jbsaulog

Day 3 Aug. 28, 2014

No sign of John last night or this morning. We had agreed that I would go on rather than waiting for him just past the lava spring. He expects to catch up today or tomorrow. I told him I’d start back to look for him – or his body -- if I reached the car without him on Friday. The gallows humor of a newsroom never leaves a journalist.

Up before 7 and didn’t see any hikers go by while I was cooking breakfast and repacking. But I have seen seven hikers so far this morning, all before 11 o’clock. Did four miles in three hours, slow even for me.

Met “White Hatter,” who does wear a white hat, on the trail right before the junction with Trail 114, the Highline Trail. He said he had done 2,100 miles of the PCT. He’s headed up to Chinook Pass this trip, starting at Road 23. He said he recently turned 65 and figured he’d better get’er done. Then he said, “How about you? You look like. . .”

(. . . like someone also rushing to squeeze a memorable experience from every remaining day? Someone who should get working on their bucket list and it better be a short one? Someone who feels time’s winged chariot hurrying at my back? Someone who’d like to make our sun run since we can’t make it stand still? Someone who . . .”)

“Just turned 66 this summer,” I told the White Hatter.

I guess I look my age even with my bald head under a hat. Figured I’d better get on down the trail.

Up close on Mount Adams.

12:30 p.m. Stopped at the junction of the PCT and Trail 113, also the take-off point for Trail 10, a high-camp trail. This section of the trail is stunning. Views of Mount Rainier to my right and Mount Adams on my left. I’m at 6,000 feet up the west side of Adams with the glaciers so close it seems as though you could peer into the crevasses with a good pair of field glasses and find anything dropped inside them by a passing climber. Or an unfortunate climber (told you it never went away).


Killeen Creek from the PCT bridge.

Killeen Creek tumbles down to a meadow after it passes under a bridge on the PCT. There’s a small pond at the end of of the meadow, then a few trees and Mount Rainier as a back drop. Several spots along here that would be top-of-the-line camping. I’d like to figure out some short approach trails to day-hike in here with

Killeen Creek meadows

Kathy so she could see the lava spring and these views.

While sitting here reading another London story, I heard my name called, and there was John, caught up with me midday on Day 3, just like he said he would. He did 19 miles yesterday and stopped at Midway Creek. He wants to push on another six miles from where we are now. I’ll stagger in behind him probably, but the good thing is that it will make tomorrow a shorter day and get us into Trout Lake earlier.