Day 92: Goat Rocks Wilderness is da G.O.A.T.
We entered the Goat Rock Wilderness first thing, and I was immediately blown away. The clouds hung low in the valleys but eventually the trial took us to a higher elevation.
Two large elk shot down the valley where this photo was taken after they heard me stomping about.
I took my favorite photo of the hike so far:
That is Mt Adams framed by the trees, which is the mountain we hiked around only yesterday. From there, it only became more beautiful as we crossed over a small mountain pass into this beautiful mountain valley. There was water everywhere including a waterfall right next to trail. The pinnacle view of the day though was cresting a hill to an absolutely stunning view of Mt Rainier.
We then hiked out of the Goat Rocks Wilderness via the Knifes Edge pictured below.
I wasn’t as careful with my water today and ran out a few times with a mile or so until the next water buuut all was good.
We arrived to White Pass around 4 pm to resupply. There is a general store/gas station that caters really nicely to hikers. There was a brief moment where they weren’t sure my box was there, but thankfully they found it.
Another hiker, Eric, had just completed his first backpacking trip ever from Cascade Locks to White Pass -- a pretty impressive first trip. He was a financial advisor so we talked shop for a bit. Later in the conversation, he shared that’d he’d lost 150 lbs over 2 years preparing for this trip. So inspiring. He carried this flag with him, which was going to be the theme of a sermon he will give at his local church in a few weeks.
The people out here on trail come from all walks of life and are so inspiring.
Miles: 30.9
Total Miles: 2,393