Start – nr Meadow Creek (1130 m)
Finish – Dirt road at Tacoma Pass (1055 m)
Daily Distance – 28 km
Ascent – 1150 m
Descent – 1230 m
When a tap is available, it seems inconceivable that my camping spots for today and tomorrow should be chosen for their proximity to the very infrequent water sources in this area. The last water was available from a spring (which smelled faintly of cow) some 2.5 hours walk ago. The next is perhaps 30 minutes away, although with no good camp spot next to it, whereafter there is nothing for some 20km. Hence, I have stopped here, so tomorrow morning, I can take only what water I absolutely require and attempt to impersonate a camel by drinking as much as possible to get me through. This will save me collecting water for dinner and breakfast, which would then have to be carried further uphill to find a camp spot after the stream. It is all rather a pain, to be honest.
Otherwise, there is not much to say. It has been a quiet day on trail. I have encountered a half dozen or so ragged NOBO hikers and amazingly one SOBO hiker (Art, short for Arthur), who is walking the Washington section of the trail before returning to work and family life.
In place of any interesting anecdotes, here is an outline of my daily routine (timings are somewhat variable but are close enough):
- 05:30 – Try not to press the snooze button, usually fail.
- 06:00 – Wake up. Grudgingly leave the tent to fetch my bear bag containing all of my food.
- 06:15-06:30 – Eat breakfast and clean pot.
- 06:30-07:00 – Toilet, brush teeth, extract all “smelly” items (e.g. suncream, hand sanitizer) from bear bag and repack in their appropriate rucksack spots, repack everything back into rucksack in correct order based on likely need of access throughout day, disassemble tent.
- 07:00-16:30 – Walk. Interspersed with snacks, sit down breaks every few hours (or if somewhere is particularly nice), lunch #1, and lunch #2.
- 16:30-17:00 – Choose and clean tent site, pitch tent, inflate air mattress, and lay out sleeping quilt to re-loft feathers.
- 17:00-18:00 – Cook, eat, and clean up from dinner. Also, eat leisurely pudding chocolate.
- 18:00-18:15 – Brush teeth, remove all food and “smelly” items from rucksack, place all within bear bag (including cooking pot). Select tree to hang from and tie in place.
- 18:15-21:00 – Free time. Blogging, planning probable end location for next day, water requirements and where to collect. General pootling. Also, try to drink more to finish rehydrating from the day.
- 21:00 – Get changed into clean bed clothes and sleep.
My food, toiletries and cook pan. Theoretically safe from bears and rodents
That is the problem with water, it’s heavy. I recon any varmint could walk up that trunk.
I have been wondering how hard it is to find a tree with a place low enough to reach but high enough to keep the bear bag off the floor. I suppose it doesn’t have to be too high to keep it out of the way of wildlife.