Trail Day 123: Tentsite (mile 2484.1) to Large Creek (mile 2508.0

23.9 PCT miles

Last night I had seen a mouse while making dinner. It was bold. It scurried almost all the way to my food bag before scurrying back. Almost everyone I know on the trail has had a mouse chew through their tent at some point. I thought last night that it would be my turn. Thankfully, when I got up my tent was still free of mouse holes.

I packed up camp and started off before Zorro and Little Engine. Last night we had picked a campsite goal for the end of the day. We figured that they would catch me at some point today and we would reassess if that was where we wanted to go.

The early morning on the trail was a study in interesting clouds. I started out in fog, then moved to a clear area where I could see low lying clouds in the surrounding area. When I got water from a stream, I could see fog in the next valley over.

Morning clouds.

Walking through fog.

More clouds.

Afterwards the sun came out. This was when the trail got really pretty. I was up high in fall colors and had great views of the surrounding mountains, many dusted in white. I could see Glacier Peak, a mass of white, in the distance.

Lake Sally Ann.

The PCT with Glacier Peak in the background.

The blueberries were amazing on this section as well. They were big and juicy. I really need to start factoring in blueberry time when planning out each day, as it severely impedes my forward progress. Blueberries also seem to be the “go to” for small talk as well when you pass other backpackers. One woman’s entire mouth was blue. I think she may have enjoyed too many berries.

Good looking blueberries.  This was the last known sighting of these particular berries.

I stopped for an early lunch at a spot overlooking Glacier Peak. At least it overlooked Glacier Peak when I sat down.  Within 30 minutes the clouds rolled in. After that,  I couldn't have told you there was a peak there.

Glacier Peak before it disappeared behind the clouds.

The rest of the day was overcast, but still very pretty with gorgeous views and tons of blueberries. It seems like most of the snow from the storm had melted. There was some snow in a small section when I reached 6,100 ft but that was about it. Someone had made a snowman there.

View from the trail.

Gorgeous valley seen from the trail.

Scene from the trail.

The surrounding mountains.

The PCT.

Passing Mile 2500.

View from the trail.

Snowman with a view.

After the snowman, the trail dropped steeply in elevation, down into a gorgeous pine tree lined valley with a beautiful winding river. I kept dropping in elevation, crossing a stream several times, including a spot where it had formed a gorgeous cascade.

Beautiful cascade.

After that, I entered a forest area where the creeks/rivers I crossed were melt from a glacier and silty. People described the water as “milky.” It certainly looked cool and made a beautiful shade of blue,  but I was glad that I had gotten my water from the clear streams further back.

Glacial runoff.

I made it to the tentsite I had been aiming for just as the last light was fading. There was no sign of Zorro and Little Engine but another group of thru hikers, who called themselves Taylor and the Swiss were camped there.

As we were eating dinner we saw mice running around. I hope my tent survives the night.