 |  |
 |
|||
|
 |
|
|
Daily Reports, Day 7
Saturday, Sept. 4 Yesterday's distance covered: 9 miles (plus 3.5 miles of stupidity walking to retrieve my forgotten water bottle). Last night's campsite: Granite Creek trail camp (5,732 feet). Yesterday's weather: Clear skies in morning, partly sunny in afternoon; the best weather so far. Today's wake-up weather:Overcast; 35 degrees. Happenings: Having just re-supplied, my bulging pack is now stocked with eight days worth of food, probably pushing its weight, originally 62 pounds, close to 65. Yikes! Faced with a 1,000-foot climb to Sunrise in just three miles, I become resourceful. A couple from Holland at a nearby campsite is driving up to Sunrise from White River. After some polite begging from me, they cheerfully agree to become my Chevy-powered sherpas and will transport my pack to higher ground. Purists may wag a finger at me for such a tactic, but as my trail buddy Tim said when we swapped tales of energy-saving strategies, "That's not cheating. That's just being smart." Pack-free, I passed three other Wonderland Trail hikers on the way up and confess my strategy to them. All are impressed. "As long as you're walking the trail, that sounds like a good idea to me," a fellow from New Mexico tells me. Two Seattle women, Julie and Cara, also gave my tactic a thumbs-up. While I recharge my phone's batteries at the Sunrise ranger station, volunteer ranger Eva Neassica shows me photos of the past winter's snowfall at Sunrise. In one, except for a small portion of the roof, Sunrise's two-story visitor center is buried by snow. Eva skied off the roof one day last winter. Monday's surprise snowfall blanketed the surrounding meadows with two inches of powder, she said. Heading west, the terrain becomes more raw and rugged. Burroughs Mountain, a jumbled mass of gray rocks, dominates the view to the east as I plowed west toward Skyscraper Pass (6,900 feet). Once there, I pause, take photos and focus so much on the views that I forget to put my water bottle back in my pack. After reaching Granite Creek, I realize my blunder and hike almost two miles (and up 500 feet) to track it down. What a meathead. A trio of hikers I had met at the pass were going to carry it down to me, but I felt better knowing that I had it back in hand. I'll need it in the week to come. Nice views: About a mile below Sunrise on the trail that leads to White River are a few spectacular, and crowd-free, spots to gaze at the mountain when it is bathed in morning light. Thoughts: Love that sunshine! Looking ahead: Rain may be returning Sunday. Last night's dinner: Cheese enchilada ranchero by Richmoor's Natural High ($6.50). Pretty good, but Mexican food is a tough item to translate into satisfying freeze-dried fare. Distance still to travel: 51 miles.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
[ seattletimes.com home ]
[ Classified Ads | NWsource.com | Contact Us | Search Archive ] Copyright © 2001 The Seattle Times Company
|
