Trail Day 116: Muddy Waters Trail Junction (mile 2244.5) to Cispus River (mile 2269.9)

25.4 PCT miles

Brrrrrrr. It was a cold morning. One of the coldest mornings I have experienced since the Sierra. My thermometer doesn't give me the exact temperature, but it was a smidge under 40 degrees F.

I started walking with my gloves on and my rain jacket as an extra layer. My fingers were still getting cold anyway, so I had to stick them in my pockets. When I stopped for breakfast, I had to rub my hands together to keep them warm.

Eventually it warmed up a little, but the air remained “crisp.” It felt like Autumn for the first time. Even yesterday it got pretty hot.

The majority of the day was spent walking through forest, passing the occasional pond. The majority of the day was also spent walking through huckleberry bushes. For the most part I would pick the occasional berry without breaking stride. Sometimes I would see a particularly good bush with lots of large berries and I would stop and go to town on it. I also spent the majority of the day leapfrogging with Zorro and Little Engine, who had passed me just after I had set up my tent last night.

Walking past a pond.


Eventually, I emerged from the forest. The views were amazing. It is funny how that happens when you are not walking through smoke.

Mt. Adams from the trail.
The PCT .
View from the trail 


After that I had another long section of forest hiking. It was here that I discovered that the pace I was keeping today would put me ahead of schedule. Originally, I planned to do a 22+ miles day today and a 23+ mile day tomorrow, camping a couple miles from Whites Pass where I would get a ride into Packwood.

A meadow and pond with Mt. Adams in the background. 


I looked at the elevation profile for tomorrow and it looked much more challenging than today. I then looked for campsites and found one a couple miles further down the trail, after Cispus Pass.

I emerged from the forest and the trail started traversing the mountain side towards the pass. It was long, but the views were amazing. I crossed the pass and headed towards the campsites at Cispus River.

The PCT near Cispus Pass. 
Cispus Pass. 
Thr view after crossing Cispus Pass. 


When I got near the campsites I was a little surprised to see so many people. There was space for camping uphill and downhill from the trail and I saw at least 6 tents between the two.

I headed to the uphill one since it was close to the trail, and was greeted by a group of men. They were all section hiking a 65 mile stretch of trail. Luckily, they were all very nice, pointed out some good places to set up my tent, and wanted to hear stories about my adventure. I was even able to yogi some food off of them.

After that I set up my tent, grabbed some water, ate dinner, and went to bed.

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