Forum Index > Trip Reports > Stevens to Snoqualmie 7/6/19 - 7/9/19
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Bernardo
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Bernardo
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PostSat Jul 20, 2019 10:06 pm 
This report is not intended to be entertaining or good reading. It’s definitely too long for that! It is for folks who are interested in wading through dry prose to learn about one person’s preparation for Section J and his experiences during the hike. With this hike, the preparations were more climactic than the actual trip in some ways. With that warning, continue at your own risk. This hike of Section J was something I was looking forward to all year and I wanted to be as ready as possible to maximize my chances of success. Far in advance, I picked July 6 as my travel date based on the July 4th rule that snow should be gone by then and I arranged to be free at that time. I later realized that snow could still be an issue on this date so I began to watch the SNOTEL reports very carefully. By mid-June, however, the Cascades at PCT elevations were pretty much snow free. Lesson learned: You can’t count on snow free trails on July 6. https://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/snow/snowplot.cgi?HRPW1 My section hike on the AT last year from Harpers Ferry to Shenandoah National Park didn’t go so well. Looking back I attribute that to the super high temperatures which were well above 90 with high humidity. It’s possible to hike in such weather, but you have to make adjustments. Last year, despite the high temperature, I hiked along blissfully in a hiker high not realizing the toll the weather was taking on me, and, by day two, I developed chafing wounds on my thighs that I had never experienced before and my feet weren’t doing so well either. I seemed to be strangely fatigued for the amount of mileage I’d done. Also, I brought way too much food and some gear I did not need. While I was hiking all year and therefore I assumed I’d be in good enough shape, I didn’t do any extra prep for a multi-day trek with a heavier than normal load. I think my pack weighted about 33 pounds getting started. The weight of the years was even more significant. Lesson learned: Don’t take preparation for granted. Knowing that Section J is about 70 miles with no easy bailouts, I was doubly interested in not floundering this year. The smartest and best prep I did was getting in good physical condition. If you are good physically, all the other smart things you do are extra wind in your well-trimmed sails. I hike frequently, but normally I hit off trail locations that are more exploration challenges than traditional hikes and these outings tend to be under 10 miles. I usually come back looking like I’ve been crawling in mud and that’s because I have. So even before the brush came back to life this spring here in Virginia, I focused exclusively on trails and started upping the mileage. I also started carrying most of my kit (about 20 pounds) on every hike with my new light-weight pack. In the weeks before my Section J hike, I did four 20+ milers with good amounts of vertical on the AT so I knew I could handle the basic distances required for Section J. That gave me a lot of confidence going into the hike. (This step is less important if you have less than 40 years of backpacking experience, i.e. you are not old.) The other areas I concentrated on were equipment and food. I watched a lot of YouTube videos by thru-hiker personalities such as Darwin on the Trail, Dixie (Homemade Wanderlust), and Jupiter Hikes. Not only did they have a lot of good ideas, but their videos are quite entertaining and wholesome fun. (If you start watching these you may give up hiking altogether and just watch their videos while walking on a treadmill.) One thing I learned about from them is going stoveless and cold soaking food. I tried this and liked it. All the food I brought on the trip was cold soakable, but I also brought an alcohol stove as a nice to have and used it for a hot beverage in the morning and heating my dinner. I did cold soak two lunches and could have cold soaked everything else if I needed to. The other thing I learned is that extra clothes are unnecessary. You have one set for hiking, and another for sleeping. That’s it. With regard to clothes, I avoid wearing layers and prefer to generate my own heat while on the move (but of course I bring them and use them when necessary at stops, etc.). I’ve noticed that if it’s just drizzling, my quick-dry hiker clothes will stay dry even if the ground and leaves around me end up being soaked. So even though it rained softly the first and second day of the hike, I never put on my rain jacket. This worked for me. (You do need to change clothes though at the end of the day, see below for details.) Another thing I learned from the YouTube hiker videos (Darwin), is that sleeping booties can be very helpful. I brought a fleece pair on to which I had glued rubber soles so that they doubled as camp shoes. I wore these in camp and under my quilt and I definitely felt that they helped me stay toasty warm. For next year I would like to get a pair of the fancy ones that are lighter and warmer and fashion some kind of separate super light camp shoe that weighs less than 3 ounces total. Any ideas? The funny thing about the YouTuber hiker personalities is that most say things like, “since I started hiking in 2015….” I’m like thinking to myself, “I think I’ve been hiking since before you were born, why am I listening to you!” But it’s no matter. They actually have more miles on the trail than I do with their having done massive multiple thru-hikes, and they have some good ideas. Sometimes it’s fun to see them learning some pretty basic stuff and they review a lot of new gear. A lot of life is in the presentation. Some people could make an interesting video about pealing a banana. Lesson learned: Personality and presentation are important. Equipment-wise, since I had already been camping for a few years with a heavy blue generic tarp (which was lighter than my tent), I decided to continue to downscale to a 6 ounce Z-Packs 10 x 8.5 flat tarp. I like flat tarps because they provide maximum flexibility. To this I added two triangular pieces of bug netting that I can tie on in such a way to keep out most bugs. I also used a plastic ground sheet made from a window insulation kit. After three years of tarp camping, I am pretty sold on the concept. If I do buy another tent, it will probably be single walled and dyneema fabric. I like buying from innovative U.S. companies even if it costs more, but I also think you get more. For example, the weight can’t be beat. I would never want to carry tent poles so that too is a factor. Anytime you can substitute some skill for weight, that’s good, clean fun. I also like that dyneema fabric doesn’t have a chemical smell. The bug netting works well when I set up in a traditional A-frame, but one night I did set up as a lean-to and just threw the bug netting over my head. This was a bit rough with the large number of mosquitos landing on the net and my leg must have slipped out of my quilt at night because I noticed quite a few bug bites the next day. Fortunately, I am not very sensitive and it was no big deal. I’d rather try again and be more careful than carry a bug bivy, however. Lesson learned: Tarping works if you don’t mind being a pin cushion. My other big investment this year was for a Z-Packs Arc Haul pack that weighs 1 pound 7 ounces. This replaced my old Gregory workhorse that I loved, but weighed almost 5 pounds. I am 6 foot tall with a 33 inch waist and went for a medium with a large hip belt. This worked well for me. The tall frame is 2 and ½ inches longer, and this probably would have worked as well. The 21.5” medium frame was fine for me and the pack was plenty big. The specs list the volume at 62 liters including 13 liters in the side and back pouches. The medium belt didn’t really make it around my waste so I switched for a large. I added two belt pouches which are really nice. I had no problem reaching back and pulling out my water bottle. The pack fit all my gear on the inside, but I kept my water filtration system in the mesh pocket on the back and my camera and water bottle in the side pockets. I liked the adjustable arcing frame that keeps much of the pack off your back. I treated it as gently as I could, but the mesh back pocket suffered some damage. This pack is sufficiently durable given the weight, but it’s not super durable. While I was substituting belts, I wore the pack without a belt a few times with 20 pounds of weight and it was fine. I liked the feel of that and might give that a go again in the future. Overall, with my training program, the pack was very comfortable. I would recommend it, but it is definitely not for hauling trail maintenance equipment. Another key equipment choice was whether to wear boots or not. I have been a boot wearer for a long time, and since I was wearing them on my training hikes, I knew they wouldn’t stop me from having a good time out there. I like the firm platform that boots provide and I am not smart enough to not stub my toe several times, every time I try trail runners. So for those who love trail runners, please feel free to move on to a trip report written by a more knowledgeable hiker or to provide helpful comments below about why I should try them. Also, I figured, if I wore boots, I could take five or six days to complete the 70 miles and still have the FKT for Section J for someone wearing boots. With regard to food, I am very happy that I managed to eat like a normal human being out there and brought no store-bought camping meals full of weird chemicals I normally never experience in real life. I referred to the great Backpackingchef.com and used his recipe to make dehydrated ground beef that was really good. (The secret is to mix ½ cup of finely ground breadcrumbs into each pound of lean ground beef before browning. This makes rehydration a success.) I also used Harmony House (HH) dehydrated vegetables which I think are just awesome. Their backpacking kit is just fantastic in my view and I now am working through my second box. For $60 you get about 45 cups of food. That’s a lot of veggies and the basis for probably 100 or more meals. A typical simple meal for me consists of about a half cup of instant rice, a quarter cup of dehydrated beef, and a quarter cup total of HH onions, peas, carrots, cabbage, etc. That’s a pretty low cost meal. If I substitute HH potatoes or beans for some or all of the rice, that draws on more of the relatively expensive HH input, but still the cost is really quite low. I dehydrated Trader Joe’s salsa and made a meal based on rice, beans, ground beef, and veggies that was absolutely delicious. I’ve also taken the cheese powder from Annie’s mac and cheese and this made a nice concoction with rice, veggies, and ground beef. You can, of course, also use dehydrated (or non-dehydrated noodles) as a base or the HH potatoes. The options are limitless when you add your own seasoning and dehydrated sauces. I add a lot of salt and sometimes Cholula Mexican hot sauce to the sauceless meals. During my training and experiments, I threw an uncooked half box of mac and cheese in a cleaned plastic peanut butter jar, added the cheese powder, some powdered milk, and some HH peas. I covered with water at the start of my hike and put the top on. Three hours later, I ate it for lunch and enjoyed it immensely. So I learned you can even cold soak raw mac and cheese. Despite this success, afterward I decided to cook and dehydrate the noodles since cooking does break down the starch and make it easier to digest and rehydrate. So for the actual trip I rehydrated previously cooked noodles. The big basic dinner meals I made were spaghetti with dehydrated marinara sauce with HH veggies and mac and cheese with tuna from a foil pack and HH veggies. The olive oil and sun dried tomatoes that came with the yellow fin tuna made that meal truly trail gourmet. With a little care for the water quantity, the rehydrated spaghetti sauce is awesome as well. My tip for rehydrating is it’s generally ok to eat your meals a little more soupy than you might at home. If you are boiling water, you can rehydrate in 10 minutes or so; otherwise, with cold water, the more time you give it the better. When using heat, extra water makes clean up easier and avoids burning food at the bottom of your cup. My breakfast for this hike was 60 grams of muesli (about 8 spoonfuls) with a cup of Nido powdered milk and some Trader Joe’s freeze dried berries (take your pick). I also drank a cup of Nido at dinner and had extra on hand in case I needed a boost at any time. I like milk, and I like Nido. I already knew that, but I did learn that Trader Joe’s freeze dried berries are quite nice. I brought two Larabars and one Cliff bar for each day. Pretzels, cashews, raisins, and some chocolate rounded out my snacks. I also brought water crackers and a small quantity of peanut butter in its own plastic jar. The only snack I fully consumed was the pretzels. Everything else I had double of what I needed. Lesson learned: Take a chance on less snacks. Two days, I ate dehydrated cold soaked meals based on potatoes and rice for lunch. One day I ate peanut butter on crackers with snacks. When I was about the do a big climb, I would eat a bar or when I was just hungry during the day. Pretzels are a great snack for me because they have salt and I seem to like them no matter how I am feeling. Sometimes, appetite can be a problem. Lesson learned: Keep pretzels on the menu. Overall I don’t think I ate a huge calorie diet, probably something between 2,500 and 3,000. I never felt deprived of food. I did try to focus on foods with more the 100 calories per ounce, but I don’t think I will worry too much about calories per day going forward. Unless I am going out for more than a week long journey, I’ll be fine if I focus on getting three meals with snacks and generally bring high calorie food. With regard to planning for the total amount of food and the number of days for the hike, I initially thought I would spend a week wandering around, having fun, exploring, and living in nature. After consulting with a famous NWHiker who is more into hiking and less into camping, I began to think shorter would be better. Also, as the hike approached, I realized I had some other things to do back in civilization, so I decided to focus on hiking through as quickly as comfortable. Given that I was successfully doing 20+ mile prep hikes with a 20 pound pack, I felt four days would work for 70 miles. Maybe 3 if everything was wonderful, maybe 5 if I was struggling a bit. Near 5 pm on the third day, I was about 16 miles from Snoqualmie Pass. I considered that I could probably be at Snoqualmie Pass by 1 am, but what would be the point? I would miss out on a great sunrise and how was I going to get home in the middle of the night anyhow? So I decided to camp, enjoy a good meal, a good night under the stars and then hike through some beautiful country in the early morning hours before it got too hot. I ended up finishing at 2:30 pm (exactly 8 hours after my 6:30 am start) the next day. All I ate the last day was breakfast and a couple of bars and pretzels. Based on the rule of two pounds of food per day, I had brought eight pounds of food. For the three and half day trip, however, I had consumed only about 4.2 pounds of food and returned home with a whopping 3.8 pounds of food! Not great planning quantity-wise, but the quality was super for my needs and tastes! I would rate food overall a success and I am pretty good now for any 4 to 8 day trip with regard to knowing what I should bring and not having to buy any junk. The main reason I believe I felt so good after the hike (even though I was very tired), is that I got a good night’s sleep each night and I ate good food. (I guess I shouldn’t forget the physical prep either.) So how was the hike? I was a bit concerned as the start date approached and the forecast was for clouds and rain. Then I saw that the prediction was for .1 inches precipitation so I stopped worrying. Highs and lows were forecast in the 40s and this turned out to be perfect hiking weather for me. I set out from Stevens with a 24.75 pound pack including about 500 ml of water under grey skies. In the cool conditions, I knocked out 23 miles and camped near Deception pass. The tarn I camped near didn’t look as tasty as all the mountain springs I had been passing and sampling so I walked a half mile to get some nice water from a gurgling spring, which like all my water I filtered. Lesson learned: stock up on water before getting to camp. This is where I ate my first delicious mac and cheese tuna with sun dried tomatoes dish that I rehydrated/cooked on my alcohol stove. Because it looked like it might be windy and rainy, I pitched my tarp in storm mode. Then I tried to sleep in my hiking clothes only to get cold after lying still for a while. So I put on my dry stuff which immediately changed the situation even though the wet stuff didn’t seem very wet at all. I also ate about 30 grams of cashews and this warmed me up as well and I was toasty for the rest of the night. Lesson re-learned: It’s worth it to put on truly dry clothes at night. Day two started out in light rain, but it was light enough that I didn’t use my rain gear. A couple of times, I almost put it on, but in the end I was fine without it. When it’s safe to do so, I suggest you give this a try. I’m always surprised by the amount of people wearing so many layers that seem unnecessary. On day two, I quickly came to the big ford of the drainage coming off Mount Daniel that is widely reported to be the biggest hazard on this section of trail. The water was roaring, but it didn’t’ look like much compared to all those chest deep crossings those YouTubers had been doing in the Sierras. Even the Pratt River was much more formidable when I crossed it in April once. But certainly some care was in order. Anyone with long legs and good rock hopping skills wouldn’t have much trouble keeping their boots completely or mostly dry. I would recommend not leaving your boots on if you do decide to go for the part which is deeper, but less turbulent. I did see people make that choice while I was there and it worked out fine. So the crossing is going to be a different experience for different people even if they cross at the same time. While the area is inclined, there are flat spots and it’s not a cliff. I can imagine on certain days and certain times, it would be an impassible torrent however. Lesson learned: Keep calm, apply common sense, and carry on. So then I made my way past Cathedral Rock down to the wonderfully beautiful valley holding Deep Lake where I met three Forest Service Rangers and a lot of mosquitos. It was great to see the Forest Service in action and I would like to thank them and any volunteers out there who have the trail in such good shape at this time. Blow downs were minimal the whole way. From Deep Lake I followed the trail up and across a large ridge to beautiful Waptus Lake. This area was amazing. First off, there were no mosquitos! There are also great views and the big lake is spectacular. It’s well worth a visit. After a late lunch at the lake, I carried on and eventually camped at a site on the switchbacks up to Escondido tarns. I ended up in a campsite that was pretty exposed to wind on the side of the mountain. I wanted to set up and eat dinner before dark and there were a few people at the next available site up above so I actually, backtracked about half a mile to return to the spot I had rejected earlier as too exposed. It had a great view to compensate and I took comfort knowing that I wasn’t alone on the mountain and they could report what happened if I was blown away. I set up again trying to minimize wind exposure, but as I have seen before, after the sun set the wind completely died down. I should have adjusted the tarp at this point to provide more ventilation but I didn’t. In the morning I was fine, but there was condensation on the inside which delayed my departure from camp because I decided to dry out all my gear. Lesson learned: you need to adjust a tarp based on changing conditions. It’s part of tarp camping. The good news is that it’s easy to open up a tarp in the morning to absorb sun and dry out if there is sun to absorb. Day three I hiked over Escondido ridge and passed through the alpine cirque with the well known tarns. The real beauty of the area is in the open landscapes, the many silver snags, and the breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. After descending through a very long set of switchbacks to Lemah Meadow, which I didn’t ever see as a meadow from the PCT, I made my way through another burn area and came to the ridge above Spectacle Lake where I was now for the first time on familiar ground. Here I camped and had a great vista of the Alpine Lakes region from Chikamin to Stewart. I watched the stars and satellites glide overhead and woke up early to catch the 5:20 sunrise. Then I was off for a beautiful if uneventful trek to Snoqualmie Pass. I calculated I did 23, 19.6, 14.5, and 16.9 miles respectively on each of the four days. I am not sure why I was so slow on day three other than that the sun was beating down hardest on that day and as I said I got a bit of a late start in the morning. Perhaps most surprising was the number of people I crossed paths with. I heard there were twice the normal number of thru-hikers for this time of year due to people temporarily skipping the Sierras due to snow. I met someone about once an hour on the trail. Between trail greetings, this trip was also an opportunity to think about my life a bit and remember my friend Brian who made this same journey solo a few years ago before his early passing. In his report, he recommended go early and I took his advice. Looking around at the Lakes we visited and the mountains we climbed, I was reminded once again how much I miss his companionship and how life takes unexpected turns. The mountains go on, but our lives are fleeting. Returning from the mountains, I am determined to live a better life while there is still time. The mountains are indeed enduring, but I was concerned by the number of trees that had turned rust colored and were dead or dying, most likely from a beetle infestation. Are we going to lose the great trees in our forest? It was most prevalent on the eastside and there were quite a few near Waptus Lake. It looked like a lot of trees were dying in their prime. I have never seen anything like it in Washington. Overall it was a great trip. The plan came together well. I learned a few things about hiking and about a large part of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness that was unfamiliar to me. I am now motivated to continue next year with further parts of the PCT in Washington and I hope to visit some of the lakes and peaks I saw on day hikes and overnights in the future. (Note: You can flip through these pictures with your keyboard arrow keys.)
Food prior to organizing.
Food prior to organizing.
Four to Five days food ready for the trail.
Four to Five days food ready for the trail.
Alpine Lakes Check-in Station at Stevens Pass
Alpine Lakes Check-in Station at Stevens Pass
Ski Lift on the Back Side of Stevens Pass
Ski Lift on the Back Side of Stevens Pass
Salsa Meal Ready to Rehydrate.  Delicious!
Salsa Meal Ready to Rehydrate. Delicious!
Trap Lake
Trap Lake
Surprise Pass
Surprise Pass
Looking down at Glacier Lake from Surprise Pass
Looking down at Glacier Lake from Surprise Pass
Wood PCT Marker
Wood PCT Marker
First Night Camp near Deception Pas
First Night Camp near Deception Pas
Side View of Tarp
Side View of Tarp
Alcohol Stove
Alcohol Stove
Lake Hyas as Seen After Deception Pass
Lake Hyas as Seen After Deception Pass
An Impressionistic Rendering of Hikers Crossing Mount Daniel Drainage
An Impressionistic Rendering of Hikers Crossing Mount Daniel Drainage
Infamous Mount Daniel Drainage (Down)
Infamous Mount Daniel Drainage (Down)
Infamous Mount Daniel Drainage (Up)
Infamous Mount Daniel Drainage (Up)
Deep Lake
Deep Lake
Deep Lake
Deep Lake
Deep Lake. Lots of Mosquitos.
Deep Lake. Lots of Mosquitos.
Deep Lake Outlet Crossing
Deep Lake Outlet Crossing
Purple Whatchamacall'ems
Purple Whatchamacall'ems
Lake Waptus from the East End.  Dutch Miller Gap Ahead.
Lake Waptus from the East End. Dutch Miller Gap Ahead.
Bear Grass, One Small Example of Many Beautiful Flowers
Bear Grass, One Small Example of Many Beautiful Flowers
Waptus River from the Bridge
Waptus River from the Bridge
The Famous Dutch Miller Gap
The Famous Dutch Miller Gap
Lake Waptus from South on the PCT
Lake Waptus from South on the PCT
Camp above Lake Waptus
Camp above Lake Waptus
Dinner above Lake Waptus
Dinner above Lake Waptus
Dawn over Waptus
Dawn over Waptus
Drying Gear above Waptus Lake
Drying Gear above Waptus Lake
Day II Breakfast
Day II Breakfast
Bears Breast Mountain
Bears Breast Mountain
Clouds in the Gap Near Bears Breast Mountain
Clouds in the Gap Near Bears Breast Mountain
Approach to Escondido Tarns
Approach to Escondido Tarns
Near Escondido Tarns
Near Escondido Tarns
Escondido Cirque
Escondido Cirque
Fire Landscape Past Escondido
Fire Landscape Past Escondido
Fire and Ice South of Escondido
Fire and Ice South of Escondido
Landscape South of Escondido
Landscape South of Escondido
Silver Snags South of Escondido
Silver Snags South of Escondido
Silver, Green, Blue
Silver, Green, Blue
Clouds in the Gap
Clouds in the Gap
Magnificient Mountainscape
Magnificient Mountainscape
Alpine Terrain
Alpine Terrain
Pine Forest
Pine Forest
From Lush Valley to Treeline above Lemah Meadows
From Lush Valley to Treeline above Lemah Meadows
Bridge at Lemah Meadows Holding up a Tree
Bridge at Lemah Meadows Holding up a Tree
Washed Out Bridge over Lemah Creek.  Easy to Cross on a Log Downstream or to Ford.
Washed Out Bridge over Lemah Creek. Easy to Cross on a Log Downstream or to Ford.
Burn Area above Lemah Meadow and Below Spectacle Lake
Burn Area above Lemah Meadow and Below Spectacle Lake
Scenic Snags
Scenic Snags
The Sign Says No Camp Fires
The Sign Says No Camp Fires
Delate Falls
Delate Falls
Spectacle Lake
Spectacle Lake
Hiker with Arcing Pack Frame
Hiker with Arcing Pack Frame
West Meets East
West Meets East
Someplace to Explore
Someplace to Explore
Spectacle Lake and Mountains Beyond
Spectacle Lake and Mountains Beyond
Spectacle Lake
Spectacle Lake
Wall of Mist
Wall of Mist
A Bench for Resting
A Bench for Resting
With the Setting Sun, the Clouds Subsided
With the Setting Sun, the Clouds Subsided
Quiet Night
Quiet Night
Mount Stuart.  Climbed that with Brian.
Mount Stuart. Climbed that with Brian.
Cascade Landscape
Cascade Landscape
Dawn Above Spectacle Lake
Dawn Above Spectacle Lake
Rosy Fingered Dawn
Rosy Fingered Dawn
Hi Box
Hi Box
I-90, Cell Service, and Mount Rainier
I-90, Cell Service, and Mount Rainier
PCT below Huckleberry Mountain
PCT below Huckleberry Mountain
On the Katwalk after Three and a Half Days of Hiking
On the Katwalk after Three and a Half Days of Hiking
Leftover Food
Leftover Food

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williswall
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PostSun Jul 21, 2019 12:06 am 
Well written, comprehensive report on your process, something for everyone and especially pertinent to “nwhikers”.....it’s actually about hiking. Sorry I couldn’t make it, was moving my daughter to a new place in CA. Your pix make me want to hit it tho.

I desire medium danger williswall.com
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RichP
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PostSun Jul 21, 2019 6:06 am 
Great info for those contemplating this section. Glad you enjoyed it.

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Brushbuffalo
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Location: there earlier, here now, somewhere later... Bellingham in between
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PostSun Jul 21, 2019 12:34 pm 
Congratulations on achieving your goal. Good planning paid off.
Bernardo wrote:
Purple Whatchamacall'ems
Purple Whatchamacall'ems
Penstemon.

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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FiresideChats
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PostSun Jul 21, 2019 12:56 pm 
Great beta up.gif Then skimmed ahead to the pics. "East meets West" is one the remember for sure.

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Navy salad
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PostWed Jul 24, 2019 11:13 am 
My kind of trip report! Thanks. One option for keeping the bugs away under a tarp (although they typically weigh 7-10 ounces) is mosquito netting with a mini-frame, like this: ...or a frameless versions that you tie to something, like this:

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Bernardo
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PostMon Jul 29, 2019 9:01 pm 
Thanks all for your comments, information, and suggestions. Doppelganger, sorry for the delayed response to your questions. With regard to fitness, I try to hike once a week. I find that has worked so far. I had a pretty high level of fitness when I was young, and was a good runner, etc. Now I find, I like having time to recover between hikes. As I mentioned in this case, I upped the miles and as you surmised this resulted in longer days outside. The fact I was training for a goal helped me justify the time, even though it really is a good use of time and needs no justification. With regard to your specific question, I do believe anything that improves overall fitness would be good for hiking. It's good to be limber and strong through the full range of motion so you can step over, crawl under, and occasionally take a fall. Seems like a stair master is most directly applicable to hiking. In the past I definitely enjoyed jogging and did that a few times this year. Pretty crazy fitness program, isn't it? Related to fitness, I have a hiking buddy who is about 10 years older than me and I asked him once, do you ever feel stiff in the morning? He said, I feel stiff as a board and that's why I stretch every morning. Sounds like good advice I could use but not something I've been able to implement yet. With regard to dehydrating food, it's pretty simple really. It's actually almost impossible to destroy something in a dehydrator because all your doing is slowly drying something out. The backpackingchef website is a great resource and he has a great book if you want to get a bit fancier. I have a simple Hamilton Beach dehydrator that works well. You want a device that has a thermostat and a timer. If you want to try something, mix up a pound of ground beef with a half cup if finely ground bread crumbs, brown through in a frying pan and then dehydrate in your oven for 6 hours at 145 degrees. I think this would work as a test and to get a feel for dehydrating. You could chop up some veggies and dehydrate at the same time. Just keep everything separate and spread out on cookie sheets, or any kind of baking tray. You could do the same for pasta sauce and some cooked noodles. You'd have the basic ingredients for a dehydrated spaghetti dinner. would be interesting to see how that works for you. Happy to discuss further if you are interested. As I mentioned above, instant rice is basically dehydrated cooked rice. It's very easy to rehydrate warm or cold. With regard to the picture, yes, you identified what I was talking about. That looks like a Western Red Cedar, and they too seemed to be affected. It seemed to be a problem for Douglas Firs, Hemlocks, and Cedar. It seriously scared me and was truly disconcerting. And yes, the light gear is pretty expensive, but it's nice when you realize you actual got something good for the money and it's U.S. made!

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Washakie
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PostSat Aug 03, 2019 4:02 pm 
Regarding dying trees....same thing is happening in the Wind River range. Rangers said it was due to pine bark beetles.

"What is the color when black is burned?" - Neil Young "We're all normal when we want our freedom" - Arthur Lee "The internet can make almost anyone seem intelligent" - Washakie
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Forum Index > Trip Reports > Stevens to Snoqualmie 7/6/19 - 7/9/19
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