At mile 2434.9. Hiked 25.7 miles today. There was a lot more smoke today so I wondered whether the lightening yesterday afternoon had caused some fires.  Early in the day I passed this waterfall from the outlet  of Spectacle Lake. This was a day of descents and climbs. After the first climb, I could view the range I had been on earlier in the day. I ate lunch at this beautiful spot. The climb had made me hot so that when I came across this lake I filled my water bottles and...

At mile 2409.2. Hiked 16.1 miles today. I took my time at the Summit Inn organizing and running errands and eating another meal at the Summit Pancake House. With late breakfast, I didn’t feel that I needed to pack a lunch for today. I sorted through my resupply and took out some food items to lower the weight. I snared a dark chocolate bar and small tuna from the hiker box. I donated a large tuna, oatmeal, tortillas, etc to the hiker box. After reviewing everything, I felt that...

At mile 2393.1 (Snoqualamie Pass). Hiked 11.1 miles today. It rained last night and I slept well to the sound of rain. Awake in the predawn, I crawled out of the tent into the rain and headed toward the cathole I had dug the night before. It was around the end of a large fallen tree. As I rounded the tree, I tripped over the broken off end of the tree and landed flat on my face right into the wet ground directly in front of the cat hole....

At mile 2382. Hiked 30.3 miles today. The cloudy day made it cooler which made it easier to hike. The clouds grew heavier late in the day and between walking in woods and cloud obscured views, there weren’t spectacular vistas to photograph. Nevertheless, dripping woods and blowing clouds were beautiful. Here is another view of Mt Ranier as I leave it behind. Here is the trail.  ...

Day 102 At mile 2351.7. Hiked 26 miles today. - August 1, 2018 Today, checking the fire report, I found out that the fire at White Pass was named the Miriam Fire and that the area which included the PCT and other trails had been closed. The fire was first reported on Monday, July 30th, 11:00 AM, less than an hour before I walked through the area and noticed an orange glow to the sunlight filtering through the trees. The fire was caused by a lightening strike. I also found out...

At mile 2325.7. Hiked 24.8 miles today. I used the Thermocell during a morning break and at lunch. It kept the mosquitoes away so could take off the head net and relax without those pesky bloodsuckers bothering me.  I’m happy with Thermocell. I broke camp at Busch Lake and walked past a number of ponds while hiking through one of the worst mosquito infested areas I had seen. Mosquitoes were in a swarm around my head net. This is Busch Lake where I camped. I passed by Yellow Cedars that grow in...