PCT Day 26: Knife’s Edge (7/19)

Today’s miles: 19

PCT Miles Hiked: 376/2660

It’s a funny feeling to wake up in the morning and know you won’t be hiking right when your tent is packed. My fate is in the hands of the postal service as I’m waiting on a resupply package that hopefully should be here midday.

I make the most of my morning by taking an amazing shower and having a latte and breakfast sandwich. I call the post office 45 minutes away and they do in fact have my package! It hasn’t been sent to White Pass Kracker Barrel (my current location) because it was overstuffed and there is extra postage due for this. Whoops. But the guy says it will be sent to the Kracker Barrell today and I can pay the postage due then.

I sit around with Black Dog and Lambo, who are also waiting on packages. Time begins to drag once 11am roll around and I walk around the parking lot to move around a bit. A car pulls in and it has packages!

I’m lucky and mine is fact one of those packages. I pay the lady, grab a few last items from the store, and say goodbye to Black Dog and Lambo. They weren’t as lucky and still don’t have their packages. That’s tough and they look as gloomy as I feel giddy.

I’m back on trail by 1:30 and feel like I’ve been injected with rocket fuel. I’m really excited for this next section of trail called Goat Rocks Wilderness. Many people call this and the Sierra the two most beautiful sections of the PCT.

I climb and hit a pretty meadow, climb and then overlook a gorgeous lake, climb and then a stunning view of Mt. Rainier. In this very very short span, I’m very impressed with Goat Rock’s.

As late evening rolls in, I turn a corner to find myself face to face with a flock of mountain goats. We stare at each other and as I begin to walk forward, they flee. And walk straight off the mountain. It seems to defy gravity but they are totally at ease working their way down a mountain that is nearly vertical. Must be nice.

I cross something call the Knife’s Edge, a hairy traverse that is not for the faint of heart. After a tricky navigation section, I come across two hikers. And it’s Victor and Grace! They headed out this morning from White Pass and told me they’d be camping here. I wasn’t sure if I’d make it this far, but here I am and here we are. And it’s absolutely stunning. We have a 360 view of three “stratovolcanoes” (according to Guthook) which are Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adam’s, and St. Helens.

It’s the perfect night for cowboy camping, sleeping without your tent, and I do that for the first time on trail. In our sleeping bags, the three of us have dinner and talk about trail names for Victor and Grace. Victor is trying out “Sunshine” and Grace is trying out “Principal”.

As the night winds down, each of us comes with a haiku about our day. Mine is about food, Victor’s about water, and Grace’s about mountains. I burl into my sleeping bag, nestling myself against the elements. The views, cowboy camping, and company have made it my favorite night on trail.