Saturday August 24, 18.9mi/30.4km

Baker Lake Road / Concrete WA (829.8/850ft) to Pioneer Horse camp (848.7/2090ft) (WA)

I slept in until 8:30am, and then organized my stuff, and walked next door to the outdoor sports store. Unfortunately it wasn’t a store for hiking gear, just fishing. So I didn’t get any stove fuel or a tent stake (I had broken one). I walked a little further down the same shopping plaza, and bought my groceries. I was all packed up by 11:30am, and went out to the road to hitch. One of the motel owners saw me and offered me a ride for the first part of the journey. Within 5 minutes, I got another ride for the final part of the journey to the trailhead. It was a popular trail, with some interesting cars parked there.

It was lightly raining, maybe even misting, so I used my umbrella the entire way up to Park Butte Mountain. I got some curious looks from other day hikers, but I was dry!

A few miles in, the trail crossed a glacial river that looked like chocolate milk.

It was a very well kept trail, and very popular. I saw 45 people in the first hour.

After the summit though, I saw no one, and the trail was much less wide. And I entered another wilderness!

It was a foggy, drizzly day, so I didn’t take any more photos. I got to my planned campsite at 7:30pm, and thankfully it had temporarily stopped raining. I setup my tent, and made a hot dinner while in my sleeping bag. Hopefully tomorrow is dry!

Friday August 23, 24.2mi/38.9km

Forest Road 1144 (805.6/1362ft) to Baker Lake Road / Concrete WA (829.8/850ft) (WA)

Kate and Semi-Sweet said good morning as they walked by my tent, they were hiking at 6:30am! I went up the hill on a short side trail to check out the hot springs.

There were some people there taking a soak (at 7am!) with their two loud dogs nearby, so I left. The hike was easy all day, on flat terrain. Most of the day was spent circumnavigating Baker Lake. I suppose there are usually better views, but it was lightly raining and foggy.

The trail was wide, a nice old road, and I was happy having no wet plants to push away.

At the top of the lake, the trail crossed the inlet stream, Baker River, on a long swingbridge. Those are always fun.

About mid-afternoon I realized that I had already covered 19 miles, and I could make it into town tonight if I kept going another 5 miles. So I did!

I crossed the dam, and it wasnt as high as Ross Lake dam, but still very long.

I got one final view, Mt Baker was trying to poke its head out of the clouds. Cool!

I got to Baker Lake Road at 4:45pm, and started hitching. The second car picked me up! It was a nice ride down to Highway 20, where I hitched another ride to Concrete WA. The second driver was a strange dude, but entertaining. His business card:

I got to town at 5:30pm, checked into the Cascade Mountain Motel, and then walked next door to the pizza place for dinner. The appetizers were delicious!

After a nice hot shower (it had been 9 days!), I watched some mindless TV shows in a warm dry bed, life is good!

Thursday August 22, 24.7mi/39.8km

Hannegan Trailhead Camp (780.9/3123ft) to Forest Road 1144 (805.6/1362ft) (WA)

I packed up a very wet tent, I think it finally stopped raining at 3am. The mountains had those cool clouds again, the ones that cling to their summits.

The whole valley felt very damp and moist. And judging by the plants and creatures, it’s always this way.

Big slug!

Most of the morning was a roadwalk up the Mt Baker Highway. It was easy and I had it mostly to myself.

There was some construction near the top, and the road went down to one lane. Some wreckless driver passed me on the right, driving in the weeds and over a cone! The most dangerous parts of these trails is never the wildlife….

At the top were some reflective lakes, and a tourist area with nature trails and picnic areas.

Wild Goose trail!

I stopped for lunch, and some wonderful people brought me a tasty treat! The guy said it’s called Korean Noodle Soup, his family’s version of it. Yum!

The interpretive trails at the top were neat, and there were dozens of people.

I left the road, and started back into the forest on the Lake Ann trail. This was a familiar stretch of trail, as I had been here last year with a couple of friends to climb Mt Shuksan, via the Fischer Chimneys route. Good times.

The trail was significantly drier this year.

I even saw a PNT marker! I took the Swift River trail, a river which the trail crossed at a ford later.

The views in the valleys around Mt Baker are stupendous.

And then, in the last hour of the day, I met other PNT thru-hikers! I’ve only met six other thru-hikers, and all of them I met in towns. Semi-sweet and Kate started July 2nd, and are from many places, most recently Colorado and New Zealand.

It was fun to talk with other people while hiking! The last hour flew by, and the forest had a cool ancient feel to it, with so much moss!

The three of us camped on an old abandoned forest road, apparently near a hot springs. I’ll have to check it out in the morning!

Wednesday August 21, 20.3mi/32.7km

Twin Rocks Camp (760.6/2743ft) to Hannegan Trailhead camp (780.9/3123ft) (WA)

I’ve been going to sleep earlier, and so also waking up earlier. So since I was awake at 6:15am, I was hiking by 7am. Going up the valley I had great views of the surrounding glaciated mountains.

A couple of hours later, the clouds started to move in.

And they moved in fast.

And for the next three hours, I took no pictures because it was raining. Which normally is fine, but this section of trail was somewhat unmaintained, creating a car wash of wet plants. I hiked up and over the steep Whatcom Pass. Later, I was relieved to see some tarps a trail crew had left behind, and I sat under one for a dry lunch.

After lunch, there is a crossing of the Chilliwack River, and instead of a bridge there is a cable car! I was really excited to learn what this meant, but sadly it was out of service for maintenance.

At least the trail was nice again, for a mile or so.

It had stopped raining for a little while, and I saw a happy face. Ha!

Going up over Hannegan Pass, the views were very obscured by clouds.

And then around the corner, two very friendly little marmots!

One of them was too busy stuffing its face with food, to even notice I was there.

Hi marmot!

That made being wet almost all day worth it. Then, down the pass, to the trailhead camping area!

I arrived at 5pm, cooked my dinner in the picnic shelter, and it started raining again. I considered sleeping on one of the picnic tables, since it was so nice and dry under that pavilion. But, at a lull in the rain, I quickly setup my tent and ran inside. Safe and dry!

Tuesday August 20, 23.8mi/38.3km

Green Point Camp (736.8/1600ft) to Twin Rocks Camp (760.6/2743ft) (WA)

The sunrise coming across the lake woke me up, so I was hiking by 7am. I was half awake, and so I was a little confused by the messages that someone had left on the trail.

I think that one was a Lord of the Rings reference. I’m not sure about this one:

Perplexing messages aside, the views were nice, and there was even a waterfall!

And then another surprise, a trailside “Thunderbox” (pit toilet)! How strange and convenient.

Shortly after that, I crossed Big Beaver Creek on one of those fun swingbridges!

Most of the day I spent hiking in Big Beaver Valley, surrounded by enormous cedar trees.

I’m guessing they are hundreds of years old.

Cedars smell so good, too. Maybe I should sleep on one, it’s now been 7 days since a real shower!

I started climbing up Beaver Pass, and left the cedar forest, but gained some views.

And at the top of the pass was an old historical shelter. I think it’s off limits to camping.

The final few miles of the day had a little more excitement. First, crossing a creek on a log, because the bridge was washed away.

And then, when I stepped off the other side of the log, a friendly danger-noodle was there to greet me!

I rolled into Twin Rocks Camp at 5:30pm, setup my tent, and ate a big dinner. All the camps in the National Park are by permit, and for my permit I had selected a spot at this camp (and last night’s camp). It’s a little more structured, and you can’t just camp wherever you want, but nice having the infrastructure (pit toilets, fire rings, picnic tables, bear boxes).

Monday August 19, 23.5mi/37.8km

Dry Creek Pass (713.3/6099ft) to Green Point Camp (736.8/1600ft) (WA)

I started quite early today at 6:30am, since I had almost 24 miles to cover to get to Ross Lake Resort, where I had shipped a food package. The surrounding mountaintops were hiding in small clouds in the early morning.

I descended the 5000ft/1500m to the lake, which took a couple of hours. Down at the lake, the clouds were lifting.

I crossed over Devils Creek on a swingbridge, and the water below was a cool aqua color.

Then around the corner, I had a surprise – the trail disappeared for a minute! I proceeded with more confusion than caution.

After a hundred feet, it came back.

The entire day I was in the Ross Lake National Recreation Area, but this was the first sign that showed it.

I stopped for a quick lunch (I was almost out of food) at a trailhead, then I headed down the “Happy Panther” trail. Better than the Sad Panda, I suppose…

It was a nice, cool and shady trail. And everything was so green! There were ferns everywhere too.

Towards the end of the day, I came to the dam that creates this man-made lake.

It’s huge! The trail goes right across it, so I took plenty of photos.

I arrived to Ross Lake Resort a mile later, at 3:30pm.

I asked for my food package, and the hiker-box (where hikers put/take extra stuff). I made dinner from some extra ramen, tuna, and beans in the hiker box. I sorted my food package into my backpack, bought some snacks, and charged my devices. Three relaxing hours later, I left and hiked over to my campsite, 10 minutes away.

Sunday August 18, 15.9mi/25.6km

PCT Rock Pass camp (697.4/6214ft) to Dry Creek Pass (713.3/6099ft) (WA)

I got a later start than usual since I have a short day today. I’m limited to about 16 miles, longer than that and I would be entering North Cascades National Park, where camping permits are required. When I left at 8am, all 12 PCT hikers who camped here were already gone! The morning fog was neat to see around the mountaintops.

An hour later, I was at Holman Pass, my exit point from the PCT. It was a small temptation to keep going south to California…

After three miles, I climbed up to another pass, Sky Pilot pass. Which seems redundant, aren’t all pilots in the sky?

A couple hours later, and I was on Devils Pass. I stopped and had lunch, and took way too many photos of all the nearby glaciated peaks.

Just after I left Devils Pass, I met a hiker named Biggi and her dog Keyla. She is from Canada, and is hiking a section of the PNT eastbound, and plans to do the PCT next year. That always makes me happy to hear, and my climb up to Devils Dome flew by as I was lost in PCT thoughts. Devil’s Dome is 6982ft/2128m high, with superb views of the North Cascades.

And especially of nearby Jack Mountain, with the Nohokomeen glacier:

On the descent off the dome, I found some snow!

I stopped for the day at Dry Creek Pass, and there is a shelter nearby called Bear Skull Cabin. It looked dilapidated and dirty.

I refilled my water, and then camped a few hundred meters away, closer to the trail.

Tomorrow, I arrive to Ross Lake and North Cascades National Park!

Saturday August 17, 19.8mi/31.9km

Pasayten Airfield (677.6/4275ft) to PCT Rock Pass camp (697.4/6214ft) (WA)

This day had everything! A lake, stream crossings, a bushwhack, alpine passes, marmots, and even people! I was camped at a trail junction, so I followed the signs, and up the hill I went.

I climbed for an hour in a cold valley, crossing and re-crosssing Soda creek a few times. Having wet feet didn’t help my lack of warmth. At the top, I went by Dead Lake.

After descending back down a different valley, I came to another trail junction. The sign said go left… I guess there’s a trail in there somewhere!

After climbing over a hundred fallen trees, the trail improved after a half mile. I cruised to the top of Frosty Pass, with lots of views along the climb.

The view looking west from the pass:

I had lunch at the top of the pass, since it was a nice windy and sunny spot (to dry out my tent). After descending from the pass, I was on the PCT!

Classic PCT quality trail, it’s so well maintained!

The PNT joins the PCT for 13 miles, and I was walking south on the PCT. Which felt strange, since in 2015 I had hiked it NOBO (northbound). Also, since I was hiking south, I was crossing paths with all the hikers finishing their NOBO hikes. I met more people each hour today, than I met on the entire PNT so far. I talked with 24 hikers today!

I hiked by Hopkins Pass, and then Hopkins Lake:

The scenery today was simply the best.

Hmm, I wonder where the trail goes?

I refilled my water at a tiny trickle, assisted by a homemade leaf-spout.

Looking down from the top of Rock Pass, at all the switchbacks I had just climbed. Hikers Three-Bean and Foxtail are down there, about a mile back!

I arrived to camp early, at 5pm, so I setup my tent and read my book for an hour, and then dinnertime! Tomorrow will be my last day in the Pasayten Wilderness, I can’t believe how big it was!

Friday August 16, 28.0mi/45.1km

Bald Mt. Ridge (649.6/7110ft) to Pasayten Airfield (677.6/4275ft) (WA)

Camping at 7000ft elevation is cold! I hiked with a hat and gloves on for the first hour, since it was only 45F/7C, and I was walking downhill and not working hard to generate heat. But it was a nice sunny morning!

Looking down on the Ashnola River, which I will soon ford across. All the brown trees are burned.

After descending 2000ft/600m and crossing the river, I went right back uphill the same amount. Sheep Mountain was pretty in the morning sunlight.

In the afternoon, the clouds gathered and it wasn’t as warm in the shade. At least they weren’t the rainy type of clouds.

Those are some big mountains in the distance. The Cascades!

On the descent to the Pasayten River, I paused for awhile at a confusing trail junction. There was a sign, but it was badly burned.

I had heard reports of this section of trail being an obstacle course of hundreds of fallen trees. I must have good timing, a trail crew is out here all summer cleaning up the PNT, and I only had to climb over two logs!

I actually got to meet them, they were camped by the Pasayten River. The four of them and I talked for an hour, and they offered me a snack! Mmm… chips and salsa. I had originally planned to camp there, but the area was full of standing dead trees. So I kept hiking. And hiking. Finally at 7pm I came to some green forest, an area known as the Pasayten Airfield. It used to be an active airfield in the 1930s, but now it’s just a large area of perfectly flat ground. Perfect for camping!

Thursday August 15, 22.2mi/35.7km

Fireplace campsite (627.4/6991ft) to Bald Mt Ridge (649.6/7110ft) (WA)

It was a colder morning than usual, probably because I’m camped thousands of feet higher in elevation. After 15 minutes of walking I was comfortable, and it was another nice sunny day in the alpine!

After a few hours of enjoyable hiking, I came across an interesting piece of metal near the trail.

And a few minutes later, some cabins!

They are old miner’s cabins, and now it looks like hikers occasionally stay there. I found a cabinet with goodies!

I ate an early lunch there, and moved on. Up a small climb over Apex Pass, and I had a view of my next pass. Cathedral pass!

The tall pointy peak is Cathedral peak, and the pass is just to the left.

The view from the top of the pass. This is the highest point on the PNT, 7572ft/2308m.

It was very windy up there, so I kept moving down, and stopped at Cathedral lake for a swim. I saw snowfields and marmots, which means the water was “refreshing”.

The last couple hours of the day went by quickly, and I hiked by some more alpine lakes, and thru a short burn section.

I had setup camp on a bare ridge, to avoid any dead burnt trees (which fall over frequently). It’s cold and a little windy, so I cooked dinner in my tent vestibule. My food bag is getting lighter… only four more days until I get more food!