Treading on clouds, July 22, 2016

I step over passes
with a single stride.
Valleys trail behind me.
I tread on clouds.

After my last meeting on Thursday, I headed out of town at 5:20 pm. I had loaded the car the previous evening. I drove to the Dungeness River trailhead, arriving at 7:15. I set up my tent in the campsite below the road as quickly as I could and then drove up to the Tubal Cain trailhead. I left the car there and started walking on the road back to my campsite. I figured I would get there about 9:15, just as it was getting dark. The skies were cloudy and it was raining lightly.

A small car came by and I put out my thumb. What a surprise! I got a ride back to camp with a cheerful young couple who had just climbed Mt. Townsend. They dropped me off at 8:15, saving me an hour of walking and helping me be fresh for my morning start. During the night there was thunder and lightning up on the ridges, and a couple hours of rain. But I slept well.

I woke up at 5:30, had a quick breakfast of Grape Nuts and milk, and started hiking at 6:00 am. The skies were cloudy and things were wet from the rain. As I started up the trail, it seemed dark and gloomy, even though this is one of my favorite trails.

I arrived at the footbridge over the Dungeness River at 7:00. I have no idea how they moved that enormous tree into place for the bridge, but it is a marvelous crossing.

I continued up the well maintained trail to the Camp Handy shelter, I didn't take time to explore the area, but took a photo from above.

From there the trail climbs steeply up to Boulder Shelter, but the trail is excellent with a good tread. As I got higher, the sky began to open up and I could see the ridges around me. Soon I could see blue sky above with a few clouds on the mountainsides. I arrived at Boulder Shelter a little before 9:30 to find a gentleman about my age drying out his tent. He said he had experienced the thunder and lightning first hand the previous night, and wondered if his time were up. I snapped a photo of the Boulder Shelter and continued on.

After a break sitting in the sun, I continued on the upper trail. It's very steep and I took a lot of breaks. At this point the valleys appear below and you can see across to Mt. Fricaba and Mt. Mystery. It's a glorious panorama that unfolds the higher you get. You can see all the way up Heather Creek.

I arrived at Marmot Pass at 10:45 and took a break. I looked down in the Marmot Pass basin and remembered the two times I'd hiked up here in previous years.

From Marmot Pass, the trail climbs up the ridge. Up to this point I felt strong, but the hours were taking their toll on me, and I began to slow down.

The thunderstorm the previous night laid down about an inch of hail which still lay on the trail. It must have a been a fierce storm because the wind shredded the vegetation and threw it on top of the hail.

 There were still snowbanks to cross.

The final pull up the ridge..

 At 11:40 I arrived at the top of the ridge where there's a great view and a place to rest. This was the high point of my hike, literally and emotionally.

I was a little disappointed to see that I shared the ridge with a young couple who had camped at Buckhorn Lake, and two young women on their way to Home Lake. But I luxuriated in the view and lay down in a place out of the wind for a short nap and something to eat. Here's the view to the west.

At 12:25 I started down the Copper Creek side of the ridge. I could see there was fog laying in the valley and sure enough, the rest of the hike was wrapped in fog.

This deer and I scared each other.

I was tired but I didn't want to stop so I just continued to slog down the mountain. I took one break in the gloomy forest and reached the trailhead and the car at 3:15.

I drove to my camp at the Dungeness River, threw it in the car and arrived home by 6:00, in time for grilled sausages cooked by Guy over the grill.