PCT 9/19 Day 27 Friday Trail miles: 8.5 My alarm goes off at 6am- I am SOOOO excited to meet up with my brother today! But its still pitch black outside and I wonder why I set my alarm so early... I only have 7 miles to go to meet up with Ryan. He has approx 5.5 miles on the Eagle Creek trail then 3 brutal miles with 2500 elevation gain - in other words, straight uphill. Still, I get moving inside my tent -not sure if it is still raining or not and not willing to stick my head outside my tent just yet. Strangely, I did not pack anything for breakfast today and I didnt notice this error as I was doing my resupply last Saturday. I have coffee and pour some boiling water over dehydrated fruit (cherries, cranberries, apples and raisins) and eat Teddy Bear Grahams. As Im packing, I notice my sleeping bag is wet on both sides - my shoulders must have rolled against the tent during the night and picked up seeping water from the rain. Crud. I hope I can find a sunny area and have time today to dry out everything. And I realize pretty much everything is damp- from condensation, not more seep, at least. I put on my rain jacket and pants to protect me from the wet foliage Im sure Ill brush up against, at least in the morning. And sure enough, theres plenty of brush on the trail. I get to Wahtum Lake just as the sun is coming out - such a lovely view! I take a pack off bio break and as Im enjoying the view, I notice a rubber raft with both oars in it pulled up to the shore. I thought the coast was clear...I keep looking around and I cannot see nor hear anyone in my vicinity. Hmmm. I finish my business and get outta there, regardless. The trail pretty much encircles the lake and on the opposite side, I stop to change out of the rain gear and into my tshirt and shorts. I glance at the lake and someone is out there in the inflatable raft! WTH?! Eerie. Soon enough, I need another bio break. Note to self: dried fruits for breakfast = bad for digestive system. Next two miles are through a forest of tall trees with a beargrass understory. I mean SOLID coverage of beargrass. I kinda recall someone I know told their kids that beargrass grows where bears doo doo in the woods - if thats the case, then this place should be crawling with bears! Ha! Wish I could remember who spun that yarn... Ryan said he wanted to be on the trail by 7am, and I want to be waiting at the trail junction for him, so I start running on the downhill sections. Trying to make up all the time spent on four bio breaks so far :-/ I come to an open ridge and see Mt. Adams! Hooray! And 20 steps further and I see Mt. Rainier! Only a mile left to the trail junction and I am in such a good mood: the finish line is within reach and I get to hang out with my brother. Theres a really nice but rustic 3-sided shelter and campsite at the trail junction. Its 12:30 and the sun is shining- I hope I get at least an hour before Ryan gets here as I unpack all my gear to dry it out. Theres a pretty good breeze as well. I take off my shoes and socks, put on my flip flops and literally spread out everything I own on logs and branches to dry/air out. This also gives me time to write up the last few days adventures. I periodically holler down the hillside and hope to hear Ryans reply. No such luck. Around 3pm, three young men come by- one has no gear, one is wearing a school backpack and carrying longboard (yes, a skateboard) and the third is carrying a hatchet without a cover. They eye my gear and ask if I plan to camp- I say my brother is on his way up and maybe, maybe not as the water source is dried up for the season. They start down the trail that Ryan should be coming up on so I ask them if they run into a hiker named Ryan, to please tell him his sister is waiting. They agree and start trucking downhill. About 30-40 minutes later, I hear some whoops and hope that means they communicated with Ryan. I try to whoop back but hear nothing. I am getting a bit worried as its 4pm and we never talked about a backup plan if we dont meet up. Im tempted to head down the trail to find Ryan, but not sure if I should stash my gear or take it with me in case hes hurt and we need to head out. I decide I need to take some sort of action if he doesnt arrive by 5pm. Fortunately, I see him trudging up the trail 20 minutes later. I start yelling and run down to meet him and help with his pack. HOORAY!! Whew!! He takes a break while I repack my gear. My mom sent me a message that said enjoy the beer so I knew Ryan was bringing refreshments...and Ryan said he came across a trail magic cache of more beer, soup and canned beans. Of course he grabbed three more beers for us! Since we both need water, we head to the Benson Plateau campsites near Ruckell Creek, just over a mile away. As we made our way up the trail, we see telltale tracks of the skateboard on numerous sections. We turn off the trail and hoof to the campsite, which turns out to be 4/10 mile away- pretty brutal final steps for both of us. We originally thought wed chill the beer in the creek, but they were still pretty cold and we discovered the creek was barely a trickle. Flowing enough to fill the bucket for filtration, but still a hassle. Got right to work setting up tents and stuff, then plopped down against trees to drink beers and eat dinner. Just sat and talked about stuff for the rest of the night. So cool to have my brother here. We heard some idiots trying to imitate coyote howls (they were terrible) and wondered if it was the skateboard kids. As we turn in, I realize that Im pretty excited to finally go home. Zzzzzz
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 05:03:36 +0000
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