Marmot snack time
Two highlights from this last section: the marmot who hung out with me while I took a snack break, and the mountain goat (who we saw in the aptly named Goat Rocks Wilderness) who showed us who’s boss as we struggled up steep rocks.
Goat Rocks Wilderness is one of the sections that everyone hyped up, and it did not disappoint. The views were incredible and so expansive that they were impossible to capture with my phone camera.
Because of snow on the trail, we decided to take the PCT alternate which went up and over the mountain as opposed to traversing across steep, snow covered scree. The alternate took us over big, loose rocks which made a musical sound as I walked across. I must have been distracted by the musicality, because I managed to lose the trail and ended up getting myself stuck. I wasn’t far off trail, but I wasn’t able to see it. So I sat still, frozen in fear because every time I tried to take a step, the mountain crumbled beneath me and I felt like I was about to go down with it. Evan and I were planning to meet at the top, so I waited for him to come find me when I didn’t show up in a reasonable amount of time. He eventually looked over and found me just a few feet off trail. He came back down and helped me get back to where I was supposed to be. Crisis averted.
Going over a pass yesterday and seeing Mt. Hood was so good. Oregon is in our sights! We’ll be waving goodbye to Washington sometime in the next few days.
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We’re seeing many of the same sites but my trip is considerably easier and has more amenities. I tried to ask questions on a previous date but I think it failed, so trying again…How “crowded” is PCT thus far? How often do you encounter other humans? Keep hiking and posting!
We’re seeing more people than I thought we would. A lot of hikers who started northbound from the Mexican border skipped the Sierras since it was such a crazy snow year, so they’re either heading north from just north of the Sierras or going south from the Canadian border. We are probably running into 20-30 people on the trail each day.