Day 55: Cable cars and Whatcom Pass

August 3: I woke up to gray skies, and it would stay that way for pretty much the entire day. The first couple of miles followed Little Beaver Creek downstream, crossed on a small bridge, then back up the other side of the trail basically making a 2-mile loop that returned me back to the campsite located a stone's throw on the other side of the river. It was annoying to walk so far to cover such a small distance as the crow flies.

The trail also hadn't seen maintenance in a while. Pretty much ever since leaving the shore of Ross Lake, areas were overgrown and blowdowns occasionally blocked the trail. It wasn't super bad, but annoying at times.

In one clearing, I felt a few drops of rain, ever so slight. If I had been hiking under the tree cover at the time, I wouldn't have felt it at all. I stopped to make sure all of my gear that needed to be in waterproof bags were properly stored in my pack, but the rain stayed away and I never needed my umbrella.

The trail started with a relatively gentle grade, but there was about 1 mile of trail that climbed over 2,000 feet to Whatcom Pass which was exhausting to get up. I needed a few breaks and it probably took me at least an hour to make it up to the pass.

The switchbacks were relentless, but some areas followed a slope so steep that I got a little nervous on the trail. One slip or trip and I could easily fall a thousand feet to my death! Retaining walls had been built to help shore up the slope, but some of them looked sketchy and held in place by nothing more than some thin wires. Was this really the best route they could find over Whatcom Pass? Who were the brave individuals that created these retaining walls on such an exposed location? The trail was an engineering marvel in my book, but I was anxious to get it behind me.

Once I made it over Whatcom Pass, the trail descended for pretty much the rest of the day, losing all that hard-fought rise in elevation. But at least the descent was down a much lower grade over a much longer distance.

I took an hour-long rest at Whatcom Camp, just past Whatcom Pass, and couldn't help but note that there wasn't snow anywhere. Not even the smallest patch of snow. The first time I had called the ranger station to get a permit, I had wanted to camp here and they warned me that the snow here was still thick and that I should have an ice axe and be prepared to camp on snow. I wound up getting off the trail for an extra week when I had the foot trouble, but I had a hard time believing that the trail went from requiring an ice axe to there not even being a patch of snow in just a week. I think the folks at the ranger station were working with old data.

Bridge over the Little Beaver River.

I was glad that snow wasn't a problem. Doubly so for the climb up to Whatcom Pass which was a little sketchy even without snow!

Just past Graybeal Camp, it appeared that there was severe trail damage due to Brush Creek overflowing at some point. There was no trail at all at times and I ended up following cairns that previous hikers had created. And the logs blocking the route slowed me down considerably. It probably took me a half hour to travel a quarter-mile through that area, and it was definitely the worst section of trail I had seen so far this year.

Near the end of the day, I reached a cable car across the Chilliwack River. A cable car! That was exciting! =) I think the last (and only) time I ever used a cable car was during my 2009 hike of the West Coast Trail. They definitely aren't very common! So it was fun to finally get to use another one. =)

While putting my pack into the cable car, a water bottle fell out onto the ground below. Argh! So I scrambled down the slope to pick it up again, then tried again. 

The rope to pull oneself across the creek seemed a little loose and it felt like I had to pull it for a minute before I got the slack out and started moving.

Eventually, however, I made it to the other side. The platform on the far side of the river was raised well above ground level and required going down a ladder. I threw my trekking pole down since trying to hold onto it while descending the ladder would have been difficult, then followed down the ladder before picking up my trekking pole again.

And that was that. The one and only cable car of the PNT was now behind me.

I hiked a bit further up the trail to U.S. Cabin, the last campsite of my permit. After tonight, I'd be free to camp more-or-less whenever and wherever I wanted. I couldn't wait to be released from the oppression of the permit!

Whatcom Peak

Whatcom Glacier

During one of my snack breaks while going up Whatcom Pass, I found this apple in my pack. Usually I eat apples within the first day or two of getting on a trail because they're so heavy, but I 'lost' this one in my pack and forgot about it until I just discovered it. It was it was a nice surprise to eat a fresh apple today! Kind of a do-it-yourself trail magic! =)

This retaining wall going up to Whatcom Pass didn't give me a lot of confidence.... It looked like nothing but a few small wires were keeping the hillside in place!

Each of the horizontal logs up the hillside is a switchback, so you can actually see about 8 switchbacks heading up to Whatcom Pass in this photo!

The trail climbed about 2,000 feet in just one mile--extremely steep! Less than an hour earlier, I was at the bottom of this valley.

Hello, Mr. Toad!

Tiger Lily

It was pretty obvious to me that a recent mudslide piled up at these trees just below the trail.

This stream was the source of the mudslide cleaning out the creek down to the bare rock.

The trail through this area had appeared to be completely wiped out by flooding on Brush Creek. The trail itself was invisible so I started following cairns.

There's a trail somewhere across that river and behind those trees. If only I can find it....

This particular blowdown gave me a way across the creek without getting my feet wet! =)

Brush Creek

A ford or a cable car? Decisions, decisions.... Of course I'll take the cable car! Who wouldn't?! =) Okay, besides people with horses. Horses have to ford.

And this this the cable car across the Chilliwack River.

Hikers get in the cart then pull themselves across using the rope.

I dropped a water bottle overboard while putting my pack into the cart, so then I had to retrieve that before making my way across.

The platform on the far side of the river was elevated well above the ground.

And the one and only cable car of the PNT is officially done.

My campsite at U.S. Cabin. There was no actual cabin, though. (None that I saw, at least!)

Day 54: A buggy day

August 2: I slept well during the night, but hit the trail at a relatively early 7:00am. I didn't need to get an early start. I was forced to stick to my permit system through the North Cascades National Park, and my campsite was a measly 12 miles away. But the bugs in the morning were already annoying and I wanted to escape them, so I left early.

A half hour into the day's hike, something bit or stung one of my fingers, and it hurt a shocking amount. It felt like someone stabbed a pin deep into my skin. I shouted out, "Oww!" and slapped my finger, trying to get whatever was on it off, but there was nothing. I looked at my finger, and there was a faint, red welt where the pain had been, but nothing that gave me any hint about what kind of insect might have caused such an excruciating bite.

Otherwise, the day's hike was largely uneventful. The flies were bad throughout the entire day, but they weren't biting so they were just a minor irritant. And while I was actually walking, they generally left me alone. It was only when I stopped for a rest that they'd swarm. I put on my thin, cotton gloves and a mosquito net on my head to keep the flies off. The long-sleeved shirt and long pants protected the rest of my body.

Because I had so little distance to cover and the trail was in such good shape, I could walk quickly, I took a couple of long, 2-hour breaks. I had the time! I didn't want to get into camp at noon then twiddle my thumbs for the rest of the day.

I passed a few people early in the day, but then saw absolutely nobody the last half of the day. Where were all the backpackers? This was the North Cascades National Park! In prime hiking season! Where were all the people?

Late in the afternoon, I came to a deer on the trail which proceeded to run away from me down the trail, and of course I kept following the trail, so the deer would run some more. This went on for probably 15 or 20 minutes. "Get off the trail!" I'd shout to the deer, but he ignored me and kept going down the trail. At one point, he dashed off the trail and I praised the Lord, "Yes! Thank you!" 

But it was a head fake. The trail had been switchbacking down a steep hill and I went around the switchback and found the deer on the trail ahead of me again. "Noooo!!!" Why are animals so stupid? Why couldn't it figure out that I was just following the trail and if it just stepped off the trail, I'd go by and never see it again.

At the end of the day, I arrived at Stillwell Camp. My maps weren't entirely correct describing this area, though, and the campsite turned out to be two miles closer than I had expected, and located about a half-mile off trail. I was a little annoyed about this since it brought today's mileage down to 10.2, but it meant I had to make up the extra 2 miles tomorrow (so over 14 miles). I wanted to even out my mileage as much as possible and two consecutive 12-mile days was more preferable to me than a 10-mile then a 14-mile day.

 

And my maps were just completely and utterly incorrect. The mileage marker it listed would have been accurate if I walked along a creek for a mile, crossed the creek on a bridge, walked back to where the campsite was on the other side, then bushwhacked through some brush to the creek and forded the creek. Which was absurd--I wasn't going to do that. Nobody would have done that. I think whoever labelled this map just didn't understand the terrain. They'd never actually been out here. The campsite actually was near the trail at that point, but it required a bushwhack and ford to access from that point and whoever created the map didn't realize that. They just looked at the map, saw the campsite right "next" to the trail and pinned the distance for the campsite to that point. But the actual, official route to the campsite was the half-mile spur-trail located two miles before that point.

All-in-all, I was quite upset about this. I ended up getting into camp nearly an hour earlier than expected, and I now had an hour extra of hiking tomorrow. But I had to remind myself that even if I knew this before I got my permit, I wouldn't have changed anything. This was still the closest point I could camp to even out the day's hike with tomorrow's hike. I'd have preferred if they just built a trail and bridge at the campsite instead of the half-mile spur trail where they did. *grumbling* then a two-mile loop around the creek to cross at a bridge a mile away.

My feet were still in good shape and not causing me any trouble, so I was surprised when I took off my shoes and found a fairly large blister on the back heel of my right foot. Where did that come from?! I called it Surprise since, it was such a huge surprise. =) At least it didn't hurt, though, and I went ahead and popped it to help prevent it from getting bigger.

The North Cascades NP really went all out for their sign marking the boundary of the park. Good thing I had a map because otherwise, I might not have even known which national park I was entering! ;o)

Luna Peak

The most difficult sections of trail today were these open areas in the sun that had become heavily overgrown. But they tended to be short sections that I could get through in 5 or so minutes.

Beautiful, delicious water! =)

Shelter at Beaver Pass. I took a two-hour lunch break in front of it. =)

The shelter was not meant for camping!

I 'chased' this deer down the trail for probably 15 or 20 minutes before it finally got off the trail.

Surprise blister! =) I am happy to report, however, that my karks were doing well.

Day 53: Ross Dam

August 1: It was a quiet, uneventful night. Amanda and I didn't linger in camp too late, though, since I had miles to hike and Amanda needed to get back to Seattle.

We packed up and returned to the car, then drove a half hour back to the Ross Dam trailhead where I would resume my hike, this time, carrying a full pack.

I had a quarter-mile or so hike down 300 feet to get back to the PNT which went quickly, then followed gravel roads along the shore to Ross Dam.

Ross Dam is one of several dams in the area built by Seattle City Light to provide hydroelectric power. About 92% of the electricity used in Seattle comes from hydro-electric power, and I couldn't help but think we have some of the most beautiful power in the world. In fact, I'm typing this blog entry from my computer in Seattle right now which, for all I know, is powered by electricity coming from Ross Dam this very second. A little connection to the PNT, even now when I'm off the trail.

Ross Dam is an impressive-looking dam, and has an admittedly odd checkerboard appearance which I've never seen on any other dam. Anyone care to guess the reason for that? I'll tell you the answer below, but go ahead and give it some thought.

Any guesses to why Ross Dam has this checkerboard pattern on its facade?

Construction began in 1937 and the dam was meant to be built in four phases. The first two phases were completed in 1940 and the dam rose to 305 feet (93 m) above the Skagit River.

The third phase was completed in 1949 and raised the height of the dam to 540 feet (160 m) above the river.

And the fourth phase was never completed. If it had been completed, the dam would have been raised another 125 feet (38 m). If the dam was raised further, the existing dam would have been thickened to support the taller structure and hold back more water, and the checkerboard pattern had been left in the face of the dam to help 'lock' the added section to the existing wall. Kind of like Lego blocks. But since the fourth phase was never completed, the checkerboard pattern remains.... never serving the purpose it was designed for.

And the PNT crosses directly over the top of the dam, which is where I found myself looking down over the side wishing we were allowed to throw bowling balls off from the top. =)

If only it were legal to throw stuff off from the top of
Ross Dam! How much fun that would be! =)

A short while later, I reached the trail junction that led down to the Ross Lake Resort. The resort is located a quarter-mile off trail, but I wanted to check out the location anyhow. It's kind of legendary among thru-hikers and I've heard so much about the place. A lot of hikers send resupply packages to the resort, but since I just got back on the trail barely an hour earlier, I was already well-supplied. I didn't really need anything, and with barely 10 miles to hike for the day, I had time for the short detour.

The resort is pretty interesting with all of the buildings floating on the shore of Ross Lake. It was a floating resort! A freshly-cut sign asked people to wear masks and social distance and hand-sanitizer bottles were tied to each table. I was a little amused to the see the bottles actually tied to each table. Apparently theft was an issue?

I put on my mask and dropped my pack at a table outside, then went into the office to look around and see what was available. There were some snacks and such available for sale, but PNT hikers would have been hard-pressed to resupply from what was available.

Ross Lake Resort floats on the lake shore.

I asked about a hiker box which they pulled out from a back room and took outside for me to browse. I grabbed a few beef sticks out of it before I returned it.

I also took a half hour to use their Internet connection to check email and messages one last time. I was sure once I left here, I'd have no Internet for at least the next several days, and maybe none until I reached the town of Concrete in eight days.

Then it was time to resume my hike, and that's what I did.

The trail was generally in good condition and didn't pose much trouble. My feet were in good shape and also didn't cause me any trouble. Life was good!

The only hiccup in my hike was that past Pumpkin Mountain Camp, I didn't carry enough water. My map showed about 10 small creeks I'd pass along the route and while some of the water sources I figured would be seasonal and probably dry, I had assumed I could fill up again in at least a couple of them--but I was wrong. Not a single one was running, so I didn't have enough water. It wasn't a huge problem. I cut back on my drinking and was a bit thirsty along that stretch, but it never reached a critical state before I was able to fill up with water again.

My campsite for the evening--as dictated by my permit--was 39-Mile Camp. I found a side-trail that was pointing toward 39-Mile Camp, but I wasn't entirely sure if that was the right camp despite the sign. It was a horse camp, as evidenced by the horseshoe on the post. Were there two 39-Mile camps? One being a horse camp and the other being a non-horse camp? I wasn't familiar enough with the area to really know how campsites were laid out and my map wasn't detailed enough to show exactly how the campsites connected to the PNT.

I didn't want to keep hiking up the PNT if this was the camp I was supposed to be at, but I didn't really want to walk off-trail into the horse camp if the hiker camp was still further up the trail. I wasn't sure where to go.

Finally, I decided to explore the horse camp. If there was a great campsite, I could just stop there anyhow even if it was the wrong location. I looked around a bit, but the campsite smelled like, well, horses. Nobody was there at the moment, but I decided to go back to the PNT and hike a bit further for a hiker camp which I quickly found.

I set up camp. The flies were terrible, but they were more of an annoyance than a real problem. I wound up killing dozens of them and thought about collecting their corpses in a pile like Blueberry did on the Superior Hiking Trail, but that seemed like more trouble than it was worth and I would just flick them off my groundsheet instead.

The campsite was empty when I arrived--both the horse camp and hiker camp--and I wondered how I was the only person here. I was the only person at Ruby Pasture Camp as well when I got off the trail. Campsites in the North Cascades could often be difficult to reserve because they're so popular, but they all seemed empty! Later in the afternoon, though, a few other people arrived. I had nabbed the best campsite for myself already--they had to find other sites at the campground.

And that was that. My feet survived the trek well enough. They were a little sore just from walking over 12 miles with a heavy pack, but no more than normal. The earlier injuries to my feet caused no problems. Life was good!

The PNT crosses directly over Ross Dam

Less than five months into the pandemic,
I could sense that some things had changed....

The North Cascades are beautiful! Gotta give it that! =)
This is the view from Ross Lake Resort looking back toward the dam.

I had a hunch these bottles of hand-sanitizer at each table were new this year, but I was amused to find them physically tied to the tables. Was theft an issue?

Little fish in the water.

The PNT first reached Ross Lake on the other side of the lake from this location. It's only two or three miles away, but it took about 25 miles of hiking because I had to walk around the perimeter of the lake.

This little glimpse of Ross Lake through the trees from the suspension bridge would be my last view of Ross Lake before the trail left the lake and headed into the mountains again.

Hello, Mr. Toad!

As the crow flies, the PNT hadn't really covered much distance. It was only a couple of miles from one side of the lake to the other. But as the duck walks, it required about 25 miles of hiking! (I grabbed this image from stage 35 of the PNT hike on Walking 4 Fun.)