GOAT ROCK WILDERNESS CONTINUED

​​PCT Day 133: Mile 2275.8 – Mile 2295.2

Wednesday August 24, 2016: 19.4 miles (31.4km)

I awoke to the sound of a flapping rainfly. I have not used the fly on the tent much recently but last night, being that I was at almost 7,000 ft in elevation, I thought it may be worthwhile. The sunset last night and the sunrise were stunning but the phone camera struggled to capture the full effect.

The trail continued as it left off last night as a ridge walk with a steep drop off on each side and on the ground was ball bearing size rocks which mean your foot would occasionally slide and scare the daylights out of you. At one stage I looked down and could see some tents way down in the valley below not realising that was where I was heading. It was quite a technical descent down to a creek and the campsite I was aiming for last night.

 In the valley it is the tail end of the wildflowers, with most past their prime but the overall colour patterns are still quite impressive.

It was then uphill through the forest to emerge overlooking a turquoise lake. I had a chat with a trail runner who wants to come to Australia to watch some rugby.

There were several glimpses of Mount Rainer and some open valleys but most of the trail was in the forest until I came to Highway 40 and a half mile up the road was the Kracker Barrel Store which had my resupply package and other treats. 

I spent about 4 hours at the Kracker Barrel Store eating, recharging electrical devices and catching up on emails. About 6pm I realized that it was time to make a move or I would continue eating till I burst. So shouldering a heavy pack with 5 days of food, I set off down the road and then up the hill when back on trail. This area has a great horse camp near the road and as such this section of the trail is the most heavily used that I have observed so far. I am camped near a small lake and I can hear horses on the other side of the lake.

It is about 96 miles to Snoqualmie Pass and so I hope to put a dent into those miles tomorrow. People keep telling me how good the North Cascades are but the Goat Rock Wilderness will be hard to beat.