Ingrid on the PCT: Washington Section E: The Dinsmores / Stevens Pass to Stehekin (September 9-17, 2012)

Inside the Baring Store.

Second breakfast - literally. I ate two breakfasts that morning.

Lots of hikers hanging out at the Dinsmores

Stevens Pass

At the Stevens Pass trailhead, in my new jacket
from REI (with reflective zipper lining)

The weather wasn't too great. It was cold and overcast.

Lake Valhalla

The guide book had promised me a "waterfall".
This is what I got.

Don't ask.

View from my tent vestibule. In the evening, it started
to rain, and continued to do so during the night.

Lake Janus, the next morning

I knew from the forecast that the bad weather was not supposed to last. So
every time it stopped raining, I thought, "Surely now it will be getting better!"
Instead, it turned to this. Snow!!! On September 10th!

When I had left Seattle two days earlier, it was 86 °F. Now it was snowing on me.

Glasses Lake

Occasionally, there were breaks in the clouds.

A hiker I met on this part of the trail admired my "rain skirt". I was flattered.
It's not every day that you receive compliments for walking around in a trash bag!

Rainbow

Occasionally you would get a glimpse of how spectacular
the scenery would have been, save for the clouds.

The clouds were also pretty interesting in and by themselves.

The reason I look so happy in this picture is that it had been an icy night -
but I was still warm and comfortable! (Good thing I got those warmer clothes.)

Even yesterday's rain drops were frozen solid.

See?

Up on the ridges, it quickly became a beautiful day.

Spectacular mountains in the distance

... and right ahead! (With fresh snow on them, too.)

I would not have noticed this grouse at all if it had not started
frantically making noises just as I walked by under its rock.

Yes, you!

Lake Sally Ann

Drying out my things in the sunshine

Indian Pass

Lunch at Indian Pass

Shortly before White Pass

Sunset

During the night, the wind shifted direction and started
to blow in smoke from the forest fires to the east.

It was noticeably hazier than the day before.

Between White Pass and Red Pass

Looking southwest from Red Pass

View to the northeast from Red Pass

Another marmot

The valley beyond Red Pass

Walking towards Glacier Peak

Glacier Peak

Kennedy Creek bridge. One of the commentators in my guide book
called this a "bridge of modern design". Not sure if that was ironic?!

Eroded riverbanks

On the bridge

Glacier Peak again

Glacier Creek

Approaching Fire Creek Pass, looking back southwest

Fire Creek Pass

View to the northeast

View to the southwest

I actually started crying up on Fire Creek Pass because it was
just so insanely beautiful. Everywhere you looked, you were
surrounded by beauty.

Because of all the smoke in the air, it was another pretty hazy day.

The peace and quiet of the wilderness were somewhat
marred by two fighter jets barelling through. :-(

Looking back at Glacier Peak

Milk Creek and beyond. It was an intimidating view, knowing that you would
have to descend into and then climb back out of all these valleys. (You could
even see the switchbacks coming out of Milk Creek.)

Mica Lake

That rock had not always been there. It was sitting right on top of the trail!

Washed out trail on the descent to Milk Creek. It was so steep somebody
had fastened a rope on the other side to hold on to.

Climbing out of Milk Creek wasn't much fun. Two hours of switchbacks
on a badly overgrown trail, most of it in the afternoon sun.

I finally made it to the top of the ridge.

Glacier Peak, once again... (This time from the north.)

Marmot, slightly confused by a whistling PCT hiker
(I love whistling back at marmots. They never fail to look confused.)

Ridge above the Dolly Vista campsite, looking northeast

Evening clouds at Dolly Vista. It was one of the most beautiful
camp spots on the entire trail. We even had a campfire!

The next morning. Yup, that's the moon up there!

Break of day

Cultural confusion #375: Apparently Americans use a moon where Germans
have a little heart... (I had been wondering what all these strange signs were.)

Self-portrait with freshly washed hair. Because of the cold front coming through,
I had not been able to wash my hair for five days. (Try sticking your head into a
bucket of icy water when the weather is cold.) So when I woke up to find the
air surprisingly warm again that morning, I jumped at the chance to clean up.
It felt soooooooo good!

I met a friendly pair of section hikers who took this picture of me.

Descending to Vista Creek

Junction to the new Suiattle River bridge. (The old trail had been blocked
off, and somebody had added "No Log Xing" penciled onto the sign.)

The new bridge across the Suiattle River. Five more miles of trail, but
(at least for me) it's worth it not having to cross a raging river on a fallen log.

Lunch break on the bridge

Back at the Suiattle River

One last look back at Glacier Peak

South Fork Agnes Creek valley, from Suiattle Pass

The rangers at Stehekin later told me that this was a pine marten.

On the way to Stehekin

The Stehekin River at High Bridge

Lake Chelan

Saying goodbye to Late Start and Second Chance

Fearless deer walking around Stehekin

NPS ranger giving a talk on pika: "After all, the world needs some cuteness!"

Stehekin landing

Looking north on Lake Chelan

Hand Poet at the Stehekin post office. The whole building
was crammed full of hiker boxes - hundreds of them!

I signed Train's first & last wedding dress!
He was a super-nice guy.

I went kayaking on Lake Chelan. It was slightly intimidating
to be out all alone on such a large lake, in such a small boat.

Native American rock pictographs

The ranger had told me to "just kayak across the lake and
look for some white rocks." Amazingly, these directions
were enough for me to find the pictographs.