The weather in this stretch was the defining factor for our mood. We started with temperatures in the 40s and rain, mist, and fog that drenched us on night one. We finished with temperatures in the high 70s with bluebird sky and night time weather warmer than the high on the first day.
Camping at Gravel lake was rough – I set up my tent in some trees hoping that they would protect me from the worst of the rain that was supposed to come in the night. However, I think the fog had some interaction with the trees and it ended up being wetter in the trees than out of them. I did OK keeping my stuff dry, but it’s a losing battle when you live in a cloud.
After a cold and miserable hike in the morning, we descended below the clouds near Spectacle Lake, and attempted to dry our stuff in a patch of sunlight. Of course, it started spitting rain a few minutes after pulling everything out. With spirits low, we only did 14 miles that day, opting to camp in the valley rather than climbing back up into the clouds. However, by late afternoon the rain had finally stopped for good, and while it wasn’t sunny enough to fully dry things, we were able to bring our gear from wet to merely damp.
After that, conditions improved dramatically. It was 70 and a cloudless sky the next day, and we were able to fully dry all our stuff out in the midday sun. The views from up high of the mountains and all the alpine lakes (for which the wilderness is named) were fantastic, and well worth the long climbs up to the top. We also got to swim at Deception Lake, which was cool and refreshing.
We saw a hoary marmot who whistled at us so loudly it forced us to move on and definitely lived up to the “whistler” nickname. We also saw a ground squirrel who posed for some glamor shots, included below. No bears in this section, and the berries were less prevalent, though we still got some good blueberries near Mig Lake on the last day before Stevens Pass.
I’ll be out of cell service until the end of the trail 190 miles from here, so the next update will be from the end! I’ll be spending a few days in Vancouver, BC with some friends before returning to Seattle, so look for an update near the end of September!
