Mile 2495.7 to Mile 2518.3 - 22.6 miles
Sometimes my lexicon of superlatives is stretched when describing what I'm seeing. While I was expectant about today, all I can initially say is....wow!!
Washington put on its best weather face with sunny clear blue skies & only a gentle breeze. We had however awoken to frozen tents - mine having more ice on the inside after a frigid night. Luckily we were able to dry everything out at lunchtime.
We initially climbed up through White Pass with views towards Glacier Peak. This was a view from further on
The trudge up alongside White Mountain (6200 feet of climbing today) was rewarded with magnificent views south as far as Mt Rainier
We also passed a significant milestone at the North Fork Sauk Trail Junction
Bouncing up around 5000 to 6500 feet gave us tree-less views. This one back to White Pass
From the top at Red Pass we could see down into a New Zealand like glacial valley which we descended into
The drop down through trees to 3800 feet reversed after crossing this still usable footbridge
On the grunt up Kennedy Ridge we were afforded views of Glacier Peak from the North West
The two big glaciers - Scimitar & Kennedy - were particularly impressive
After another tough climb in late afternoon we reached Fire Creek Pass for an astonishing 180 degrees view of the Cascade Mountains that brought whoops of delight
To finish off we then camped at the pristine Mica Lake
Hiking at its finest. Hard work but the rewards were sublime. It's also so remote here with no road access for almost 5 days. A special day in a unique part of our planet. 132 miles to go......Weta
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