Trail Day 115: Trout Lake Creek (mile 2221.3) to Muddy Meadows trail junction (mile 2244.5)

23.2 PCT miles

I was able to wake up and get going before dawn today. I actually felt rested for once. I did a steep uphill climb while it was still cool,  then a downhill section to a pretty little creek where I had breakfast. There were quite a few toads on the trail that kept jumping out of my way.

Good morning, toad.

After breakfast I had another uphill climb, but this time it was much longer, about 6 miles. That would be the rest of my morning. In this section, the trail climbs to the base of Mt Adams, then snakes around it.

Morning water source. 

Mini cascade.

The climb was long. I had to start listening to my audiobook as a distraction. Near the top of the climb, the trail entered an extensive burn area and was fairly exposed. It was nearing midday and getting hot, making the uphill hike not fun. There were, however, plenty of huckleberry bushes lining the trail in this section, and I picked a lot of them.

Huckleberries.

Burned area.

The PCT approaching Mt. Adams.

The walk around the base of Mt. Adams was spectacular. Not only did I get a close up view of the mountain, but I could also see the surrounding mountains including Mt. Hood (still surrounded by smoke), Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Rainier.

Mt. Hood.

Mt. Adams.

Mt. Saint Helens.

Mt. Rainier .

I stopped by a creek to have a long, late lunch. It was  little later in the day than I had hoped when I started hiking again. I had originally planned to go about 10 more miles, which would mean hiking for about 30-45 minutes after it got dark.

Creek below Mt. Adams.

I started down the trail again, still skirting round Mt. Adams. I got a great view of one of its glaciers and past numerous streams with mini waterfalls.

Glacier on Mt. Adams.

View from the trail.

Then, I encountered a problem. I came upon what was listed in Guthook as a “creek,” but it was a wide torrent. It was brown with silt and smelled a bit of sulfur.

Sulfury, silty, torrent.

I saw a hiker upstream who looked like he had just crossed. I followed the footprint trail to a bundle of logs.  It looked like this was where people had crossed, but to me it looked sketchy. There was water flowing over part of it and the logs didn’t look sturdy.

Log bundle.

I carefully tested out one of the logs and it held. I continued testing out carefully each step before I committed to it and managed to make it across. My feet got a little wet in the middle,  but I kept my balance.  I checked Guthook to see if people had written about this ford and it turns out they all used the bundle of sticks as well. They were able to keep their feet dry by crossing earlier in the day.

After the excitement of the creek crossing I continued walking through pines, meadows,and old lava flows.  I grabbed a little more water at one of the creeks,  then started heading downhill as the sun started getting low in the sky.

Lava rock.

The PCT. 

Sun reflection.

I wasn't excited about the prospect of finding the camping spot in the dark tonight. I did the math in my head and realized I could hike shorter than I had planned to for the next few days and still have plenty of time to get to Packwood the last morning.

I was headed towards Lava Spring, which was the nearest labeled campsite on the app,  but I decided that if I saw an earlier site I would take it. Luckily, I hit a trail junction and there was sandy space next to it for about 2 tents. It was about 3 miles less than I had hoped to do today but I was able to enjoy my tent with plenty of time before the sun went down.