Trip Report

White Pass to Chinook Pass — Wednesday, Jun. 10, 2015

South Cascades > White Pass/Cowlitz River Valley

Trip Report By

Sierra's Pinwheel

Type of Hike

Multi-night backpack

Trail Conditions

Obstacles on trail:
    Trees down across trail,
    Difficult stream crossing(s),
    Muddy or wet trail,
    Mud/Rock slide or washout.

Road

Road suitable for all vehicles

Bugs

Bugs were terrible

Snow

Intermittent snow - not hard to cross

Wildflowers blooming

The Beginning

WHAT WE DID PCT 28 mile stretch, 2 1/2 days (W 10am - F 4:00pm) Followed the wta's suggested four day plan but succeeded in completing it early with two overnights, averaging about 9 miles per day (9:00-5:00ish.) THINGS WE SAW Lenticular cloud. Lots of animal tracks, butterflies, dragonflies, wildflowers, intermittent snow melting and a handful of obstacles. Lots of opportunities to fill up for water. WHEN &WHERE Day 1&2 (Wednesday midday-Thursday midday): A couple of hikers around Snow Lake, one horseman around Deer Lake. Obstacles consisted of having patience and reasoning with immediate unmarked paths, bugs galore, & fallen trees that blocked the path and crossing Bumping River. Animals around near Fish/Crag Lake (deer, coyotes howling, owls hooting) LESSON LEARNED: Any direction is better than no direction. All paths lead to the same path; YOU choose your destiny. The journey is the destination! Day 2 (Thursday afternoon -Friday afternoon): Runners exercising early misty morning around Two Lakes. Obstacles consisted of endurance tests with more unmarked paths crossing each other, hiking on fragments of rocks stretching a mile or two at a time while traveling up the mountains with the sun on our backs, passing over and through rock slides with trails that were only approx. a foot and a trekking pole wide, crossing the Bumping River and stepping up more than 20+ PCT wood steps to finally reach the crossroads of Tipsou Lake and Chinook Pass. Marmot family was active, curious and photogenic, hanging out around 5-10 miles from the end of Chinook Pass, past rock slide and babbling brook where we stopped for water. (We found them about 2-4:00 sunbathing & gallivanting through the rock slide.) LESSON LEARNED: Important to breathe. Coffee on the mountain in early morning rocks. (All pun intended.) Hiking the PCT cleanses your soul and lightens your load (figuratively and literally.) The journey is the destination, but having a destination keeps you sane.

Tree Obstacles