forest above Tacoma Pass - cowboy camp near Scott Spring north of Stampede Pass
Mile 2363 - 2374
Total 11 miles
Last night, although I was warm and dry, I had trouble falling asleep. Maybe it was the sound of the owls, maybe it was the fight of thoughts in my brain: Should I still hold on to the athletic sports challenge of reaching the Canadian border monument, or should I end this walk before the next round of rain and snow comes? My resolution is to keep both options open. The mountains and my feet will decide which day is going to be my last day on the Pacific Crest Trail. I am thankful for every day and every morning here, knowing that any day may be my last. I am not worried about the future, living one day at a time, not chasing the miles or kilometers, but making the most of my privileged time in the wilderness. Staying awake has made it possible for me to listen to the voices of the nightly forest. Among those voices, the owls were the most prominent; but also various kinds of mice we're giving me company on the mild but foggy night. Not computer mice, but real life mice, who just like me experience hunger, thirst, fear, lust, and have a strong desire to live. Unlike the mouse however, I am not a nocturnal animal. In fact I'm still a bit afraid of the dark and rejoice at seeing the first light of a new day. This is the day the LORD has made, the one who generously loves the mouse and the owl, the sheep and the goat, and all humanity.
In fact today is Sunday - another reason to walk slowly, breathe deeply and give thanks for the undeserved gift of life.
The trail leads me through national forest land that has been extensively logged. This is where some of the paper used in my office may have come from. The clearings and sparse stands of older trees are full of ripe huckleberries. It is like walking through huge huckleberry fields. Refusing to stop and eat would feel like refusing to attend a banquet dinner prepared by my best friend :-)
Mount Rainier can be seen again with his white snowy cap. In shady parts of the forest, bright green ferns and giant (and moderately to strongly poisonous) amanita mushrooms display their colors.
Past high voltage powerlines and across clear streams, I follow the trail up and down gently rolling hills, letting the sunshine warm my head and hands. It is hard for me to believe that only a few weeks ago I viewed the sun as a fierce scorching deadly power. Now I am almost like a lizard, gladly exposing my skin to the sun's energizing light and warmth.
I take long breaks. At one hillside my phone has signal and so I make a quick call home; in three weeks I'll be back in the land of my birth! I also make an exception to check football; and the unexpected but well deserved win of Slavia on Sparta's home ground warms my heart :-) Then I quickly put the phone back in airplane mode and breathe deeply. The sun is hiding behind the hills as I begin looking around for a spot to camp. Very soon I find a quiet flat spot in thick trees near a meadow full of wild flowers. A closer look shows there's a lot of rubbish under the trees left there by some careless ignorant people. At first I'm a bit angry, but I have a lot of spare ziploc bags with me and I'm grateful for the opportunity to pack out as much trash as I can find and give something back to the trail which has given so many undeserved gifts to me.
Then I roll out my tarp and sleeping pad, cook delicious rice for dinner, and fall asleep cowboy camping under the tree canopy, watching bright stars shining between the branches, and feeling happy that hikers who come here after me will find a nice, wild and tidy campspot.
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