Today is a repeat of yesterday, only worse. My knees and feet are thrashed. We get up at 7:00 in anticipation of a long day. It's chilly and I'm constantly looking for any spots where the sun is making it through the thick forest. I have to wait a while. The sun's on its own schedule.
Despite not being a very picky eater, I'm getting tired of oatmeal. Thankfully, we have Pop Tarts.
As we begin to break down camp, some hikers start trickling past on their own odysseys. Garry from Issaquah (originally from England) is attempting the trail in 4 days, but he might have to stretch it out to a whopping 5. Some people are so lazy. A guy named Steve wanders into our camp and the first thing I notice is that he's carrying a Canon GL-2. "Sweet camcorder," I say. Steve is in the middle of producing a DVD about hiking the Wonderland Trail. We chat for a while and he interviews Matt and me. Maybe we'll become famous.
We head out at 9:34. Pretty typical starting time for us. We meet Rich and Roxie from Globe, AZ doing the trail in 10 days, and, not much further down the trail, Steve and Dale. Dale is doing the whole trail in 10 days. He just has to make it back to Mowich Lake. Steve is joining him for the West side. Dale's pack is a measly 35 pounds. He harasses us by telling us the grill at Longmire is closed (in jest). It doesn't even phase us. Not me, at least. Remember, I love those Mountain House freeze dried dinners. I could live off of them.
We get to Pyramid Creek. This creek is fed from Pyramid Glaciers, just to the south of Success Cleaver. There is a woman cleaning out some pots and pans. She doesn't notice Matt and me crossing the bridge. The creek is a bit noisy and she's focused on the task at hand, I guess.
Just on the other side of the creek, we meet Mike and Jane from Colorado. They're doing the trail in 8 days. They're starting from Longmire (like virtually everyone else) and so look very fresh. There are a few groups doing day hikes to Indian Henry's. This is a typical starting point. When I went up to Mirror Lakes before, I drove up the Westside Road and hiked up along Tahoma Creek and up those miserable switchbacks. Maybe I'll try this route next time.
When we get to Kautz Creek, a few minutes later, I'm feeling a tad warm, so I decide to dunk my head. It's cold, but feels good. I've wanted to go swimming, but haven't had the chance yet. This'll do for now. Jodie and Erin just started at Longmire and are already taking a break on a few of the myriad giant boulders lining the river bed. They're going only as far as Devils Dream tonight, so it's an easy day for them.
There are a few miles of relatively level hiking before getting to a set of switchbacks leading up to Longmire. Partway up the switchbacks, I do what I do many times on this hike. I use strangers heading in the other direction as an excuse to stop and rest. Okay. I actually enjoy talking to people, so it's not entirely selfish and deceptive. We meet Dave and Jeremy from Renton and have a lengthy chat, mostly about New Orleans. When Matt and I left civilization, a week ago, Katrina was past, but the levees were just in the process of giving way. Death estimates were astronomical, but never did get quite that high. Matt starts talking to these guys about sports, and I tune out, shifting my weight from foot to foot, trying to be kind to the foot that needs it most at any given instant. Actually, what I need is to sit down. Both feet need a break. They feel pretty abused.
Thankfully, we get more breaks before getting to Longmire. We're about at the top anyway. Tom is from Friday Harbor and is 39 years old. He would be doing the hike in 14 days, but waited for some friends who didn't show up. Now he's doing it in 10. He's planning on celebrating his 40th birthday over in Summerland. He brought along some booze just for that occasion. He's hoping one of his friends will meet up with him on the east side at Sunrise. He started at Box Canyon. Although there are a lot of places you can start your Wonderland hike, Longmire is by far and away the most common.
Andrew, Nick, Owen, and Damian just started from...where else...Longmire. They're doing it in 10 days, the most common time frame. We'll see them again over near Skyscraper Mountain. Drew and Laura from Las Vegas got rained out last year, so they're trying it again this year, in 11 days.
We finally arrive at Longmire at 1:10 in the afternoon. Unfortunately, when we left my Ford F-250 in the parking lot at Mowich Lake, we also left all our cash and credit cards. It didn't occur to us that we might use the cash to barter with other hikers or to buy lunch or supplies at Longmire. Thankfully, they accept Matt's credit card number at the restaurant and we have some totally sweet hamburgers with bacon and cheese and french fries and about 3 or 4 glasses of lemonade each. Our waitress is from Turkey and is unfamiliar with the term "refill." We school her on that one in a hurry. While we're eating, Dillon, Jim, and Torston from Orange County show up. They've just finished the trail and are in good spirits. They were in the group of 7 we met on the first day. Two of them are going to stay in Seattle another week to see the Mariners play the Angels, then they're going to visit Vancouver. May as well see some sights while you're here. By the way, the Mariners swept the series.
After lunch, we pick up a few items from the store: a roll of film for my Minolta SRT Super and more mole skin. I head over to the ranger station and get our stash and Matt goes to the bathroom to clean up some and do a bit of laundry. He brought soap and shampoo, so he may as well use them. I give our almost-empty fuel canister to the ranger. It has lasted us 6 full days and isn't quite empty. We started with two (one as backup) and pickup an additional one at each resupply. We could've made
due with only three.
While in the ranger station, I meet Paul and Cindy Hagan from Wisconsin. They're just making final arrangements with the ranger before setting out. We'll see them again near the Carbon Glacier.
I've been walking around the ranger station barefoot. I want to give my poor feet a break and let my socks and shoes dry out (again, from sweat, not rain). I also want to make sure I've got some well-applied mole skin on my feet. We still have a ways to go. I should point out that Matt's feet are in pretty good shape. He has a minor hot spot, but that's it. My wearing sandals for a day didn't help my feet at all. We set out at 3:35.
As we hike along the Nisqually River for the first mile-and-a-half or so, we book. It's level. I can book on level. I'm thinking about Snow Lake. The ranger at Longmire had told me that the best lake to photograph in the whole park is Bench Lake, right below Snow Lake. I'm planning on taking some pictures there at sunset tonight and maybe taking a dip if I'm still hot when we arrive.
After crossing the Nisqually River, level goes out the window. We begin a ridiculous climb up to Reflection Lakes. I get stung by another bee, but this time on my left calf. It doesn't hurt as much as the first bee sting, but it still ticks me off. On the way up, we see Mike, Marri, and Hyer, whom we had met just south of Golden Lakes. Marri tells me she wants to see some of those pink sunset shots. Well, Marri, I got two of them. One at Indian Henry's and another up around Spray Park. I was hoping for more, but that's all the weather gave me.
All of a sudden, I smell something fruity in the air. It's the first blueberries we've seen in miles.
We pick up quite a few cigarette butts along this stretch.
When we're pretty close to the lakes, we meet two girls who are coming back down. They ask us if we're getting ready for the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail). I tell them this is a bad time to ask.
By the time we get to Reflection Lakes, my feet are absolutely killing me. You know how when you hit your finger with a hammer, it throbs? Well my feet feel like one continuous throb. The sun is getting low. We're in shadow around the lakes and it's cooling off. It's interesting. Many times, when you're in shadow, all you want is sunshine, and when you're in the sun, all you want is some shade so you can cool off. Right now it's chilly. I think we're about out of sun for the day. We'll generate
our own warmth, however.
We get to Louise Lake...well near the lake. The Wonderland Trail doesn't actually take you right by the lake. We get out the map and GPS and study them carefully. There is no sign for Snow Lake. I see from the map that we'll have to walk on the road some to get to the trailhead. Later I determine that there's no sign for Snow Lake Camp because it's not even on the Wonderland Trail. It's a good thing we have an idea how to read a map. I don't want to walk any more than I have to.
This is the low point of the whole hike for me. My feet are toast. I feel discouraged. If my wife were to drive by right now and offer me a ride, I'd get in the car and go home. I feel like crying. Fortunately, I suppose, the only reasonable place for me to go is the last mile or so up a bunch of nasty steps to Snow Lake where I can drop my pack, eat a hot meal, and go to bed. This is precisely what we do. Matt's having some knee trouble. It gives me a little consolation to know that I'm not the only one who's beat. We have our headlamps on as we grind through the last part of this long and difficult day. As always, it's an enormous relief to arrive at camp. Dropping our packs and having dinner offer some relief and encouragement.
When I read articles in National Geographic Adventure or Backpacker magazines, it's always amusing how they never discuss the tough stuff. They never tell you how they were miserable or their feet hurt or they wanted to quit. Maybe I just complain a lot. When you get to the top, that's always thoroughly enjoyable. When you're back at camp, it's easy to look back fondly on your day. In the middle of it, however, there can be a lot of suffering involved.
As Matt and I sit on the logs next to the tent, relaxing and eating dinner, I am convinced I can't complete the hike to tomorrow's planned destination. My idea is just to swing into a camp a few miles from Snow Lake. I need the rest. My feet need a break. If I try another day like today, my feet will fall off. I guess we'll see how we feel in the morning. A good night's rest can work wonders.
Photos of the Hike
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