Back on the Trail at Stevens Pass

10:44 AM

I drop off a box of gear I no longer need at a post office. Hopefully, it will find a good home near the start of the High Sierra—where I’ll likely need it again.

At 10:00 AM, Susie picks me up and drives me to Stevens Pass 🙏.

Stevens Pass is a ski resort, and everywhere you look there are silent, motionless chairlifts.

11:40 AM

It takes a while to cross the first pass of the ski area, but after that the wide-open views begin to appear.

12:25 PM

As I climb higher, countless small ponds appear one after another.

1:21 PM

2:07 PM

3:52 PM

There’s one more pass to cross before I can start looking for a place to sleep. Once again, I run into a SOBO hiker. He’s carrying an extremely heavy pack; his ice axe is strapped to the outside of his backpack, and he’s stumbling his way uphill.

He waited in Stehekin for two weeks because of an infected toe. Then the wildfires came, and now he’s hiking here to get back into shape. Onward to Mexico.

4:16 PM

The pass is tough, climbing steeply through a series of switchbacks. At the top, I put on all my layers, because the mosquitoes are ready to launch a kamikaze attack.

5:08 PM

5:41 PM

I reach the campsite. There’s already a small tent belonging to a grandfather camping with his grandchildren. I pitch my tent a little farther away. The man tells the children that this used to be a glacier back in 2012, but has since turned into a large lake.

I fall asleep.

Total: 23.22 km in 7:11 hours · 1,150 m up · 935 m down