Start – Brush Creek
Finish – nr Porcupine Creek
Daily Distance – 23 km
Ascent – 1100 m
Descent – 530 m
Well that was a corker! Also very tiring as I am far from “trail fit” yet, and the sun has been pretty unrelenting.
Despite my lack of physical conditioning, the views this afternoon were everything I had hoped for. One can really feel the remoteness here. People are few, the landscapes big and not a car to be heard. Other than people sporting hiking poles and ultralight rucksacks, rather than wagons and pack mules, Washington really reminds me of landscapes from frontier westerns. The mud is baked to dust, which plumes up with the slightest disturbance and coats socks and legs as quickly as I can wash it off. Hills, streams, and forests here show no signs of every having been tamed for human use. It is authentic even down to the swarms of flies which constantly buzz around my head and chipmunks scurrying back into their holes with my approach. All very different to the civilisation of Europe’s tamed landscapes.
The only surprise has really been the heat. Some vistas I scurried past today on account of them having no shade. While the scenery today was never less than beautiful, my world did shrink to the concerns of shade and water before the end. Fortunately the Farout navigation app has many useful comments to help locating water sources, but things change and streams that were flowing a few weeks ago can now be dry. It wouldn’t be such an issue, but I have been struggling to stay hydrated so far. There is only so much water I can drink, although my ability to sweat during even the gentlest of exercise is unparalleled.
Tonight I camp again with Tony who was with me in the car from Bellingham. Despite being 75 we seem to be keeping much the same schedule. Rather galling to be perfectly honest
I see what you mean – it is like walking in a movie set. Not so keen on the flies though.
I hope everything goes well with locating water supplies. The heat sounds horrendous.
The trail look well worn, but th eclear sky looks very hot. Don’t under estimate the old folks, I see them all the time here seeming to gallop up hills. Tortoise and hare.