Wednesday, April 30, 2014

September 14th—Eagles Roost to Mowich Lake

Not unlike several other days, Matt is up at a respectable time and is nowhere to be found. I sleep in a little bit, for which my body and feet thank me. Before I get up and get going, I figure I ought to take a picture that shows what my daily morning view looks like out of my cinched down sleeping bag. After fiddling with that for several minutes, I get up, get breakfast going, and begin to get things torn down and packed up.

Daily, of course, nature calls. This is one of several camp sites around the Wonderland Trail that have a really well ventilated toilet. That is to say, it just has a pit with a seat on top of it. The view is great and the smell isn't too bad, either. At this particular toilet, however, there is a tree just off to the right and in front of where you are sitting that has a computer printed note tacked to it. The note specifies that there is a bees' nest under the toilet. This is primarily what occupies one's mind as one sits bare-bottomed on the toilet. I don't spend a lot of time enjoying the scenery on this particular toilet, beautiful though it is...the scenery, that is.

Not too much later, Matt shows up and says there's something I've got to see. After tearing down camp and getting our packs buttoned up, we slowly head out. We don't have far to go today, so we're in no hurry. We make our way up the moderate hill to the main trail, then head in the direction opposite Mowich Lake. I don't like the idea at all, but Matt insists. I hate backtracking. Then I see the sign for Spray Falls. Now I get it.

It's a very short, easy hike to Spray Falls. After arriving, I drop my pack, unstrap my tripod, and mount my Maxxum 5D to the tripod and Sigma 12-24mm zoom lens to the body. I make sure to bring along my cable release, then begin hiking up the rocky river bed to a vantage point that should make for a good photo. After enjoying the beautiful falls and getting a few shots, I head back down, scraping my leg and drawing blood on one of the million rocks in this riverbed. As I'm hiking back down, a boyfriend and girlfriend pass me in the opposite direction, climbing up the rocks toward the falls.

Upon arriving back at the trail, I find Matt pouring over a map with a couple Seattleites who are just beginning their trek around The Mountain. We chat for a few minutes (as the couple I had just seen begins to head off down the trail after the very brief terminus of their day hike), give them some tips, and head toward Mowich Lake. There was a beautiful stream whose rocks were covered in moss that we passed on the way to Spray Falls. I stop and photograph it on the way back to the main trail (Spray Falls is on a spur), then strap my tripod back onto my Dana Bomb Pack. The next time I use my camera will be when we're done hiking the Wonderland Trail.

The difficulty of the hike from Eagles Roost back to Mowich Lake is modest. It's not a tough hike, but my body has taken a pounding over the past two weeks. My feet hurt. My knees hurt. My feet are swollen. My feet have blisters on them. You get the idea.

After maybe a half hour, we overtake the couple we had seen back at Spray Falls. We are anxious to get this thing over with and are moving at a fairly brisk pace. We know there's not much to see (relatively speaking) and we just want to complete what we've started. We didn't look at Matt's GPS to see the time we left camp this morning and we don't look at it when we get back to the truck, both just out of forgetfulness. I'm sure this last leg is less than a couple hours.

Although we're bushed, beaten up, and thrashed, we feel a real sense of accomplishment when we see my F-250. More than anything, I want to get my pack into the bed of the truck, get my shoes and socks off, and sit down on the soft seat in the cab of my truck—mainly to get off my feet. Then I'll know it's over. I'll know we finished it. We stuck with it and met the goal we'd been aiming for. Several years of dreaming, a lot of planning, a huge amount of effort in the form of well over 100 miles hiked with heavy loads on our backs, all come to fruition.

It was tough, frustrating, challenging, stretching, and painful, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Photos of the Hike

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