23 Miles
Tent was soaked in the morning from rain all night, and we had a slight dip in the ground that pooled some water that seeped through the tent floor and tyvek. A soggy mess. We checked the weather forecast again to see what the day looked like and it was promising. We could expect light rain in the morning, a cloudy day with light breeze from noon to 5, then 10% chance of rain. The knife’s edge was still 18 miles away, so it would be toward the afternoon/early evening. We’d have to move quick to make it there, and across, to avoid getting caught on an exposed ridge during a storm. We ended up with great weather. The morning was wet, passing through the overgrowth and the leaves transferring rain to pant legs. We saw what I think was a mountain lion. I mainly saw movement through the brush, but got a glimpse of its ass. Hah! A long tail and it seemed to have greyish fur. About hip height because the huckleberry bushes were about knee height. After 6 miles we briefly stopped for a snack. We cruised through the early miles and even part of the climb. Our plan was to eat lunch at the top of Cispus Pass, and hoped to get great views. It was incredible! The whole rest of the day was full of amazing views. We took a very long time working our way through Goat Rocks taking picture after picture. One of the water sources was a big waterfall right on trail. A large patch of snow was probably the longest section of snow that we’ve encountered the entire trail. Mt. Adams peaked out above the clouds. Walking across the knife edge was a thrill. Our water for camp came from glacial melt. We even got fresh nectarines from a group of hikers that were hiking with llamas! I was excited for today’s section and it fully delivered. A wonderful day on trail.
PCT Hike 