Day 97: SOBOs Begin

Sandman and I hiked out of Snoqualamie Pass before 5:45 to start the long, 2,800 foot ascent over ~6 miles. It was a cool morning which helped make the climb easier. 

We were welcomed at the top to magnificent views of Mt Rainier in the distance, sketchy snow/ice, and to the loud sonic booms of Airforce fighter jets flying overhead. 

The little snow that was remaining usually was on the switch backs, which meant some focused steps to avoid a slip down the snow field and potentially catastrophic outcomes. We made it safely though. 

The jets were pretty consistent all morning and on one occasion I saw the pilot do a barrel roll as he (or she) exited the mountain valley. 

Washington is mountainous. We spent the entire day either going up or down. In total, we climbed 8,300 ft and dropped 8,000 across the 35.7 miles. Most of the elevation gain was done in three ~2k ascents. The last of which was very tiring. 

On the last descent of the day, I met Randy, the first southbound thruhiker we’ve met. He’d just finished the AT and flipped over to the PCT. Pretty amazing accomplishment. 

The rest of the descent was during golden hour and I was awestruck at how the light was coming off the mountain. I felt overwhelmed with gratefulness to be experiencing this. 

At camp, I spilled a piece of ramen onto the ground only to be treated to the fascinating sight of watch an ant for 15 minutes carry it at least 5 feet towards its hole. It’s the little things out here. 

Miles: 35.7

Total Miles: 2,526