Amazing Goat Rocks Wilderness & Resting in Packwood – PCT 2017: A Hiking Story [46]
Previous Post:
Part 45 ‘Mt Adams & Ascending into Eternity’
Day 138 (26/08) – Entering Goat Rocks Wilderness
After leaving my Mt Adams camp site, one of the first obstacles of the day was crossing a small stream crossing. It was quite rapid, and to not get my feet wet I went upstream about 100m.
Hiking around Mt Adams meant you get to see awesome volcanic rock all around the trail. I passed Killed Creek, where many hikers were camped. It had an awesome little waterfall there.
Finally, I’d reached the Goat Rocks Wilderness area. I’d heard nothing but great remarks about this particular section of the trail.
The day was a lot of ascending, and tomorrow will be at the highest point in Washington that I’d climb to. I could look back and see Mt Adams which I’d previously hiked past, and at times could even see Mt Rainier ahead, but it was mostly obscured.
I set up camp on Nanny Ridge at Sheep Lake. It wasn’t a very special lake, but it was the only water source I’d seen in several miles and was welcoming to see.
Day 139 (27/08) – Cispus Pass, Old Snowy and Knife’s Edge
Hiking out with an early start was great. I climbed Cispus Pass with a balmy cool temperature and enjoyed the open fantastic views of the valley and mountains.
Thankfully, there were more streams and even some cool waterfalls on the way down the other side.
Up, up, up into Goat Rocks, I climbed. The PCT reaches 7100 feet, but I took the alternate which goes up to Knife’s Edge on Old Snowy Mountain and got a panoramic view of the mountains. The only problem was that the smoke obscured the views of the mountains as it changed to a northerly direction.
It was awesome heading down Knife’s Edge as I got to hike on the tip of the ridge for miles on end. Usually, you hike on the side of ridgelines, and it was a nice change.
I ended up camping at around 7pm at Ginnette Lake, just short of reaching White Pass. I figured I’d have to hitch from here and have a town day in Packwood, even though it wasn’t my original plan.
Distance hiked: 23.5 miles
Total PCT hiked: 2290.5 miles
Day 140 (28/08) – Packwood
I hiked the final two mikes into White Pass, where I met Akuna and the guys. They had camped behind it the night before and were heading out back to the trail.
I grabbed my resupply box from the gas station – they had them piled up in the back of an unused refrigeration door. Luckily, mine was literally the first one I saw. Others weren’t so fortunate!
I took a hitch into Packwood with a girl whose husband was hiking the trail. She was living in a camper van following him around on the trail, providing him with food and lifts. I told her she needs to make sure they reciprocate and swap next year!
The decision to go into Packwood was great – it was a tiny town, but it had everything a hiker needs. The morale boost after a big hiking day was amazing. I checked into a cheap hotel run by an old lady for $40 including laundry. They also had some loaner clothes.
I then went to the market and bought a tub of ice cream, some chips and a drink to watch the last episode of Game of Thrones for the season – it was amazing!
I went out to the Saloon in the evening by myself and had a sandwich and a beer. Half an hour later, Rise, Shine, Snakebite, Mammal (who I’d already met on the trail in the previous section) arrived along with another guy called Queso. I joined them for some drinks.
Distance hiked: 2 miles
Total PCT hiked: 2292.5 miles
Next Post:
Part 47 ‘White Pass & More Fire Closures’
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