Into the rugged North Cascades we go! As far as mountainous terrain goes, this section (Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass) ranks second ranks second only to the Sierras in California. The trail aggressively climbs up to passes from deep floored canyons. The grade of the trail is more steep in this part. Gentle contouring of the trail is impossible around this section as the trail would be too “snow bound and avalanche prone”. Glacier Peak (10,400 ft) dominates the landscape, a behemoth of metamorphic and granite rock, with numerous glaciers settled into the depressions around its peak. The deep blue ice glittering in the fall sun shine. Similar to the Sierras, there were numerous river crossings. In this section, the rivers are often white/grey from heavy sediment in the streams from glaciers. Thankfully the most treacherous crosses had sturdy wooden bridges (Suiattle and White Chuck River were really raging). We also can see fall colors coming in, mostly in bushes, where they are turning vibrant oranges and deep maroon. We’re hoping to see some yellow larches as we get closer to October!
The Miners Complex Fire closed the PCT in the section from Mica Lake to Suiattle Pass starting in July. We had planned on taking an alternate and rather arduous route east of glacier peak and up Spider Gap, however the day we set out the PCT OPENED! We did end up walking though a small section of the devastation and burn from the fire, there were numerous down and blacked trees, smoke was still lingering in the air, and the lush green moss (which looks like 70’s style shag carpeting) was crispy and yellow. Thank you to the fire fighters who helped to put out the flames.
While the landscape was awe inspiring, what really capped off this section was the animal encounters. We saw FOUR black bears (appeared to be a mama and three cubs) on a ridge above the trail eating blue berries about 300 feet from us. We made our presence known with lots of “Hey Bear!”, but they were quite preoccupied with their berry picking. As we crested a pass, Kyle also had a large black and brown speckled eagle (wing span easily 4 feet), soar not 10 feet in front of him. We could hear a rush of wind as his wing beat the air. Look out Pika and Marmots!
The cold snap we had been experiencing, (40’s with drizzly rain) broke and we got blue skies, sun and 60-degree weather. We are 5 days out from the northern terminus, so far it’s looking like we’ll have good weather, with no snow in sight!
This section also featured a number of backcountry toilets (thunderboxes). These are amazing! Think off a wooden box, with a hole cut in the top with a hole underneath. There is no privacy walls provided and many are on the side of ridges with quite spectacular views. Leave your poles by the toilet sign unless you want company while doing your daily business. A small delight, but much appreciated!
Cannot believe we’re saying this, but Canada here we come!
