Week 10 Mileage: 244.3
“Masshole, Savage and Section J”
To start the week, I got stung by a wasp. I was hoping to see my buddy Masshole north of Trout Lake. When I arrived at the toad crossing, I didn’t see a note from him, so I decided to hitch into town. While resupplying, I heard a familiar voice—it was him. He had just arrived in town.
I ate, had a huckleberry smoothie, and we were back on trail by 2. It was great catching up and hiking through the Mt. Adams Wilderness. The mosquitoes were rough, but I started a fire at camp and it kept them at bay.
I said goodbye to Masshole early the next morning and pushed hard. I wanted to get through the Goat Rocks Wilderness and make it to White Pass. The mosquitoes were still relentless, so I upgraded to 100% DEET at the store. After resupplying and eating, I took off into the Mt. Rainier Wilderness—hard hiking and good climbs, with some snow still lingering in spots.
I saw big herds of elk and met my first southbound PCT hiker. He told me everything was clear and that there weren’t any fires to deal with. The trail gets easier for a bit past Rainier, and it’s a good section to make miles before Snoqualmie and Section J—one of the hardest sections on the PCT, even without snow.
Arriving in Snoqualmie, it was raining, cold, and foggy. I decided to stay—it was 4:30 and I was soaked. I got a hotel room, ordered pizza, and relaxed for the night. The next morning, I hit the trail around 10, hiking up to the Kendall Catwalk.
A pretty blonde girl named Savage caught up to me, and we hiked and camped together that night. She had hiked the PCT in ’21, and it was nice to hike with someone for an entire day. She headed back to Snoqualmie the next morning; I continued north.
It was a hot day—in the 90s—very humid and very buggy. I couldn’t quite get it together. I wasn’t hungry either. It was a rough day, and all I wanted was to get to Stevens Pass.
