In September 2014, John did a five-day, four-night solo backpack trip from Mount Adams through Goat Rocks Wilderness, Washington. Unfortunately, I was sidelined with a frozen shoulder. He was 61. This is his account of his trip.
When I was still working, long-distance trail runs were a more expedient way than backpacking to see lots of country. However, you are always running, so the runs are not really compatible with photography. Now that I’m retired, I’ve got the time and I really do like being out early and late in the day as it enables me to take the time to photograph during the prettiest times of day.
I started up the Killen Creek Trail at 4,600 feet. It doesn’t really follow Killen Creek …
… but heads through meadows up the northwest side of Mount Adams.
The Killen Creek Trail ends at the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) at 6,100 feet. The unmaintained trail to the High Camp heads quickly up after crossing the PCT. Views of Mount Rainier …
… and Mount St. Helens grew as I climbed.
I finally arrived at the Mount Adams High Camp (6,900 feet) with finely weathered windswept trees and spectacular views of Goat Rocks. It will take another two days to get as far as I can see now. I truly love seeing a destination so far away and knowing that I’ll be there soon with just my feet moving me one step after another.
One of the best views of Mount St. Helens is from Mount Adams. I’ll be walking around Mount St. Helens in another week.
My night at the High Camp was an adventure in being sandblasted. I tightened my sleeping bag breathing hole as tight as possible and actually slept fairly well. The next morning, I decided to sleep in until the wind died down. Everything in my tent was heavily coated in sand, and it took a while to clean up. It’s a spectacular camp with an intimate view of Mount Adams and panoramic views of Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier and the Goat Rocks. I’ll be seeing all three volcanoes simultaneously for the next three days—wow!
I retraced the trail …
… back down to the PCT.
After overnighting in a woodsy camp on the PCT and passing by lovely grass-filled ponds, …
… I crested a ridge for my first close-up views of the Goat Rocks just south of Cispus Pass. Gilbert Peak is the high point of Goat Rocks, though it is not too prominent on the massive ridge, at least not from down here.
Just past Cispus Pass is Cispus Basin.
This was my home for the evening. I couldn’t have asked for better.
As the sun set again on Mount St. Helens …
… the last daylight quickly flowed over the Goat Rocks above Cispus Basin.
Day four covered the PCT from Cispus Basin to just below Elk Pass. I’m covering this stretch on a weekend when many of the PCT thru-hikers are finishing up the hike from Mexico to Canada. The weekend has brought out many backpackers from Seattle and Portland as well, so the trail is actually pretty crowded. The PCT thru-hikers are in kind of a hurry at this point trying to cover the last 300 miles into Canada before any snow hits. They are also trying to quickly get to their next resupply at White Pass. The end is in sight, so they are a focused, yet festive, crowd. It seems to be the consensus that this is the prettiest stretch of the PCT north of the John Muir Trail in California. Where else do you get such spectacular sustained close views of three volcanoes at the same time? OK, maybe just two and a half since Mount St. Helens blew in 1980.
Mount Rainier peeks out on the PCT from the shoulder of Old Snowy Mountain. The PCT continues past the short snow crossing to the right. There is also a bypass trail if snow conditions are bad.
I climbed to the top of Old Snowy Mountain and looked back at Mount Adams where I had camped just above the forest on the ridge on the right side. There is about a day of woodsy walking between Mount Adams and Goat Rocks.
After lounging for a while on Old Snowy Mountain, I continued on …
… to the airiest part of the PCT in Washington State. You can see the trail winding to the north behind me.
I camped just below Elk Pass next to some very cool snow bridges …
… located on one side of my tent …
… and a great evening view of Mount Rainier on the other. One of the best things about backpacking is that it enables you to be in gorgeous spots late in the day …
… as well as in the morning.
The PCT dropped down into the woods for a while after one last view of Old Snowy Mountain.
The PCT then climbed back up to the ridgetop. Lucky for me, I could text Jean to let her know she could pick me up in a few hours at White Pass. This is Shoe Lake just before the trail drops down to White Pass.
There were some trail angels at White Pass with beer and oranges for the thru-hikers, but I hadn’t earned that. Better yet, Jean, my angel, arrived about 10 minutes after I got back to the highway.
All photos from this trip are on Flickr.
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