Hiking the Pacific Trail Part VI

Hi all!

I'm in Skykomish, resting for a day.

Days covered: 9/2 - 9/6
Miles hiked: 78
Longest day: 24.5
Rest days: 1

Highlights:

I got to hike through the "Alpine Lakes Wilderness" area, and it was chocked full of gorgeous clear "tarns" (high-altitude lakes, supplied by snowmelt).

The trail has become much more up and down than it has been through Oregon and southern Washington. No more ridgewalks. Now I'm either climbing or descending. It's been physically exhausting, but at least it didn't rain on me at all during this section, which was a welcomed relief. I didn't realize just how much the sunshine seems to affect my spirits until it was replaced by cold rain for week.

I saw my first bear of the trip yesterday morning! The two older hillbilly-looking men who I met on the trail told me that there was a "griz" up ahead, and that I should "look for the bear crap in the trail". Sure enough, I found the bear scat, and there it was, up the hill, grazing peacefully in a meadow. It was an odd color for a bear -- buff colored. The men called it a "cinnamon" bear. It was definitely one of my cooler trail moments. I've been told different things about the existence of grizzlies in this area, but they're definitely migrating south from Canada to northern California, Oregon and Washington. There aren't many, but there apparently are a few even in northern California.

I've seen lots of marmots -- although these guys are gray, not the "yellow-bellied" brown colored marmots of northern California. They're hard to spot because they blend into the gray rock talus in this area, but you can definitely hear them. Their whistles sound like falcon cries.

Picas are my favorite animal in this section, mostly because they make this cute little "Eeep" sound, and look like a brown Chinchilla. They're all fuzzy butt and big head, no tail.

Oh, and this was a fun moment for me....a 50 year old section hiker asked me if I was "taking a break from college to do this long hike?" I looked at him sideways and said, "Uhhhhhh, I'm 40." And he does a genuine double-take and spouts off, "Holy cow, you're well-preserved!" and I thought to myself, Now, wait a minute! I thought that was a phrase only used on people 60 and up!...

Well, that's it for this section. Mostly, I felt like I was trying to get through it. I've been feeling sooooo tired. Only about 150 miles to the Canadian border!

Love,
Dawn