Snoqualmie to Bushcamp
29.6 miles
SoBo mile 289.1
Total mileage 2941.7
I ended up sleeping in longer than I’d meant, but I suppose I needed it. Around 6 I got myself together and retrieved the backpack I’d left with the front desk on my way north when I’d received my new pack. It was stuffed with extra food from the resupply box I’d sent that I hadn’t needed for my northbound journey.
After organizing my food for the next section of trail, Airborne and I picked up the room before heading down the hall to The Pancake House attached to the hotel. On the way I left my old pack in the care of the front desk once again. I’d coordinated with my buddy Swift to have him swing down from Seattle to pick it up and mail it home for me.
Seated at the restaurant Airborne and I both ordered the veggie omelette with bacon, the same thing I’d ordered when I was there a few weeks back. It was just as scrumptious as I remembered.
After paying the bill we headed down the street towards the trail.
By 9 we were making our way up past the ski lifts into the cool gloomy morning. We needed to hike 245 miles in the next 7 days to reach Cascade Locks on Saturday in time for PCT Days. That meant we needed to average 35 miles daily over the next week…challenge accepted!
While hiking I played with the new mini InReach unit my mom had hooked me up with as an early birthday present. Thanks mom! The phone app allows me to interphase with the unit via Bluetooth, so the messaging and map features were pretty slick.
A few hours in we passed Mirror Lake before descending into the valley below.
The clouds persisted throughout the day, making it the perfect hiking temperature.
I ran into Snowman and Critter, two hikers I’d befriended early on, but hadn’t seen in months. Everyday I run into old friends, adding a new element of fun to my southbound journey.
By 7 I arrived at the campground Airborne and I had agreed on. After setting up camp, I dug into a dinner of protein bars, sausage links, trail mix and chocolate. Yum.
Cheers!