Goat Rocks-North Cascades--Gems of the PCT--Sections H & L August 2004

Section H Bridge of the Gods to White Pass—August 2004

On August 7, 2004, I enjoyed a 4 hour Amtrak ride from Seattle to Portland and then a shuttle to Bridge of the Gods along the Columbia River that joined up with the Pacific Crest Trail where I began the Section H section that took me to White Pass some 147 miles to the north.  

This was one of the most scenic portions of the PCT highlighted by the Goat Rocks Wilderness area and the major mountains I saw including Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Rainier.  The trail was filled with meadows, wildflowers, rivers, and streams, and amazing valley vistas.  This section of the PCT in Washington starts at the lowest elevation at 140 ft and climbs to the highest elevation near the Packwood Glacier at 7080 ft. in the Goat Rocks area.

After paying a 50-cent toll to walk across the grated Bridge of the Gods bridge, where I shared the roadway with cars and trucks that spanned the Columbia River from Oregon, I entered Washington State and Section H of the PCT.  

I was able to hike about 20 miles in 10 hours after wandering along and across many utility roads until arriving at Rock Creek for the night at an elevation of 1,450 ft.  The day was filled with many dirt road crossings and clear-cuts, but there were also some grassy meadows that I am sure were popular with the deer and elk.

Shortly after starting the hike, I passed by Gillette Lake just off the trail on private property.

Along the way, I came up to a sudden view of Mt Hood to the south.

The Rock Creek campsite was just what I needed after this first day of my 2004 hike of the PCT with the creek nearby for cooking and cleaning and for lulling me to sleep. Rock Creek—lots of rocks— is my water source. 

After attending last year’s American Long Distant Hiking Association-West (ALDA-West)—www.aldawest.org at the Sierra Club Camp, I learned a lot about ultralight hiking and changed what I carried and ate. I swapped out my gas stove for a “cat can” alcohol stove, lighter weight, and fewer clothes, and a Hennessy Hammock for the Henry Shires Tarptent.  My base weight pack was 14 lbs and with 9 lbs of food, my pack when starting was 23 lbs compared to the 40 lbs I had carried the year before.

Here is a group picture of our 2003 ALDA-West Gathering with me seated in front.

On August 8th, it was another day filled with dirt road crossings,  I went by the Wind River Experimental Tree Ranger Station to the south of the PCT, crossed the Wind River Bridge, and hiked past the Panther Creek Campground and its road leading back down to the Columbia River. 

I ended the day at a campsite near Cedar Creek and Road 68—complete with a fire pit and table at an elevation of 2,810 ft.  In 11 hours of hiking, I traveled 20 miles.

On August 9th, the trail skirted the edge of a big lava flow from Mt. Adams and continued on to some meadows called the Racetrack which supposedly was used by Native American horsemen, and several lakes through the Indian Heaven Wilderness Area. Just past the Racetrack, I got a great view of snow-covered Mt. St. Helens. 

I stopped for the night at the north end of Clear Lake which was about 1/3 mile to the east of the PCT.  I had hiked for 12 hours and covered 22 miles with a total ascent of 3,810 ft. and descent of 1,590 ft.

On August 10th, the PCT took me past the Indian Heaven Wilderness Area, up along the Sawtooth Mountain Range, and by the Sawtooth Huckleberry Field.  Today the Native Americans have exclusive rights to the berries on the east side of the road, and the use of the nearby Surprise Lakes Campground 

The PCT then took me between two cinder cones and I continued to cross several dirt roads before I stopped for the night at Swampy Creek near Road 23.  It sure didn’t look swampy where I camped.  I had hiked for 11 hours and covered 22 miles with a total ascent of 1,950 ft. and descent of 2,670 ft.

On August 11th, it was a day filled with huge views of Mt. Adams as I crossed lava fields and glacier melt creeks like Lewis and Adams Creeks.

I ended up at a good campsite by Muddy Fork Creek and got what they claim is the purest water from the nearby Lava Springs where I am wearing my yellow rain pants while my now cleaned pants were drying out.

It was an 11-hour hike of 22 miles with ascents of 1,950 ft. and descents of 2,670 ft. I saw no hikers on this day.

On August 12th, I entered both the Goat Rocks Wilderness area and the Yakima Indian Reservation.  After walking through some wooded area I climbed up to where trees were sparse at about 5,600 ft. which gave me awesome views of Old Snowy Mountain which I hiked over the following day.

On August 13th, I found myself walking through stunted evergreens and then arrived at open land where Old Snowy Mountain and I saw the Split Rock.  I was so pleased to go through this spectacular Goat Rocks area when the weather was clear enough to see Mt. Rainier in the distance.

Many hikers cross the Packwood Glacier, but I chose the more scenic Old Snowy Mountain at an elevation of 7,930 ft.  On the way down the large flat stones overlapping each other made a sound like broken dishes as I made my way down to the razor-edged trail, carefully passing the narrow blasted-out Egg Butte section of the PCT. 

I continued down the carved-out valleys and passed over Elk and Tieton Passes to my last night in the Goat Rocks Wilderness Area at Hidden Springs some 8 miles from the end of this Section H at White Pass.

On August 14th, I continued downhill to White Pass with its ski area and grocery store where I waited for my wife to pick me up for a ride home and a two-week rest before I completed the remaining 89-mile portion of the PCT in Washington—Stehekin to the US-Canada Border at Monument 78 and then on to Manning Park, Canada.

Section L. Stekehin to Monument 78 US-Canada Border

On August 28th, I retraced my route back to Stehekin by bus to Chelan and then on the Lady Express Catamaran to Stehekin where I got on the shuttle bus up to the High Bridge Ranger Station.   

From there I hiked north along the roaring Stehekin River until I got to Maple Creek campsite.  It was just a 2-hour hike of 4 miles with an ascent of 1,010 ft. and descent of 390 ft. 

On August 29th, it was a big day for elevation gain starting out at 3,000 ft and reaching 6,820 at Cutthroat Pass—one of four mountain passes I went over until I reached the Golden Creek and Willis Camp for the night. 

On the way I crossed Highway 20 at Rainy Pass which closes in the winters.  A few miles later I passed by Porcupine Falls with its wide white spray.

It was then a 1,800 ft climb to Cutthroat Pass at an elevation of 6,,820 ft.

I was now in the heart of the Pasayten Wilderness Area.

Tower Mountain loomed over the PCT from Granite Pass to Methow Pass. The 2004 Pasayten Wilderness fire continued to burn as I walked several miles through the burned-out area.  I continued to drop down to the Willis Camp at an elevation of 4,570 ft.  It was a 14-hour hike of 24.8 miles with an ascent of 5,630 ft and descent of 3,170 ft.

On August 30th,  it is another day of crossing over six passes before I got to the Shaw Creek campsite.  With a fairly level traverse from Glacier Pass to Harts Pass, the view is pretty expansive with the Slate Peak Lookout Tower, at an elevation of 7,440 ft, on the top of the mountain in the distance.

From here, I continued traversing five more mountain passes until I arrived at the Shaw Creek campsite. I hiked 26 miles in 12 1/2 hours with ascents of 4,250 ft and descents of 3,120 ft.

On August 31st, I was just 22 miles to go until I got to the US—Canada Border marked by Monument 78.  I went over three passes, including Buffalo Pass and then passed by Lake Hopkins far below, and another two passes when I finally finished all of the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington State.

After several downslopes switchbacks, I turned a corner and saw the Monument 78 and US-Canada markers that showed I was at the end of the Pacific Crest Trail, some 2650 miles north of Mexico. 

I continued on to Manning Park, Canada where I got a hotel room, cleaned up, and had a huge dinner, and the following morning I took an express Greyhound bus back to Seattle. 

It was a 503-mile journey over 22 days for an average of 23 miles per day over a four-year period.  Of the elevations I tracked in my Washington State PCT adventure, my cumulated ascents were 365,143 ft and descents were 365,143 ft.  I learned a lot at the ALDA West Gatherings about how to travel lighter—13 lbs pack vs 40 lbs—how to avoid getting blisters—remember my early entries described painful blisters that curtailed my travels compared to my recent blog entries where I don’t even mention blisters.

While hiking I saw many of these whistling marmots and their tiny Pica buddies.

The following year— 2005— I resumed my hike by taking AMTRAK from Seattle to Dunsmuir and took a short walk down I-5 to the PCT.  I would continue this hike until I sprained my left ankle as I was rushing to Ashland for a huge meal.  That ended my 2005 PCT adventure.  That is my next blog entry.

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