After a resupply at the White Pass, I walked into the forest and imagining how huge Mount Rainier would be once I’m out of the woods. Sure enough, the next day when I saw the mountain, it was breathtaking. The majesty of the Pacific Northwest mountains was so close that I didn’t know how I can capture her grand appearance with the photos. It’s impossible.
I kept walking late in the evening to find a spot where I could see the Rainier and it was a difficult task. I met three day-hikers at the Sourdough gap and they inspired me to hike toward the evening golden light on other trail, not the PCT. When we came into the sun, one of them said, “there she is!” The massive Rainier was slowly approaching from the fog that was lit by the evening light. I said goodbye to them and found a beautiful camp where I could continue watching the mountains and the sunset.
The next morning, I peeked at the Rainier at 4:30am and saw a crystal clear view of her. I quickly packed up and hiked up a nearby peak to get a better view to watch sunrise and its reflection on the majesty. The Cascades is so steep so the moment I go off trail, it turns into a very steep third class terrain (steep enough hills you use your hands and feet to climb). I was climbing and thinking that I need to pretend that I’m a mountain goat to get up to the ridge. Sure enough when I got to a perfect spot flat enough for me to sit, I found mountain goats hair on the branches! I sat and started making my tea and breakfast and waited until the first light hit the Rainier. It was incredible to see the slow changes of the color of the mountains in the golden light with a lake below me.
At this point, I know that in order for me to have an amazing adventure experience, I need to deviate from the PCT. The PCT is supposed to be very scenic. However, all of my best nature expenses have happened when I deviated from the trail. It’s kind of like driving interstate but to enjoy the scenery, you have to go off the interstate. From that spot I could also see Goat Rocks, Mount Adams and Mt. Hood far in the distance. It’s really neat to see all the places I’ve traveled.
Appreciation: I cannot thank enough my behind the scene supporters: Francis and Kristy who ship my resupply boxes to pick up locations. Thank you. For tree removable workers for clearing the path. This is the section I had the least down trees and It made my traveling so much easier without going over, ducking under and going around the down trees.
Best learning: it’s okay to take time to process and there are many perspectives to analyze and reflect on experiences. In the last post, I wrote about one perspective of my reflection from the interaction I had with a hiker who came in late and asked me to share the site despite my request to camp alone. I’m still processing the interaction and having many feelings and thoughts, particularly with a lens of race and equity. I’ll have to rewrite the post once I am clear with my views and talk with other folks to gain their perspectives.
Challenges: Because it’s so steep, it is difficult to go off trail and find a flat ground for a solo campsite. I decided to accept the fact that I may have to find a campsite that is next to the trail. So far, I was able to find a solo spot that is very quiet and tucked away from the trail.
Disappointment: there are many wilderness ethics that are not covered when you watch required educational videos at the PCTA website. One in particular I’m thinking about is to yield to the uphill hikers. I’ve been disappointed by so many people who continue walking when I go uphill. I had one young white man coming down the hill, looking at his phone and tripped, and he almost run into me. I asked him to please yield to uphill hikers. His response was “I tripped! I tripped!” His body language did not indicate he knew the ethic and I hope he is aware now. I’m an educator so I use role modeling as a way to teach others. When I yield to the uphill hiker I usually say something like, “uphill hikers have a right of way so you can come up.” I hope that PCTA educational videos would include more of these ethics so that they can uphold one of the PCT commitments of respecting for other hikers.
Exciting moments: meeting a solo woman of color hiker! Finally! We connected right away and incredible conversation which made my day! A close look of Mount Rainier at sunset and sunrise, seeing Elk in the early morning in the woods, finding more alpine blue bells, salmon berries and huckleberries to harvest.
