Day 1 - Linda dropped me off at Rainy Pass (4855 feet) off the North Cascade Highway at 1:20 PM Friday August 4, 2000. Lifting the 41 pound pack, I headed south on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) on a beautiful sunny day. earlier we stopped at Marblemount Ranger Station and received little information on the PCT. They did want me to get a back-country use permit for the first night which I did for six mile camp. Played leap frog with a family of 4 girls and a guy up until arriving at six mile camp. They had descended part way to the camp but were overcome with nettles. They recommended I put on long pants which I did before heading down. Met one other group of a Mom and daughter who were coming out.
Arrived at six mile camp at 4:20 and found a generous portion of flies. Also found my fountain pen was leaking quite badly. Used my stoves specially provided poker to clean the stove port. Cooked a whole package of macaroni and cheese for dinner. Wore long pans and lotion for bug protection and listened to thunder all evening but had no rain. Camped alone. Slept 1.5 hours on a side as I did all throughout the hike. Then turned over and slept for another 1.5 hours. My 3 pound bag is very warm. Listed to a mystery theater about a private eye called Diamond.
Day 2 - Aug. 5 Broke camp at 6:40 AM after a breakfast of granola. At 8:30 arrived at the North Fork Trail to Grizzly Creek (3). Met 2 guys with about 8 horses going to pick up a group. While resting there 3 gals and also a couple in their 40's came up the North Fork Trail. At 10:00 saw smoke on the next ridge and could smell the smoke probably from a forest fire. Fortunately I never saw or smelled smoke again. At 10:30 I had lunch at Bridge Creek Group Campground with a picnic table and water from the creek. This campground is near Stehekin Landing which is at the north end of Lake Chelan and which you can get to only by boat or hiking. Shared the table with another group of about 6 people my age. Suspected they were doctors and nurses. Moved on down the trail passed Coon Lake, which seemed lowland looking to me and continued to High Bridge Campground (2:34). Went down the steep bank trail and washed my feet in the Stehekin River. Felt like it was 90 degrees out. Also got water and read my book, Will Henry's From Where the Sun Now Stands, for several hours, in the shade. Set up camp at that campground and spent the night with 9 boy scouts of some sort in the one other campsite. Had a picnic table! Spoke with one of the adult leaders who thought the PCT trail head from the north was just up the road several hundred feet. I pointed out I came from the north and the trail head was across the bridge. Bathed thoroughly in the river, later that evening after scouts turned in.
Day 3 - Aug. 6, 6:15 AM broke camp and found the trail head we spoke of the night before. Saw the words Angnes Creek Trail and Pacific Crest Trail on sign and was feeling strong and ambitious so took off up trail. At 7:30 ran out of trail at an old cable car which had been used to cross the gulch of roaring Agnes Creek. Searched all over but trail just stopped! Hiked back out the 2.5 miles and found sign to say Agnes Creek Trail - Trail end 2.5 miles - Pacific Crest Trail with a small arrow pointing down the road! Hiked down the road 200 yards and found the PCT heading up the other side of Agnes Creek! On the wrong trail I heard a great crashing through the woods but looked down trail. Later decided the crashing was up trail. Just prior to that I saw bear droppings indicating a great huckleberry harvest and saw a large bear print so suspect the crashing was a bear leaving the area. Also found a $1 bill on the trail.
Once again Started from High Bridge Campground this time on the correct trail. (So what is 5 extra miles out of 120 miles?) Arrived at 5 mile camp at 12:30 and noticed lots of flies again. Great day! Use soap and washed body and hair in creek. Enjoyed a massive meat and cheese sandwich as I did not think the meat would last another day in the heat. Feet are sore but no blisters so felt I may have to spend the day there. Also had a sore crotch due to heat and walking. Read my book and laid in the sun by the creek relaxing. After several hours recovered enough to go on and hiked to probably Spruce Creek Camp arriving at 6:41 PM. Alone again. This afternoon I was past by a fit hiker who mentioned he was from Main. He said his basic pack weighed 8 pounds but he was caring 31 pounds at the moment since friends had sent cookies and he had just re-supplied. He had completed the trail from Mexico to Canada and now was heading south again. He wanted to be the first to complete the PCT both directions in one year! Later I learned he was a legend on the trail. He also showed me a 3 inch circle of missing skin on his hip which he received when he fell. It was so ugly I had to turn my head but he said he thought it was healing nicely. He said he walks 25 miles a day. I cooked rice, with dried meat, dried green beans and gravy all mixed in one titanium pot. Let stand for 20 minutes to cool before I ate the mix, which was very good. 9 PM turned dark. Slept well. Was cooler than night before, actually needed sleeping bag. Camp was open and nice with water.
Day 4 - Aug. 7 Broke camp at 6:47 AM after granola and milk. At 9:05 was at junction of PCT and South Fork Agnes Trail. Went through lots of dew and wet brush. Brush seams really overgrown for a trail of the stature of the PCT. Almost to the point of loosing the trail. Hiking in shorts so am cool, but I know it will be very warm in the afternoon. 11:45 Enjoyed lunch with the flies in a beautiful meadow. Crossed over Suattle Pass. Met two guys who were the first since yesterday afternoon. Then met a father and son by the next trail head. 2:30 am at junction of trail to Cloudy Pass and Stehekin. Continued on to Suattle Pass. At 4:26 saw Glacier Peak. 5:30 arrived at Miners Creek Camp which is in the lowlands again. This evening popped two blisters on my defective big toe and adjacent toe. Think maybe a rolled over sock did not help the blisters. I am finding using two socks with the thin wicking one inside is not helping the blisters. Will go to one reasonably thick sock for awhile. Flies here also. Fixed spaghetti, with white sauce, dry meat and dry peas for dinner. Went down easy. 8:25 PM to tent. Cutters mosquito lotion only works for 1/2 hour. Had 1/2 of pudding mix. At 11:40 PM 3 flashlight hikers came through camp. Finally saw me and slept somewhere else.
Day 5 Aug. 8 - At breakfast a black guy came by. He camped down the trail a short ways last night. Broke camp 6:45 AM after 2 instant oatmeal packages. 7:00 AM hit trail junction of Suattle Pass - Buck Creek Pass - Suattle River - Miners Camp. 8:35 reached Suattle trail 784. Took PCT which is upper Suatle 798. Found a water purifier by stream. Left for someone else. Passed a guy and a gal with a dog. 10:00 met two guys camping. 2:30 met a guy and gal who started from Mount Adams on Jul. 26 Th. 2:47 finished lunch with feet cooling. Passed 2 brothers from California who were hiking 25 miles a day with 30 pound packs. 4 PM made nice wash pool in ice melt stream and washed hair and whole body. Felt good and was really needed. This was at Dolly Vista Camp. laid in sunshine by pool and on meadow until 6 PM. Finished my book. Hesitate to go on as it seems as if the altitude has me winded. This is a beautiful spot with meadow snow rock and creek. The trail has patches of snow. At 8 PM the mosquitoes came out and drove me to the bug protection portion of my tent. I did not even set up the rain-fly most nights. I studied maps and read. Listened to Portland news on AM 1090. Got up once to relieve myself and shivered me timbers. I am warm in the bag but quickly cold outside.
Day 6 Aug. 9 - Broke camp at 6:30 AM after a burnt pancake with real maple syrup. One lone hiker came by while I had breakfast but I was too far off the trail to have a conversation. Passed a couple in there 40's who started at the Columbia River and are hiking to Canada for the second time. Last time it was cloudy. She was raving about the scenery. They are from San Diego and have hiked the whole trail. They were dressed in full very light rain gear to keep the dew from soaking them. I was in shorts and let myself get wet. Was not cold hiking. At 8:47 AM came to the Milk Creek Trail 790. 11:30 AM relaxed and had lunch at Mica Lake which is 90% frozen! 1:30 PM reached Fire Creek Pass and am winded. Crossed some soft snow-fields. Took tip off walking stick to help in snow. Worked well. Relaxed on pass and laid in sunshine. Noticed 3 people and a dog were ahead of me. On the ridge after Fire Creek Pass saw Glacier peak. Found bugs are back so washed again quickly. Passed 2 young guys from Snoqualmie Pass. They said the trail is very passable that way. 5 PM found campsite 2 miles past Fire Creek Pass. My feet are tired! I am beginning to talk to myself. I see clouds for essentially the first time. Added a shirt. Was a beautiful day. Enjoyed spaghetti with peas and vegi mix, meat and a pasta sauce (carbonara) all mixed into one pot. Sun went down at 8 PM and immediately got cold so went to bed. Popped two small blisters. No big tree to hang up pack so placed on big rock. Another nice cairn with snow. Feels good to let my feet and muscles relax. I am reading a Mystery Digest. So far one mystery was good and the other was not. Fell asleep with shirt on and got way too hot, almost nauseous. Radio came in well and listen for some time. Some good Canadian stations.
Day 7 Aug. 10 - 6 AM noticed clouds rolled in. Frost on the pumpkin this morning. Could see Glacier Peak from trail. 9:02 AM was at the junction of Kennedy Hot Springs, White Chuck Road. The sign for the PCT show's Fire Creek Pass to the north and Red Pass to the south. 9:30 AM had to cross an 8 inch log with no flat spot on top across Kennedy Creek which was running like a river. Was uncomfortable but made it fine. I new close by were the dad with two sons and the dog I had seen the other day. Spoke with them and they were trying to decide if they should hike out at Kennedy hot springs or go on to Stevens Pass. Carried a mosquito net across the creek for them which they seemed to appreciate. Met two women in there 40's who started at Stevens Pass and are headed to Canada. 10:14 AM reached the trail to White Chuck 643. Passed a troop of about 9 boy's with one adult and also in meadow near top of Red Pass passed 3 guy's reading books while sitting on large rocks. Then passed to 60 year old guys hiking from Stevens to Stehekin. A day hiker from a base camp joined me on top of Red Pass while I was resting and enjoying the best view of the hike. Lots of pictures. Experienced soft snow on way up and noticing quite an undercut on the edge of one snow field I kept back from the edge and reached out with my walking stick and poked it in the snow to determine strength and boom. Down I went the last 3 feet caved in and I fell 3 feet down as the snow caved in. Fell enough to get snow in my glasses but no other problems. It is now safe for the next guy. The cool down felt good! 3:40 PM sitten on top of Red Pass, shoes and socks off, wearing shorts not totally exhausted. Rested an hour or so then headed down the trail which is through meadow and saw a hawk soaring round and round on a updraft never working his wings. He was looking for small critters in the meadow I am sure. The meadow was so steep when he circled over my head I was not comfortable enough to follow with my eyes for fear of falling over. Walked on through White Pass. Met a guy and gal on a local loop. Passed Reflection pond with 2 people camping there. 6:11 PM passed White River Trail 1507. 7 PM pulled into Indian Pass and saw Indian Creek Trail 1502. Rested and read book then found a campsite. Used the water filter on whole trip. Here there was a minor trickle of water 100 yards from camp. Coming in saw large animal maybe an Elk in field. More light brown than red brown like a deer. By far the prettiest part of the hike was today. It was nice until 5:30 PM then clouds began appearing. I knew today was going to be the best day weather wise so pushed a little farther than normal. Also I pushed farther because I had trouble locating a good campsite. At 8:40 PM there is a solid cloud cover. Almost dark out so crawled in tent. Feels good to get shoes off!!! Cooler out so have two shirts and sweatshirt on and am comfortable. Throughout the hike I have not taken any food to bed which has not been a problem for me.
Day 8 Aug. 11 - Slept well, seemed warmer last night. The wind is blowing in the clouds and hear dew drops falling from the trees as the wind blows. Radio reception is poor but finally receive KOMO well enough to get a weather report. Says the clouds will lift in Seattle latter in the afternoon. Hope they lift here earlier. Would hike but could not see anything. Just reading and sleeping as I am warm and dry. Finally at 10 AM the few more dew drops and the sun is trying to break through. Malt-O-meal for breakfast. 11 AM broke camp. Passed single 30 year old gal and here dog as I left Indian Pass. Found the heather was dry even though the trees at camp were collecting dew. 11:52 AM entered Henry Jackson Wilderness. Passed a couple in their late 50's who started at Crater Lake and are doing portions of the PCT. They are from Northern BC. 12:15 AM passed trail to Little Wenatchee road. !:50 PM arrived at lake Sallyann. Strange how different it looks as opposed to how I remember the lake. Nice mountain lake. Cooler today with no bugs. Passed a group of 3 guys then 2 guys. 4 PM am at Cady Pass and Cady Creek trail 1501. Passed a single 55 year old guy. He claimed the John Muir trail out of Yosemite is prettier even than this trail. He started that hike July 15. Then passed 2 young guys looking for Scott. They said Scott was a legend on the trail. 6:15 PM camped in a meadow with snow about 2 miles North of Pear Lake. Bumpy site but good water. Had 3 pancakes with real maple syrup for dinner and cocoa. The titanium pot does not work well for pancakes. One new blister so small I will forget about it. Cool all day with few bugs. Noticed I have a slight cold. Left knee had slight hitch for an hour or so but fine now. Also my right upper ankle is slightly sore and swollen.
Day 9 Aug. 12 - 6:16 AM slept well. Malt-O-meal for breakfast. Listened to KIRO for forecast and news. Broke camp 7:08 AM. 7:40 Right hip hurts, will not loosen up so took some Daypro. Still able to see Glacier Peak. Snow is frozen hard but I am warm. 9:40 AM at Meadow Creek trail 1057 and Pear Lake. Hip still hurts. 12:36 PM on ridge south of Pear Lake. Walking in short spurts and then resting hip. 4 PM Still not at Janus Lake and moving slowly due to hip. Found private place to wash sweat off and feel better. Having lunch sandwich. 5 PM finally at Janus Lake and grateful to have made it! At least 5 other groups here. Camped near horse camp, no horses or sign of them. Potato dinner. 7:30 PM crawled into tent with no rain fly. Need to rest hip. Read and listened to radio. Slept poorly due to hip. Really hurt.
Day 10 Aug. 13 - Had granola and broke camp about 6:30 AM. 8:13 AM at Smith Brook Trail 1590. Moving 1/2 mile and resting hip. 9 AM reached Valhalla Lake and spoke with single hiker who was 46 and just quit a Microsoft job after 7 years. He mentioned a Trailways bus that comes at 2 PM at Stevens Pass. We had a good talk. I reached Stevens Pass at Noon. Called home and said hi. This same guy also reached the pass 10 minutes after me. He phoned home and then tried to hitch hike to Seattle while I read. At 2:25 PM after we had almost given up the bus came but the driver indicated he only had room for one! The guy insisted I be the one since I had father to go and would not flip for the ride. Finally I told the driver I would sit in the aisle which he agreed to. We ended up that I got a seat to Gold Bar and then got the floor until a seat opened at Monroe. The bus for $20 took us to Everett and then to downtown Seattle. I walked to a free buss and got a lift to the ferry ramp on 1 St. Caught a Mariners game ferry and met Al Gertus and Conrad Green with their wives on the ferry. Linda met me at the ferry and we arrived home at 6:30 PM.
Climbed 14,000 feet and descended a total of 14,000 feet. Lost 10 pounds. The pack weighed 41 pounds at the start and 30 pounds at the end. I carried a container of spring water for the whole trip and never broke the seal.
Jim