabundant quantities lined the trail so the going was slow. A couple miles from the Forest Road 23 crossing I bumped into a gentleman finishing his lunch and we talked briefly of the joys of huckleberries and finishing long hikes. I scampered on down the trail, got to the road, changed into my most presentable attire, and prepared to wait for the scheduled shuttle to Trout Lake where I would hope to secure an Uber-style ride to White Salmon the next morning so I could catch the bus into Portland… My fellow huckleberry enthusiast appeared and offered to share his personal shuttle to PDX. Oh my, yes please. 14 miles.

I spent the next four nights at a Motel 6 in a room with a burnt out AC unit (not needed) and a malfunctioning toilet (needed). But I got a deep discount and with the savings I enhanced my extended stay in Portland with visits to the Japanese Garden, a Timbers match, a Thorns match, bookstores, coffee shops, and brewpubs. Ah, civilization!

I lost 30 pounds.

I carried a three ounce tube of sunscreen 701 miles and used it twice.

Dennis
01 Pipe Lake.jpg
02 Hogback Mountain.jpg
03 Climbing to Elk Pass.jpg
04 Old Snowy.jpg
05 Cispus Pass.jpg
06 Mt Adams.jpg
07 Mt Adams from north.jpg
08 Mt Adams from Avalanche .jpg
09 Mt Adams from east.jpg
10 Klickitat Glacier.jpg
11 Mt Adams from south.jpg
12 Mt Adams from west.jpg
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Harlen
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Re: TR: Washington PCT with Enhancements 6/22-8/8 2019

Post by Harlen »

Congratulations Stanley Otter,
What a great journey! I don't know what you're on about-- the Thorns, the Timbers ... the Thorny Timbers?-- some obscure part of the Japanese botanical garden? But it sounds like you were relaxing in Portland and having a good time.
Great views, and hiking around Mount Adams, eh?! Thanks for sharing your nice long trip with us.
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Re: TR: Washington PCT with Enhancements 6/22-8/8 2019

Post by Lumbergh21 »

Thanks for the trip report, though a bit more detail for the second hike, the urban brew hike, would have made it even better. :-)
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Re: TR: Washington PCT with Enhancements 6/22-8/8 2019

Post by Stanley Otter »

Harlen wrote: Mon Dec 30, 2019 11:37 pm Congratulations Stanley Otter,
What a great journey! I don't know what you're on about-- the Thorns, the Timbers ... the Thorny Timbers?-- some obscure part of the Japanese botanical garden? But it sounds like you were relaxing in Portland and having a good time.
Great views, and hiking around Mount Adams, eh?! Thanks for sharing your nice long trip with us.
Thanks! Yes, Mt Adams was superb. If I wasn't so worn down I would have liked to at least climbed up to the Lunch Counter (? I think that's the name of the staging area for the climbers is called up high on the south slopes). Next trip. I saw a lot of satisfied climbers sauntering into Cold Spring that last night. I assume you have been to Mt Adams?
Roaring in my ears,
the mountain temple's silence.
Nobody else here!
-- Edith Schiffert
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Re: TR: Washington PCT with Enhancements 6/22-8/8 2019

Post by Stanley Otter »

Lumbergh21 wrote: Tue Dec 31, 2019 6:42 pm Thanks for the trip report, though a bit more detail for the second hike, the urban brew hike, would have made it even better. :-)
Your wish, my command. ;) Here's at least a thousand words worth of imagery. This place was half a block from my motel room.
Hopworks Urban Brewery.jpg
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Re: TR: Washington PCT with Enhancements 6/22-8/8 2019

Post by Lumbergh21 »

Stanley Otter wrote: Wed Jan 01, 2020 1:22 pm
Lumbergh21 wrote: Tue Dec 31, 2019 6:42 pm Thanks for the trip report, though a bit more detail for the second hike, the urban brew hike, would have made it even better. :-)
Your wish, my command. ;) Here's at least a thousand words worth of imagery. This place was half a block from my motel room.
I went to HUB a few years ago when I was up in Portland. As a cyclist, I dig the decor. I went during happy hour and got some pretzel sticks with yummy dipping sauce for a great price one night then went again the next night and got some pulled pork sliders that were great. It was summer and they had a lemonade shandy that was really refreshing.
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Re: TR: Washington PCT with Enhancements 6/22-8/8 2019

Post by Stanley Otter »

Lumbergh21 wrote: Wed Jan 01, 2020 6:54 pm
Stanley Otter wrote: Wed Jan 01, 2020 1:22 pm
Lumbergh21 wrote: Tue Dec 31, 2019 6:42 pm Thanks for the trip report, though a bit more detail for the second hike, the urban brew hike, would have made it even better. :-)
Your wish, my command. ;) Here's at least a thousand words worth of imagery. This place was half a block from my motel room.
I went to HUB a few years ago when I was up in Portland. As a cyclist, I dig the decor. I went during happy hour and got some pretzel sticks with yummy dipping sauce for a great price one night then went again the next night and got some pulled pork sliders that were great. It was summer and they had a lemonade shandy that was really refreshing.
Have you ever done any bikepacking? I'm thinking about seeing what that's like on the Maah Daah Hey Trail in North Dakota, which is relatively nearby. Seems like a good way to see some country that isn't so amenable to backpacking due to distance between water sources and whatnot.
Roaring in my ears,
the mountain temple's silence.
Nobody else here!
-- Edith Schiffert
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