Hiked to mile 2552.6 at Cloudy Pass trail junction. PCT closed from mile 2552 to 2572 due to Bannock Lake Fire. Hiked 12 PCT miles today. Also hiked approximately 11 miles on Cloudy Pass and Hart and Lyman Lake trails. Hiked another approximate 2 miles around Lyman Lake area when lost. Trail junctions weren’t marked for the PCT closure detour route. Total miles hiked were approximately 25 miles.  Today is day 112, but having taken a zero-day, it is my 111th day of actual hiking and today is August...

At mile 2540.6. Hiked 24.1 miles today. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I woke up this morning thinking I was in my bed at home. I had early morning views of Glacier Peak. Yet again, there was more blow-down, but not as much as I encountered yesterday.  This one presented an interesting problem. I managed by climbing over. One last snow crossing. Or will it be the last? The winding trail. Mica Lake Another view of the reflections in Mica lake. Here I'm having a mid-morning swim in Mica Lake. Having frigid clear...

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...

At mile 2486.7. Hiked 22.5 miles today. Since I was in town to enjoy the modern conveniences of the Cascadia Inn, I got my usual “in town” late start. Trail Angel, Chris gave me a ride up to Stevens Pass, but first I picked up a couple of blueberry muffins at the deli. I’d already had granola cereal and plenty of coffee at the Cascadia. It was a hot and smoky day. It seemed like my shirt was soaked with sweat all day long. There were some fantastic vantage points...

At mile 2464.2. Hiked 10.3 miles today. Today I hiked into Stevens Pass and hitched a ride for the 14 miles to Skykomish where I stayed at Cascadia Inn.  With a morning start at 5:20 am the air was not moving and the mosquitoes were harassing me the whole way. I hiked past several lakes and a long way through the ski area at Stevens Pass. The bartender in Skykomish later told me that Vail Resorts had just bought the ski resort and were closing the deal in a month.  While...

At mile 2455.9. Hiked 21 miles today. Today I visited many lakes. I woke up and broke camp at Deep Lake. I ate lunch and soaked my feet in Deception Lake. I swam in Glacier Lake and tonight I am camping at Mig Lake.  Here is Deep Lake from my campsite. Here is Deep Lake view after having climbed toward Cathedral Peak. After the morning climb, I could see Cathedral Peak up close. I climbed Again to Piper Pass and came down through this rock field. From Piper Pass I could see Glacier Lake...