11.1 miles
From trail camp (mile 2287.4, elev 4921)
Towards White Pass (mile 2298.1, elevation 4410)
Climbing 1954
Descend 2398
My plan for the day was to hike about 10 miles to White Pass, pick up my resupply box, and then start figuring out how to get around the upcoming fire closure.
The hike to White Pass was relatively easy. But it also seemed to last a lot longer than I thought it should. That’s not because the road was too hard. It wasn’t. But mentally I felt like I should get there very quickly. I also think it felt longer because the maps showed the last few miles were near or through a ski area, but the trail didn’t actually go through the ski area. Instead, the trail went behind and around the ski resort. So while my mind was hoping to walk between the lifts, like it did at Sugar Bowl near Lake Tahoe, I never got there, leaving me feeling like I must be much further away.
This rock on the other side of the trail was nice enough to have other rocks embedded in it to act as steps.
Looking towards Goat Rocks
Smoke from the Wildcat Fire in the distance
rainy mountain
A lake just before starting the descent towards Hwy 12 / White Pass
I finally reached Highway 12. Since the Kracker Barrel store was only half a mile up the road, I didn’t even bother trying to hitchhike. I just walked there. When I arrived I was amazed. It looked like a hiker’s party. I think I counted about 13 hikers. Over the last month, I never found more than 5, and that was pretty uncommon. But everyone was showering, dealing with resupply, and trying to figure out how to navigate the next section of the trail, which was closed due to an active wildfire.
AKA, Mirthful, Firefly, Hopper and Showgirl were all there. It didn’t look like anyone was going to find transportation out that day, so it turned into the most social hiker gathering I’d been to in months. After showering, collecting my resupply box, and eating, I took out my guitar that night. It was nice to have Showgirl actually play it. My resupply box had more than I expected. I managed to get most of the stuff into my Ursack, but I left a few things in the hiker’s box.
The camping area is a flat area behind the Kracker Barrel. I counted 8 tents there overnight.
Showgirl, AKA and Hopper in the hiker area behind Kracker Barrel
Hiker area behind Kracker Barrel
Showgirl, playing my guitar that night
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