09 Aug Day 110 – An Explosive Day

At mile 2515.5. Hiked 28.8 miles today.

I swam in Lake Sally Ann.

Here is the trail.

The cones on this tree were purple.

I ate lunch at Reflection Pond. It was hot and I had looked forward to a swim, but the pond turned out to be shallow and unappealing so I cooled off in the shade instead. Some section hikers gave me some seaweed that they said went well with tuna so I ate tuna-seaweed wraps for the first and probably last time. With harassing flies and mosquitoes, the pond wasn’t the ideal place for a lunch break. Before heading out, I noticed that the pond was at 2500.2 miles so I drew this marker.

There were more open areas and I came across areas where Lupine was growing.

I began crossing near a blasting area. As I began a long climb, I had forgotten about the warning signs when suddenly there was an explosion just below where I was walking. It really made me jump. The echo must have lasted 15 seconds as the blast reverberated up and down a long ridge that extended above the deep gorge below where I stood. It was the most incredible echo I have ever heard.

Here is the view of the trail at around the time the explosion went off. I think they must have been doing work on a trail below me.

After a long hot climb on sun-exposed slopes, I crested the ridge to a view of scattered snow patches.

I could see Glacier Peak. 

I descended and descended and began crossing small creeks and soon large creeks.

We stopped at a campsite, ate dinner, and decided to hike another 3-plus miles. We walked through streams of water running down the trail and ended by climbing a great deal. Although the evening hours were cooler, my shirt was completely soaked from perspiration caused by the effort and pace of the climb. There were also many blowdowns to navigate. 

Cache22 finally reached our campsite. I had already picked out a tent spot next to a small creek. These flowers blooming around the creek.