Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section J - Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass — Saturday, Jul. 25, 2009

Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass

Wanting to beat the hordes to the Kendall Katwalk we were on the trail at 5:50 a.m.. Unlike a few weeks ago, the trail was free of snow all the way to the Katwalk and there was hardly any water flowing in the creeks. We had the Katwalk all to ourselves and enjoyed the view for a while before continuing on to Ridge Lake. There were a few patches of snow between the Katwalk and Ridge Lake and I managed to slip and fall on one of them - what a klutz! When we reached Ridge Lake we came upon a campsite overlooking the lake and saw that there were several tents set up on the other side so we decided to stop and set up our tent in the available site. Then we continued our hike with the intended goal of hiking to the top of Chikamin Ridge to close the gap from where we left off last week. We hiked over a few snow patches and some very loose talus in places but a lot of the trail was easy tread and some of it was sheltered by trees. Near Joe Lake there was a a steep slope both above and below the lake with a huge array of wildflowers that were absolutely beautiful in the sun. We stopped to enjoy the views and try to take some pictures which can't do justice to what our eyes were seeing. A little later a hiker wanted to pass us and I asked him where he had started and he said "Mexico"! We had met our first thru-hiker of the season. His name was Eric and I immediately asked if I could feed him. Of course he wanted to eat! So we sat by the side of the trail and visited about thru-hiking and the people who he knows who are hiking this year that I have met through their trail journals. This is Eric's 7th thru-hike of the PCT in 6 years! Doing it just once would be enough accomplishment for us! After Eric said goodbye (and left us in the dust) we hiked on toward Chikamin Ridge but it was getting late and we decided we needed to turn around to get back to our camp before dark. Just then the skies opened up with rain and thunder and lightning! We had to hike 4 miles along mostly exposed slopes with lightning and thunder crashing around us and rain pouring down at times. I slipped on a steep slope and started sliding down it but managed to grab some brush and save myself without doing too much damage other than getting a good scare. As we were hurrying along we heard a huge noise and looked around and thought it was the sound of the water that was now pouring down every little creek from the volume of rain but soon we came across two rock falls that blocked the trail that we had to clamber over. We were grateful we weren't under one when it fell! Upon arriving back at our camp on Ridge Lake we realized that a mini flash flood had to have passed through our campsite. There was a log jam under our tent and evidence that the water had pushed against the tent - thank goodness it was staked and tied securely (and still dry inside). We decided that we were soaked and our tent was not in a good spot and it was now 6:00 p.m. so we packed up and began the 8 mile hike back out to the trailhead. We had to use our headlamps for the last 2 miles or so and arrived at our car at 10:30 p.m. having hiked a total of 24 miles for the day. All in all it was quite an adventure but one I do not want to repeat!