Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass

PCT MILES COMPLETE: 1667.2
PCT mile 2402 to PCT mile 2476
Section mileage: 74
Days: 9/15 - 9/18



Oyster mushrooms

We were both in rotten moods when we left the pass. We had decided to take an alternate route that would take us by Goldmyer Hot Springs and save us ten miles of hiking. Problem was, we didn't leave the pass until 4 pm, and our packs were loaded down with enough food for 170 miles. In my hand, I clutched a Ziploc bag with a carton of curry inside for dinner. It was muggy, and the alternate was steep. At the top of the climb, we skirted a lake and began the endless descent into the river valley. I lost count of switchbacks. Down we went, back and forth over boulder fields and still the river was too far away to hear. It got dark, and I was tired, and Craig was ahead. I could see his headlamp racing on the trail below.

I caught up at the bottom of the climb. He was talking to three hikers gathered around a campfire. "I don't think we're going to make it to the hot springs before they close," I told him. Another mile down the trail, we decided to set up camp for the night. We were disappointed to miss out on the springs, but at least we had curry for dinner.

Grilling chicken-of-the-woods

The next morning, we followed the river upstream through the humid, moss-choked valley. We collected edible chicken-of-the-woods and oyster mushrooms. Two of the hikers from the night before passed by. I didn't recognize their faces, but they had little tags on their backpacks with their names: Ninja and Apache. And we had met those two in our first week on the trail when we were chubby greenhorns! We climbed uphill from the river into the alpine zone, descending over a pass on a steep mudslide. We were so hungry. We ate way more snacks than we had to spare. The trail led us on another endless series of switchbacks down from Ivanhoe Lake. We camped at the base, and grilled mushrooms on a little campfire smothered with Taco Bell sauce.

The next day was full of cloudy, beautiful views. We climbed past Cathedral Rock and adjacent Surprise Mountain. The lakes were emerald green, and the scenery reminded us of the Sierras. Our companions were countless adorable pikas and marmots, who squeaked super cute warnings at each other as we hiked past. At one point, a little pika let loose a piercing whistle. It was so loud that we actually stopped to look around, to make sure that a hiker wasn't trying to alert us they had fallen down a cliff. Towards the end of the day, we ran into a couple of forest service employees doing trail maintenance. They told us that there was a ski resort at the upcoming pass that sold food. "Are you sure?" We asked.

Of course, after hearing about the ski resort, we couldn't think of anything else. We started out early the next morning, hiking quickly towards the promise of burgers. We hiked through cold clouds and rain all day long, past what I'm sure are ordinarily beautiful views. Yellow, red and purple leaves popped out in the understory. We rushed down the hill to the resort, and were disappointed to discover that the restaurant wasn't open until the weekend. The ski resort employees were friendly, however, and we got day old sandwiches and coffee and big, expensive ice cream cones from the little cafe. They let us charge our electronics and loiter in the warm building while, outside, the rain continued to fall. Ninja gave us his leftover food, since he (and the other backpackers) were heading in to Skykomish. Full, warm, and in high spirits, we left the resort late afternoon.