Day 60: the Cascades

My sleeping pad began to deflate a little through the night, so I’ll need to patch it up at my next town stop. Our campsite was perched on this one tiny little flat stop in the middle of a 4,000 foot descent. The sunrise at this exposed piece of elevation was out of this world. 

We reached the bottom of the descent to a small resort town of Belden, only to head right back up, gaining 5,800 feet of vert over 10 miles. It was grueling but gradual. It was a hot day too with temps in the 80s. I sweated at least a few liters out today.... can’t wait for a shower. 

The trail was snow free all day, which even though we climbed almost 9k of elevation, made the the day easier than the some of last few. The PCT entered the Cascade Mtn Range today and I was surprised the range went this far south. We ran into 4 other PCT hikers. We hadn’t been seeing too many lately so it was a welcome change. 

Tomorrow we should be at Drakesbad Guest Resort to shower, eat a good meal, and rejuvenate at their hot springs. Since I’ll be eating dinner there tomorrow night, I ate double dinner tonight -- delish! 

A truly wonderful day on trail :) it’s hard to believe it’s been 60 days spent out in nature. Time flies. 

Miles: 37.9

Total Miles: 1,550