PCT 2007 – Day 151 – Glasses Lake – Campsite at saddle

Day 151 8-23-07 Tarp Tent 5100′
Just before Glasses Lake – Campsite at a saddle
28.4 miles; 2516.4 (79.36) total miles; 4361.0 trip miles
60-70’s, sun and clouds
Days camped alone 30

2007 PCT Critter Tour General Category
1- Marmot count is 137
2- Deer count is 132
3- Elk count is 65
4- Pika count is 60
5- Goat count is 21
6- Slug count is 14
7- Bear count is 7
8- Rattlesnake count is 6
9- Martin count is 1
10- Badger count is 1

!!!It’s happened. We have our first lead change of the Tour. The Marmot, in an impressive show, took the lead by storm. The hills were filled with them. Tonight the Marmot will be wearing their first ever Yellow Fur Coat. The Pikas scored 6 points and really have closed the gap to the Elk!!!

I woke up before 6 AM! Amazing I know. I got up at 5:45 and was hiking by 6:30. It really helped me get the miles done I needed to. I didn’t want to be hiking all night. I climbed the west shoulder of Grizzly Peak and also passed Grizzly Lake. On the way I passed a guy and his husky. The dog was so excited to be hiking. It gave me a boost to see his energy.

I crossed through Wenatchee Pass then climbed pass Top Lake Trail 1506, finally reaching Pear Lake. I went down to get water here and had a chorus of Pikas sing to me from across the lake. The water was so clear I could see 20+ feet deep. I continued to climb to a crest before descending by some small creeks. As I got water I noticed two hikers on the climb to Saddle Gap in front of me. I caught them after the gap and said hello as I went by. I then descended to Pass Creek and Pass Creek Trail. Once to the creek, it was back up the other side to Cady Pass. That climb wasn’t bad, but the next 1.9 miles, at a 6.6 grade, kicked my butt.

When I got to Lake Sally Ann, I was ready to eat. I had lunch with a family (mother, father, son and daughter) who were camping there for a few days, just taking it easy. They had all kinds of questions for me, which I answered the best I could. I stayed for about 45 minutes and then moved on. I now realize that I left my camp towel at their site.
After I left I passed the Cady Ridge Trail and the made an ascent of Wards Pass. On the way up I was passed by 6 horses. Two guys and a young boy were headed to Stevens. Once to the top of Wards, I passed Bald Eagle Trail 650. Next up was the Little Wenatchee River Trail.

I passed a family of 5 coming south, bringing my total people seen to 16. A little further up I passed 5 more people and then a group of 6 at Kodak Peak’s east ridge.
I then descended to Indian Pass, stopping for water on the way. Indian Pass marks the place where as a PCT’er you must decide either to take the original, supposedly impassable PCT, or the detour route. The detour was recently closed due to fires and I heard it’s as overgrown as the original. I had already talked to a bunch of Southbounders and decided to stick to the old original PCT. I will have to deal with washed out bridges, raging impassable fords, and lots of blow downs but why not rub a little more salt in my wounds. It’s the last week of the trip, so go big or go home. Just kidding.

From Indian Pass I climbed 1500′ in the next 5.8 miles. It wasn’t bad climb except for a few spots. The reward though for choosing this route and climbing was well worth it. The views were amazing. It was like the Sierras, but instead of gray rock everywhere it was green grass. So far I have loved the Glacier Wilderness. It is beautiful and very grand in size.

I passed two ladies coming down from Red Pass who gave me a water tip. For that I took their picture for them. I passed Murky Kid Pond, Lower White Pass, Semi-clear Reflection Pond (which was far from semi-clear, it looked like a mosquito factory), and then I reached White Pass. I had to break out the map since there was an unmarked fork in the trail. Once I figured out to go left, I found the water the ladies told me about and the marmots started appearing, too.

I passed the North Fork Sauk Trail 649 on my way up to Red Pass. I saw 19 marmots during this short section. The views were incredible as well. I traversed the whole way up and had this massive valley to my left with large peaks on the other side.

Once to Red Pass I found out that on the other side of the mountain I was traversing what was a huge bowl which I would be descending into. I cooked up at the pass then around 6:45 PM I descended down to the saddle I’m currently on. The bowl I went through was just massive. Marmots were calling from all sides and snow water runoff was cascading down from all over. Glacier was just visible as I got to camp. It had some clouds on it which made it hard to see but I did get one okay picture. In the AM I should have a great view from just outside my tent.

Scatman 2011-

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Scatman

Get out there!