This is a trip I've been waiting for the right weather condition's to form for a while now. It's been aborted 5 times in the past. And so on July 30th, my journey finally began, at the NF Sauk trail. With in a few hundred yards of the trail head Glacier Peak Wilderness is entered. This trail winds it's way through a grove of enormous old growth Cedar, with little elevation gain for five miles to the historical Makinaw shelter....nothing more than a glorified lean to. Then climbs steeply to gain the PCT and White Pass. But my journey would not pass this point...just yet. At two miles there is the intersection of the NF Sauk, and Pilot ridge. A simple natural log crossing is used to cross the NF Sauk river. From the log crossing the Pilot ridge trail does not screw around gaining the ridge, climbing 3000 feet in 2.5 miles. Still..it's not done climbing. It simply follows the crest of the ridge, with no switch backs, with lots and lots of up and back down. Sometimes in forest, sometimes in high alpine meadows. My destination to camp for the night...Blue Lake ten miles in.
At some point...this guy with an enormous back pack, with a folding lawn chair, passed me like i was standing still....i doubt that was even an aluminum framed chair. If he can handle the weight...
i guess more power to him.
Unfortunately it was a really hot day. The few snow remaining snow patches along the trail were dirty, as they melted in the sun, the dry soil as fast as it could melt. 20/20 hind sight says i should have melted and filtered snow. Ironic how a ridge top in a temperate rain forest can be so in dry. When reached the lake shore i was dehydrated, and heat stressed. I drew some water for filtering, (gravity filter) and set my sights on the first appropriate trees to hang my hammock in the shade. I was only half aware it was just 10 feet from Law chair guy. I vaguely remember him asking..."your not going to camp there?!!" I mumbled something...then he asked "are you ok?" Again..i don't remember what i mumbled..but he left me be as my water filtered.
Noticing i was drifting off to sleep, in this guy camp site...i gathered my remaining energy and found some where else to set up camp.
Once set up...i took more than the recommended dose of ibuprofen, and some tums to kill the head ache and nausea and lots of water. Grabbed a bag of nuts....but i dozed off before opening the bag. I woke up two hours later..feeling better. It was no 6pm. I ate dinner. Then went back to sleep serenaded by Pikas, Marmots, and Crickets.....
Continued..........
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