Day 157 – Mile 2466.9 – 2491.9
Posted in : PCT blog on by : Nick
Stevens Pass to Pass Creek
Miles to go: 163.3
Canada: 2655.2
I was hoping for better weather today than yesterday, but if anything it was probably worse.
I left the comfortable lodge with its open fire, sofas & drying room at about 9ish. It wasn’t raining as I left but I expected most of the very little rain forecast to be in the morning, leaving me to dry out during the afternoon before camping. There wasn’t a big climb from Stevens Pass which was a pleasant surprise. The light rain probably began at 10am and was on & off until about 2pm.
After I had hiked 15miles to the top of ‘Grizzly Peak’ (5,579ft) I stopped for some lunch just after the top and then set myself a target of another 10miles for the day with only really 1 more big climb. It was during that climb there was a brief but intense hail storm, not fun, then the hail stopped and minutes later snow began to fall as I neared the top. This was a total nightmare, the trail was already slippery from all the rain but now snow was settling making it even worse. My hands and feet were freezing but I kept a high pace to keep the rest of me as warm as possible.
After the climb, the long descent to my camp spot. All the snow & rain eventually stopped but too late in the day for any ‘drying’ to take place. This was one of the toughest days on trail, hoping for better weather tomorrow.
Water filtered: 491.0 litres
PCT Miles hiked today: 25.0
Nights under canvas current streak: 1
Max streak: 18
Total nights under canvas: 116
Total nights in a building: 41
Lake swims: 1
Showers: 36
Trail Magic: 19
Thought for the day: “Make wise choices” – Scout & Frodo