After re-energizing in Cascade Locks, I was really ready to get back on trail again. To avoid a fire closure, my friend Kate and my former trail mate Wazzu tag-teamed to drive me up north of Mt Adams near the Goat Rocks Wilderness. I was so excited to climb up through this glorious region. Day one was spectacular!

Day 2 however, dawned with some fog in the lowlands. After a few hours on trail, the fog had snaked its way up the valleys and began to inundate the high peaks and my views. One of the highlights of the PCT is walking in the Goat Rocks along the “knife edge”, a narrow precipice of rock with sweeping views. I think it was even more dramatic having fog swirling around my feet blanketing the abyss below. 

The fog continued to blow in and out for the next two days as I left the Goat Rocks Wilderness at White Pass, and picked up my resupply box which had been mailed to the local gas station. (Oh goody, more black beans, ramen and couscous!) 

Then I started climbing again toward Mt Rainier National Park, where a big, cold thunderstorm rolled through. After that, the fog descended; dense and unrelenting. Three days I spent living in its damp embrace, never seeing very far in the distance. At first it was the constant chill that bothered me, then it was the dampness. After hiking and sweating in a fog bank, all my clothes were wet inside and out. My tent was drenched and my down sleeping bag was clumping, unable to keep in much heat. It was a pretty miserable slog with no views of Mt Rainier, Chinook Pass or the Norse Peak Wilderness.

To keep my spirits up, I sang and tried to concentrate on the part of the forest I could see. To my delight, the forest floor was alive with all types of mushrooms! I have never before seen a display such as this!


On day three, I was too cold to stop for lunch so I plodded on and promised myself I’d stop early for the day to eat and get warm in my tent. By late afternoon, I started to look for a campsite. In the duff below the trail, I spotted a flat area among some fir trees. I also noticed many large footprints in the muddy hillside getting down to the spot. I thought I was very clever to find this little protected campsite. I quickly descended, set up my tent and dashed in to get dry and warm. All was well until a few hours later I climbed out of the tent to go to the bathroom and I started to look around. It was then I saw 1, 2, 3- 5, 10 large bear poops all around my tent! And there were also several areas with the grass all matted down. Gulp! I think I set up my tent in a bear’s lair! All I could do was hope he didn’t want to use these accommodations during the night!

The next morning, all was well and I continued to plod along through the forest, this time I decided to listen to a podcast for distraction. On this day, I chose a story by Outside Magazine about a guy who entered into a “darkness treatment” underground for three days. The similarities of his story and my current situation were not lost on me. Near the end of his story, with a very emotional and compelling narrative, he tells of the moment in which he ascends back into the light, and in that exact moment a sun beam broke through the clouds and reached down to me in the dripping forest. Within seconds, the fog dissipated and light flooded all around. And just like the man in the story, I started to cry at the beauty and hope that this light suddenly gave to me and my day. 

Within a mile, I came into a sunny meadow with a cabin. Other backpackers were already gathering there; we laid out our tents, sleeping bags, clothes and ourselves to dry and soak up the warmth. We discovered some “trail magic” of drinks inside the cooler and an ATV club showed up soon after with more treats for us hikers. On the PCT, it’s amazing how a quick turn of events can change your entire mood and perspective for the day!

From there, it was three more days of lush mossy forests, millions more mushrooms, water-logged huckleberries and even a view looking back at Mt Rainier on the way to Snoqualmie Pass.