September 3 — day 125
Camped mile 2457.1 hiked 27.7 miles today.
It was another animal sighting day. Saw my first bald eagle. I saw a shadow over me and looked up to see a mature eagle in its distinctive plumage, I saw a number of Pika and Marmots. The Pika are so cute oftentimes with a bit of grass or other shrubbery in their mouth destined for their winter larder. The Marmots are much larger than those in the Sierra. Again today I saw Grouse. The highlight was another large actually black in color black bear. On a much smaller scale, I saw what I think was a Vole. The Bear and Vole reminded me of Totoro and the dust sprites from “My Neighbor Totoro” overall it was an excellent day of walking. It was also a berry good day with salmon, thimble, and huckleberries in abundance.
September 2 — day 124
Camped mile 2429.5 hiked 26.2 miles today.
It was absolutely gorgeous day hiking. The day was not quite so nice as some guy hiking with his dog charged me three times over the day. Of course like all dog owners he said that this never happens. Dog owners are either delusional or deceitful about their pet’s behavior as his is the standard response about their dog behaving aggressively. Yesterday another very large dog lunged at me and the owner who thankfully had the dog leashed was barely able to restrain the animal. I am very anti-dog on trail. They are a threat to both humans and animals.
September 1 — day 123
Camped mile 2403.3 hiked 15.1 miles today.
I’m glad that I camped where I did as it got much less appealing as I descended the 5 miles to Snoqualamie Pass. I picked up my package from the Summit Inn for the valuable consideration of $15, got my laundry started, got my devices charging and got breakfast at the adjoining Pancake House. The $13 I-90 special of 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausage, 2 pancakes and hash brown potatoes was just what the Dr ordered. I ate with Salsa, a German thruhiker I have been running into lately. I used the dryer for once rather than wearing my clothes right out of the washer. I was also able to fluff up my limp down jacket and revitalize the DWR on my rain jacket and pants. I did some texting and emailing as well as having a nice long chat with my girlfriend. The climb out of the pass was hard but it was gorgeous getting into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. There were loads of day hikers to contend with on the way up. I was complimented on my cleanliness by one group. While my clothes were indeed clean, I had not taken a shower and am well in need of a dunk in a lake or river. It’s been too crowded lately to do my usual skinny dip before rolling into town.
August 31 — day 122
Camped mile 2388.2 hiked 23.6 miles today.
Got a bit of a late start today. Saw lots of huckleberries and pickers today. It’s Memorial Day weekend and I’m getting close to Snoqualamie Pass so I saw loads of people. I decided to camp earlier than I wanted to in order to find a decent spot. I’ll get to the pass tomorrow morning and pick up my resupply package.
August 30 — day 121
Camped mile 2364.6 hiked 27.1 miles today.
It was a great day walking. Lots of yummy huckleberries for munching. I stopped by the Mike Urich cabin with some other thruhikers and had a Ranier beer and an orange left by some trail angel. Camped at a pretty decent spot off the Tacoma Pass road.
August 29 — day 120
Camped mile 2337.5 hiked 25.7 miles today.
It was sprinkling rain in the morning. I saw two bears in the morning before Chinook Pass. There was a trail angel Madd at the Pass offering bananas, nectarines, sodas, pumpkin pie, chips, candy and cell phone charging to boot. After I left the pass I spotted two mountain goats up on a scree slope.
August 28 — day 119
Camped mile 2311.8 hiked 18.5 miles today.
I was up early and made it to the Kracker Barrel general store before 8:00 when they opened. I did laundry sharing with Alli a thruhiker I had been running into the last few days, took a shower and picked up my resupply package. I spent a few hours charging up devices loading podcasts and electronic communicating. Camped at Crag Lake.
