Navigate around the old mass growth blows

This morning I slept a little at the site of my store at the top of the mountain. Last night it was a night late. So this morning I don’t think he was walking until around 5:30 am that he only felt late because he hoped about 40 miles per day, possibly in a difficult field. When I finally left my store, I could see the most incredible dawn from where they placed me. What a great way to start the day.

Because I was at the top of the mountain, I could start my day in the long and pleasant stretch of descent, which was a pleasant surprise. And the views continued to be rocky and beautiful most of the morning. Eventually I knew that after 5 or 6 miles I would fall in a wooded area. From there the fun would begin. I remember many spills and some rivers crosses. But don’t remember enough details to really understand what is coming for me. But if I could do it in 2022, I can definitely do it now.

What an incredible way to start the day.

The first two hours of the day were quite pleasant and there were very few trees. But as I approached the bottom of the descent, it began to get a little hard. Then I had to go through my first crossroads of the day. There were definitely some options to keep the feet dry. But if a trunk goes on a river and is covered with water or looks slippery or slippery, then I usually choose to enter the water. I imagine with some river crossings for the day that it is unlikely to keep my feet dry. So I committed the first and wet them immediately. Personally, I would prefer to have wet feet and then slide a trunk and wet all my body.

The path continued along this river for a while.

Among the crosses of the river there were tons of low trees. Some of them were really big and more difficult to navigate. Some were very easy to lift and more. Others involved climbing. Others had so many branches that only made it difficult to get up and around. And I knew that this will be the trend of inside and that was most of the day.

A catwalk crossed this river.

But the good thing was that for every few miles of difficult land that would have to do, it would be rewarded with a few miles of easier land. Although «easier» is definitely a relative terminology sometimes. When the path was not covered with low trees, it was often quite covered sometimes. The branches would still hit me next to you while you walked. And sometimes the path was also in a really steep angle, so he had to be careful not to slip and literally fall out of the way. In addition, there was a ton of erosion, probably whatever it is causing all these trees to fall.

This bridge broke to the middle. But I could still cross it, cautiously.

In general, it could definitely have been much worse. People have complained a lot on the Fide Out map about these conditions. But until now it seemed that they were a bit exaggerated. Even 100 low trees and some rivers crosses are definitely not the end of the world. You could be walking through conditions of paths that are significantly worse than that.

The forest section has been so brilliant and vibrant.

During the rest of the day, I also had a lot of elevation. The path would basically rise between 4 and 8 miles and then practically fall again. Usually, one side of the climb would be free of low trees, and most of the time the descent to the north would be covered with spills. However, I prefer to navigate the exploration when I go downhill instead of uphill. The increases north often had most of the excessive growth or portions where the path was really narrow and inclined too.

Above one of the mountain passes.

To things considered, I was surprised that the moment still happened quite quickly. And he had gone at least 20 miles early in the afternoon. It definitely seemed that I could still get about 40 miles for the day. It will simply be a little longer and more exhausting day than typical.

Making the final thrust to the top of a pass.

Towards the average end of the day, I had a massive climb to do. Then, once I got on the top, I was open and expansive. The path was rocky and reminded me much of the area that surrounds the mountain steps in the Sierra. It was absolutely beautiful. In fact, I had to climb and more at least one mountain pass today, which was wonderful. You simply cannot overcome those 360 ​​° open views that you get at the top of the mountain or the mountain pass. In addition, today’s weather was really perfect.

After growing above, I took a short break. The place was perfect! Then I started my descent.

When I left there I had a great descent. Fortunately, the surrounding path was covered with blueberries, so I stayed with my time collecting them as often as I could. And at this time, I was quite sure that I would arrive at the camp before dusk. Even making a bigger day! Very soon I would fall for the Milk Creek area. When you go north, 20 or some miles before Milk Creek are where most river crossings and spills are. But then, when you finally fall for Milk Creek, that is where the greatest blows of ancient growth are. They were actually exactly the same as in 2022.

I am obsessed with this flavor!

Because the path is going through the area of ​​nature throughout this section, I do not believe that the maintenance of the path can wear chainsaws. In general, you cannot use chainsaws in wild areas. And these types of spills were so incredibly huge that there is no way to get rid of them in another way. We are talking about some of the tree trunks had 6 or 7 feet wide. You had to go up and around them. Or a moment below or down the path and collect in a different change. But there is no way to get the trees out of there.

The path passed to this beautiful lake.

When I was downhill towards Milk Creek, I definitely remembered this section vividly. But I honestly prefer that type of explosions. It was a little more annoying earlier in the day when I walked along the narrow crest and would find a descending tree. Because it’s not as if you could get out of the way and get off and around him. Below the Milk Creek area was pleasant and flat, so it was easy to leave and around the trees.

I had to walk with this huge knocked tree.

And after having reached the top of that last climb of the day, the rest of the day was basically everything downhill. Apart from a climb of 100 or 200 feet and some flat sections of the path. So it is good to know that I had about four miles easy to do. Apart from all the farms that would have to navigate.

After one last time, everything went downhill for the rest of the day. That was a relief.

However, after climbing so much for the day, it was pleasant to be able to relax a little. I think I had already made about 7000 feet of elevation gain for the day. And yesterday during my more than 40 miles all day, I think I made about 9500 feet of elevation gain. Washington is definitely not a joke.

When I only had about 6 miles for the day I started clicking on some icons to look for the next water sources. And I saw one of the best comments in which I had put my eyes. Someone had basically commented exactly where he was standing and wrote «The path is really ordered during the next 6 miles.» That was music for my ears. I literally had 6 miles for the day and now I have to enjoy those last two hours. The idea of ​​walking along a quiet path without obstacles sounded incredible.

It also ended up being a very pleasant ending for the day. The path was absolutely beautiful and seemed pristine compared to what he had been doing before. I listened to music and I could relax and distract everything. He felt good really relax a little. Especially because I had no more climb to do for the day.

I ended up drinking water when I was a couple of miles from the camp at night. Then I was pushing a large tent site, which was right at the base of the next great climb. In the morning, it would have almost 9 miles of escalation continues to reach the top of that next mountain pass. But that would be the biggest climb I had for the day. It seemed a good idea to get to the base to prepare for the morning.

It is crazy how great some of these low trees are.

During the day, I had barely seen anyone. There was a hiker in the afternoon that seemed to be a PCT hiker. Then I saw some section hikers in the opposite direction. And early in the afternoon, I saw two other hikers who could have been hikers. But mostly, I really didn’t see anyone. Then, when the day arrived later and later, and I started looking for tent sites, suddenly there were people everywhere.

I was quite nervous when I got to my planned camp and I saw five or six established tents. But surprisingly the place was absolutely huge and there were still many really good places available. They were after 9 pm, so I definitely felt bad when I entered the area of ​​another person’s store and locate myself. Fortunately it was at a quite good distance away, but it was still very close. However, there were no other marked sites before the next promotion began. And I was almost 40 miles on a very long day.

I placed myself during the night as silently as I could. Once again, my water really boiled while configuring my store. That way, by the time everything was configured, my dehydrated mountain house meal was already cooked and ready to work. I don’t know why I don’t do that more often. Then I felt comfortable and settled in my store to spend the night. I had the beef of the mountain house, which is one of my favorites. Then I lay in my store and did a little work before calling her at night.

Because today I made such a big day, I really prepared for tomorrow. Originally, I was thinking that I would take the 6:15 pm bus to the city of Stehekin. That would be good and would probably allow me to reach the store before it closed. But the bakery in the city would be closed until morning. And I couldn’t get another transport service from the city until around 9 am the next day.

This river was so dark with silt! But he looked really great.

But, since I went so far today, I opened another possibility for me. If I start super early tomorrow morning, then there is a good possibility of being able to transport the 3:15 pm. I would require walking around 4 in the morning, but it seems worth it. Because then I could enter the bakery before they close. I am planning to basically do my refueling to the border with bakery food. It is that or food too expensive from the general store. And one of those two options will be much more satisfactory.

If I got the 3:15 pm bus, I would also have the opportunity to go to the city and take everything I needed. But it is very likely that the ferry can continue around 6 pm. That means that maybe I could even go a few more miles for the day. But more important than anything, it meant that I would not have to wait for the transport service of the 9 am the next day. When I am on the way, I usually walk at some point around 5–6 AM, therefore, it would be a real annoyance to lose the first four hours of my hiking day just because I had to stay in the city. Honestly, it seems to me that it is worth having a very early start tomorrow just to make that bus.

If you enjoy this blog and you would like to support my walk by buying a soda or a refrigerium on the road, there is a «advice button» below! It is linked directly to my venmo. All support is incredibly appreciated!