First day had over 5000 feet of uphill, with the first 3700 coming in the first 4 miles. WHOOO. Thankfully, that'll be pretty much the craziest climbing we'll do on the trip (or so says Ugly). The day was slightly chilly, with plenty of mist/drizzle and clouds
But alltogether beautiful, with some great views when the clouds parted. Not too chilly either, if you didn't stop for long.We camped after about 11 miles, at Watum Lake. AHH SNOW! But not too much.
We discovered many things we had forgotten, making us glad we took this trip. List included: SPOONS! and Sideshow's breakfast.
But mostly things went very well. Including our new sleeping bags! So warm!
NOW WITH ARMHOLES!!! SO AWESOME!
The hike today was beautiful. 15 miles back to the trailhead, through some absolutely gorgeous terrain, down through the Eagle Creek Gorge. A long, but very fun day.
Story time: As I was heeding a call of nature, with a beautiful view down a wooded hillside, (also there was a salamander by my feet!), I heard a harsh "KREE KREE KREE," and a gigantic bird came flying straight at me, pulling up 10 feet in front of my head and perching above me, continuing to call. Obviously very annoyed with my presence there. It even perched directly above my head, so I was afraid I was about to be call-of-natured on even as I was finishing mine. I left quickly, but it was very exciting! After looking it up at Ugly's house: a Northern Goshawk. Very beautiful bird.
Here we are at Tunnel Falls in the gorge:
Well, we've got about 2.5 days before we head south for the trail, enough time to fix everything and do some last minute shopping. We are fairly sore, but very happy - we managed to keep up a good pace - good news for the PCT.
Stay tuned for a map update!
Love,
Sideshow
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