It would honestly be a crime for me to not share this hike with you. Now I know that for 2024 I had decided to only write up one hike each month rather than every single week. While I, of course, still hike every week, writing hiking stories that frequently had become real time consuming. Plus let's be real, I really wanted to keep many of my hikes held tight to my chest, just for myself. Something about a girl needing secrets and all I suppose. So even though I have already written and posted your hiking story for July, I knew I had to share this one just because it was truly that spectacular!
As usual, I mostly planned this week's hike while on the trail on last week's hike. It is one of my favorite things to do while hiking out and driving home...plan the next week's adventure! But a wrinkle came up on this one. I had actually been planning to go up near Mt. Rainier this week. But in the ninth hour, I felt that still small voice telling me to change plans. It said I needed to try out this new hike which would put me on the PCT. I had thought about doing this one for a long time.....really since last winter.....but this was the week I was apparently suppose to go. Since I have long ago learned to listen to that voice, I instantly changed gears. Last winter I had come in from the north on this trail and connected down to this huge open cirque. It was absolutely astounding, but covered in about 2 feet of snow. We worked our way about halfway around the cirque to where a river poured down through the snow and it was just not safe to cross. That day we had still hiked almost twenty miles in snow, so it was good we turned when we did. I had always wanted to go back and explore that trail further, attempting an assault from the south to connect both sides of the giant bowl and tackle more of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Going on a new hike is like spending the day slowly unwrapping a wonderful present. It is truly a gift that just continues to give to me. I was very excited the entire long drive to the trailhead. This trail started as most hikes go. I suppose as Disney would say, it is a tale as old as time......we climbed up, up and up some more. It took over two thousand feet of climbing just to connect to the PCT on this one. Then more climbing was to come. In total this hike would be putting me at 19 miles and about 5000 feet of elevation gain and loss. But the real wow were the views and vistas. I would surely rate this as one of my top ten favorite and most spectacular hikes I have ever done! It started simply enough. After miles of climbing and switch-backing up through forests, we came upon our first pond in a small meadow.
It did have a glassy reflection until the Wolf jumped in to cool off on this hot and muggy last day in July. We continued onward from here with the trees becoming smaller as we gained in elevation. We were hiking so fast that I kept having to pop my ears from the fast altitude changes. Upon gaining a beautiful ridge dripping in wildflowers, we finally saw our first real views.
Even Josie couldn't take her eyes off the peaks in the distance beyond the alpine trees. She could see the snow up there and was very excited! We would be spending most of the rest of our day between 6000-7000 feet of elevation and despite the heat, snow still persisted here. We had to drop down off the ridge to work our way toward those peaks which took us by a popular backpacking lake. Many folks come just to this point to spend the night and lots of PCT thru-hikers will camp here by a reliable water source. We saw several tents already set up as we hiked past the lake. We did get to meet two very nice men from Germany who were thru-hiking and chatted with them for a bit. One of them asked to take Josie's picture. She is always an attention grabber on the trail that one! But she almost had a panic attack when he pointed his phone at her.
After several more miles of climbing on the PCT after the lake, we came around a corner and were utterly speechless. The hills were truly alive with the sound of music here and it was so green I blinked rapidly trying to adjust after emerging from all the forests. This is my favorite kind of trail! We could watch the path snaking far ahead of us amidst the beauty. Trails like this literally are a siren's song that calls me ever forward.
As I hiked this section, I made the mistake of turning around and looking behind me. What I saw there took my breath away again and I felt light headed from it all. It was as if I couldn't possibly take it all in. My senses were on overload. The greens and blues were awe inspiring. It looked like an incredible painting behind glass, but it was so real I could touch it and breathe it in. Perhaps I live my life behind glass I thought to myself. I wanted to build a little cabin right in the center of this meadow and never leave.
Somehow I found the oxygen and will to continue hiking beyond this moment and came to our first big surprise of the day. We arrived at a giant cirque....but it was not the one we were expecting. Who knew, there was to be a pass before the pass. A cirque before the cirque. A bowl before the bowl. "How could this be????" I wondered. I started to sing the song from Fiddler on the Roof...."wonder of wonders, miracles of miracles....but of all God's miracles large and small, the most miraculous one of all, is that out of a worthless lump of clay, God has made a man today"....on and on it went as I just stood there and tried to take it all in singing and humming the tune to the Wolf. She might be the only one who can stand my singing voice.
The trail wove its way along the ridge to our left, hugging the rocks and boulders. The geology here was extremely distracting, but so were the wildflowers, creeks and vast views in all directions. It is truly hard to describe what a place like this does to you. But I can tell you that it moves something deep inside myself, down to my very marrow. I realized that I had churned up this trail creating a pile of dust behind me today and surely rang the bell.
The flowers moved from red Indian Paintbrush to a hot pink mountain Heather. Although this place screamed magic all over it, we continued to move forward as if pulled by magnets to find the true pass I was looking for. Before long we crossed through a skinny slot between a stand of alpine trees as we crested a rise and then, there it was, suddenly before us....the pass I remembered from last winter!
I could not help it. I dropped to my knees in the very dirt and stones beneath my boots. I could not move, could not breathe, could not think. I could only exist and thank God for bringing me here. His voice had been right, this was indeed the place to be today. Of course being on my knees now gave me a great view of a fluffy Wolf butt.
That is until the Wolf realized I was down at her level and she thought that was pretty funny. Her laughter came moments before she accosted me and we rolled around like goofballs on the trail.
As we walked through this pass, once again hugging the cleft in the ravine, the views were beyond comprehension. I truly felt like the most blessed human on the planet and could not believe I was not finding other humans out enjoying this place. But then I realized I was a minimum of ten miles from any of the closest trailheads at this point. So other than backpackers and thru-hikers, there wouldn't be many folks out. It made it all that much more special.
The thing that I had read about this particular cirque is that it is the birth place of a major river in the area. The river I had seen last winter that was too dangerous to cross was that river's birth. Today I was going to be there once again and reach in to touch that birth water. As we neared the river, I could look down into the bowl and see dozens of creeks all rushing down to converge into that place. It was amazing! How many times in your life can you truly watch a river be born. Here is such a place and man was that water cold!
Josie and I were more than ready to watch the sun set from the middle of this cirque by the river that runs through it all.
As we meandered about looking for the perfect seat for the night's show, we climbed higher up the bowl. We carefully picked our way up between streams and flowers until I suddenly found a literal throne made out of stone. That was meant to be I told Josie and pulled the rucksack off my tired shoulders to test it out. I wasn't even going to use my hiker's blanket to soften it. It was perfect just the way it was and just one more of the great gifts I was receiving on this day.
Josie was too distracted to pay any attention to my stone throne as she caught movement above us. I stared for some time and finally realized she was watching giant fat marmots running through the meadows above us. For how fat they were, they could move pretty fast, like giant cats! Here were my views from my throne room. Yes, that is Mt. St. Helens in the distance straight down the cirque. It would be impossible not to love this place and this moment.
Both Josie and I were reveling in the warm and gentle rays of the setting sun on our faces. Each breath slowed while listening to the sounds of water rushing down all around us to birth that river. Gentle breezes kissed our sun soaked skin and dried the sweat from climbing so hard and fast out of my hair. True perfection. But it would get better still. You see, Josie spotted something while laying next to my throne. It was movement that caught her eye.
Can you see what she is looking at?? So pay attention to the white blobs on that distant green hill.....directly where she is looking. Those are not flowers. Those are dozens of mountain goats! In fact, we counted over thirty of them; officially the largest herd we have run into on trail. What most surprised me was just how many babies were in their midst. Watching those little guys jump, run and frolic on that grassy meadow as the sun set made my very chest hurt with joy.
With the monster herd of goats frolicking behind us, at least four fat marmots running and shrieking to our side and the sun setting before us, neither Josie or I could handle it any more. We were done in. Our bells were rung out. These are the moments that deeply burn into my brain and tattoo my very heart with memories that can sustain me forever. Both Josie and I were thanking God and trying to figure out if this was really happening or if we were perhaps dreaming.
"Open your eyes Josie" I told her. This is all real and happening to us. I threw on some extra layers out of my pack as the temperatures dropped as soon as the sun was off our skin. It was then that I realized something. If we were fast, we could watch a second sun set in the same day. The sun set behind the top of the ridge line of this cirque, but if we ran back up the upper portion, above those cirque walls, we could watch it all over again! I needed no further encouragement and threw on my kit, finding my second wind so we could run up hill toward our new goal. I looked back behind us and could make out the trail we were running up and just barely still see my stone throne and the meandering mountain goats. It was hard to leave, but the sun moving ahead of us, was drawing me forward again.
We chased that sun until we got to the point of watching it drop once more behind the hills surrounding us. I mean how often can you watch the sun set twice in one day?? I pinched myself again just to be sure I wasn't dreaming.
But then it happened. We realized that we could have our very own private puppet show. You see, the setting sun lit up our shadows on one of the snow banks along the trail. All I am going to say is that what happens on the mountains stays on the mountains and thank God there were no humans around to watch our goofy break dancing. For those of you who think I am too serious and never get wild.....let me tell you something.....I got wild and really shook things up. Of course, I will only share the serious picture with you. Look at that Wolf shadow will you??? Greatest thing ever. If you haven't danced with a Wolf by the setting sun to watch your shadow against a snow bank, then you have not really lived my friends.
Our dance shadow puppet party was broken when more marmots started to really scream at us. Apparently they did not like our dance show and were running toward us and flanking us along the trail. Their screams were becoming so piercing that I wished I had hearing protection! Let's play a little game of where's waldo. Can you spot the two marmots sitting together on a rock here?
Okay, I will give you a hint. Find the big rock on the left in the middle of the photo. Trace directly to the right to the lump of rocks and you should see their fat brown bodies there. Since we have just signed up once again this year to take part in the Washington Trails Association's annual trail fundraiser, and their mascot is Miles the Marmot, this seemed very fitting! I called them all "Miles" and wished them a good night as we headed on our way. But I have to admit I was jealous of their life. To live in this most beautiful place and watch the sun set every night is the stuff of dreams!
We enjoyed the remaining rays of sunlight knowing that it would truly be gone once we moved back through the slot into the other cirque. We moved slowly with the sun against our backs trying to savor each second.
Once we moved through the slot into that next world, we saw the sun shining off a peak in the distance. We looked at each other and questioned, "should we run for it?" Perhaps our game of chasing the sun from ridge to ridge did not need to end. But then we started to hear the wildflowers calling and I was done in. It was like a sucker-punch to my gut.
It was while taking this exact picture that I heard it. That still small voice was whispering to me. "Did you hear me?" He asked. I lowered my camera. "What?" I quietly responded. "Do you hear what I am telling you about the day after tomorrow here?" He asked again so quietly as to be a whisper on the winds. I smiled. I knew exactly what He was telling me about the day after tomorrow. You see I had been very stressed lately. In fact that stress had been growing into a terrible aching pain in my gut that was eating me alive. Two months ago I realized my best hiking partner, NovaLeigh, was not healing from her knee injury and would never be able to hike again. I had scheduled a huge knee surgery that would leave her with metal plates, screws and all kinds of fancy suture in her leg. We had been waiting and waiting for the day of the surgery and it was the day after tomorrow. I know what can happen in surgery. I am terrified of it for myself and for Nova. But I also knew this surgeon was extremely experienced and I trusted him. He also could put up with my level of crazy and let me literally sit in the kennel with Nova all day before and after surgery and even be present for the procedure if I wanted to. Even with being there, I was terrified and kept playing this terrible game of "what if this is the last bath I give you", "what if this is the last time you drop the ball on the treadmill in front of me to play", and on and on it went those final days and weeks before surgery. I even started to think that maybe this meant my cancer was back and God was fulfilling my wish to not die before her so she wouldn't think I had abandoned her. I got real existential.
But God was right here and right now on this very trail making it clear to me that I needed to stop my stressing and worrying. He had everything under control and was trying to tell me....literally screaming at me with all the blessings on this hike.....that everything would be okay. I took the first truly deep breath in two months and let it all go. Nova would be fine. We continued down the trail with a new bounce in my step. Jesus was in control on this and I could trust Him and let go of myself and my worries.
Unlike the last cirque full of Marmots, this rougher and more rugged one seemed to only have our Pika friends. Josie was distracted from listening to the voice of God to look for the little meeping rodents. She almost caught one earlier in the day and was now extra fixated on them!
The sun was truly started to set now and I knew it was getting late. We had close to 8 more miles to hike out and much of that would be in the dark. But we took the time to stop and finally eat our supper since I knew we would need the strength to get out and drop the many thousands of feet of elevation it took to get here. These were our views during supper. There is no better restaurant on the planet I tell you. Plus my hot noodles in my thermos were pretty amazing! Nothing like a twenty-five cent dinner to make you feel all kinds of special!!
We hustled down along the PCT in the dark without turning on my flashlight. My goal was to make it past the lake and all those tent campers without turning on a light. I knew it was late (close to 10pm by the time I would hit that lake) and I didn't want to disturb everyone; especially my German thru-hiking friends who needed their rest.
All was well as we passed our first couple of silent and darkened tents. When I was about 10 feet away from two more silent tents, I had a large tree to jump over. We were doing our best stealth hiking, but moving fast, and I didn't see a large and sharp branch sticking up from the trunk as I moved to jump over in my short shorts. I jammed my bad left knee right into it. Oh, the silent screams and curses I held in as I grabbed my knee with one hand and my mouth with the other on the opposite side of that tree!! I instantly could tell that I was bleeding both on the outside and inside of my skin. I jumped around in a silent screaming circle as Josie made her way over the tree without injury. I then tried to silently limp past the other campers hoping they would not think we were an injured deer and wolf walking in the dark and pull out their guns. I mean really, what humans walk in the dark without a light in the middle of no where? We are the only ones I know foolish enough to enjoy such things!
God had one more surprise in store for me on this night. As we hiked along, now with my head torch on, I suddenly found a giant toad. Of course I had to pick him up!!! He was a delightful friend, until I am pretty sure he gave me the middle finger with one of his hind feet. "Hey!!" I laughed at him and then gave him a bath with chemical free well water from my bladder bag. I thought he was a wonderful surprise, but before long I was finding more and more toads all over the trail. The next one I picked up unloaded half his body weight in urine. I also gave him a nice bath. At this point I had to count because it was becoming unreal. In total, I found 14 giant fat toads and 5 medium sized toads on this night. Yes, they each got a bath as it had been a hot and dusty day. I used up almost all the water I had left on me, but it was well worth it to watch their faces enjoy these moments! They all varied in color from browns to greens and some were very solid hand fulls at least 5 inches wide in their fat tummies. It was surely a good day to be a toad on the trail, but a bad day to be a bug! Sadly none of them were princes in disguise. Here are a couple of my new friends. You know I have to share!!! Sorry if you don't like toads.
In closing, as I am sure you will want to know, I will tell you that God was right and He did have everything under control for Nova's surgery. I prayed throughout every moment of the procedure....for the surgeon's hands and his discernment, for Nova's temperature and vitals to stabilize, for her recovery, etc. She did fine and is recovering like a champ. That surgeon became Nova's hero that day. Of course, any hero of hers is surely a hero of mine as well! Hopefully you will be seeing NovaLeigh on the trail again before long!
I knew I should have had mustard seed faith for her surgery and not been such a basket case. But if women have a super power it surely is stressing out and worrying! God knew the outcome as He holds Nova in the palm of His hand just like He does for me. This hike was His walking promise to me. He just needed to give me the most astounding beauty I had ever seen, frolicking mountain goats, screaming marmots and pikas, a birthing river, wildflowers, sun-snow puppet shows, toads a plenty and surprises around every corner to get me to really listen to what He was telling me. May I never forget this lesson He keeps trying to teach me!
Comments