The Climb
With two days behind me now there was no turning back, this day would be my test. I knew the day ahead of me was going to be a monster as I fixated on the elevation profile the night prior before dozing off. I woke up nauseous from having eaten too much the night before. I thought by forcing myself to eat a second dehydrated meal I might have more energy and lighten my load by a few ounces. The sky was gray and rain drizzled all around the canopy of trees that hung over the campsite. My exhaustion and the dark wet forest sapped me of all the joy as I rolled up my tent and collected my things back into my pack. At this point, it was all too apparent that I had greatly overestimated how much food I would really be eating on this trip and wanted to just throw it all away knowing my first cache was only a few miles away up at Mowich Lake. I was starting out on a 10.8-mile day with an initial 3,000 ft climb over the first 3.5 miles with the steepest section climbing 1,500 ft over a 1-mile stretch. There was only one way out of my rut, forward.
As I made my way out of camp and back to the main trail I was concerned how much more of the trip would be covered with clouds. Hiking in the rain doesn’t bother me, but I was worried that the low fog would shroud all of the awesome views that I was hoping to see. As I crossed the log bridge at the edge of the camp the smell of the overfilled outhouse and milky green pond water below forced me to clench my jaw and breathe slowly to avoid gagging. The trail was unremarkable as I worked towards Ipsut pass. I had heard the Spray Park route was more attractive for its features but wasn’t considered part of the Wonderland trail proper and I wanted to be able to make the claim that I had completed the full route around the mountain (If only I had made it all the way around, ha!).
The climb was now in full swing and my muscles were warmed up and firing away. For my third day in a row of hiking, I was feeling surprisingly able as my pace stayed steady. The short switchbacking trails began to open up to longer pitches that traced the edges of tall cliffs and rocks. The higher the trail went the steeper and more narrow the trail became. The loose rocks and gravel slipped beneath my feet and rolled back a few inches with each step. Every other turn upward in the trail I would stop to catch my breath but as the trail grew steeper I became more nervous when I paused and looked down at the exposed rock and sparse bushes that would do nothing to slow my fall if I made a mistake.
Second Wind
I stepped through the clouds as I climbed now in a full sweat wanting nothing more than to be safe at the top and done with a wet, cold, and trying day…. and it wasn’t even noon yet! On the most narrow section of trail, I finally encountered the first pair of hikers that I had seen throughout the long steady climb coming down towards me. Two women with gray hair and small day packs were laughing and letting out small coos as they were surprised by the ground sliding beneath their feet. I was genuinely concerned for them as they made their way down and stepped off the trail into a bush to make enough room for them to pass by. They didn’t stop to chat but offered a quick pleasant greeting with encouragement: “You’re almost there! It’s beautiful at the top, worth the effort I promise!.” And all of a sudden I had hope again.
I didn’t dare stop at this point to check my GPS for distance or altitude and wasn’t sure how close I really was but I didn’t need to. The excitement of seeing people along with the kind words they had to offer was enough for me to find my second wind as I charged forward up the hillside, unable to see the next crest much less the final destination. As I powered through, the clouds finally started to loosen to unveil the deep blue sky above them. A little bit further and the halo of the sun could be seen brimming over the treetops and hillside above. At this exact change in weather, the trail started to level out into longer straighter sections. Finally, I could see the window of sky between the trees on the hillside as I made the final approach to the top of the pass. My excitement and joy overwhelmed me as I looked back where I just came from and saw what I had endured now in full view but now with a warming light on me. So very rarely do I get to experience spiritually enriching moments like these that offer perspective on my life and bring all of my warmest memories flooding in all at once. In the moment, I thought of my mom and tried to dedicate the sight to memory to try to describe the beauty I was experiencing. The sun shone through the trees in expanding cones of light that shined like thousands of flashlights aimed in every direction. I wanted to call or text someone just to try to explain the utter magnificence of the moment. Instead, I smiled and soaked in the cool fresh air flowing from the top of the hillside down towards me balanced by the warming sun on my face. For the first time that day, I put on my sunglasses and made my way to the top of the pass where I could see the trail leading down towards Mowich lake where my first food cache was stored.
Almost… there?
The hard part was over, all I had to do now was stop by my food cache and make it downhill to South Mowich camp. I heaved my legs in front of me with each step to the cache by the shed on the far side of Mowich lake. I then pulled out my barely recognizable bucket with the torn paper label and took it to the picnic area where cars were coming and going for daytime visits. I emptied the bucket and took inventory of all of the supplies and food I had packed. I exchanged food items for more diversity and loaded up on fruit leathers that turned out to be a great quick shot of sugar on the move (I wish I had packed more). I laid out my next three days’ worth of food and stuffed the remainder back into the bucket. Realizing I was out of space I offered up snacks from the bucket to a fellow hiker that had also stopped to take a break near the lake. I stocked up on water and having dropped a few pounds in food weight I was ready to slog on down the hill to Mowich.
Emotionally and physically exhausted I dreamt in my thoughts as I walked and even at times I broke out into a light jog just to get to camp slightly faster. Just me and my thoughts for the next four to five hours reflecting on life and this adventure.
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