Day 130
Battle of the winds.
The rock wall that surrounded our campsite did little to protect us from the constant wind that intermittently disrupted our sleep that night. Other than the flapping sound of my quilt and my hoody, the worse thing was walking up with sand in my mouth, and all over my face.
We were determined hikers and despite the thick smoke, we hiked up to Old Snowy to see the sun rise. But once again, just like the sunset, sunrise was non-existent. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the magnificent view from the tallest point of the PCT in Washington, at 7,644 ft. The trail up Old Snowy is an official alternate of the PCT.
We made our descent on a narrow ridge, as strong winds tried to push us off the mountain. We then hiked on the Knife's Edge section, where we were constantly awed by the amazing beauty. The trail follows the exposed ridge and it's such a gorgeous place.
The smoke hindered the view of Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams, but it was still an unbelievable experience. We hiked two miles in two hours that early morning, the slowest we've ever been. This place is worth revisiting when it's a clear sky.
Very smokey morning
Upon reaching White Pass, we learned that the Norse Peak Fire in Mt. Rainier has expanded the closed section of the trail from White Pass all the way to Snoqualmie. It has been a never-ending battle of fires.
So we grabbed up our resupply from the Kracker Barrel store, ate some pizza, and then suprisingly Pony showed up. She had flipped to Hart's Pass and now was going Sobo. What a surprise.
