I officially declare that the eating problem has been solved. I am feeling stronger rather than weaker about 3 days. I get a pretty early start in the day. The mornings and the sunrise are so pretty, I don’t see why more people don’t hike early. On the other hand, I never see a sunset as I am generally asleep and I’m sure they are pretty as well. Maybe I will set an alarm for sunset and get up just to check it out one of these days.

There are a lot of animals about based on the number of tracks on the trail but I have yet to see any large animal. And there are huckleberry plants everywhere. I am continually pausing to get a hand full of huckleberries. They have a very unique flavor. One hiker said they taste like grapes. One hiker said they taste like apples. I don’t think so. I think they taste like huckleberries.

Hiking the PCT is not a zero loss activity. People die on the PCT, people get lost on the PCT. Below is a picture of a poster of a missing PCT hiker. This hiker went missing in 2016. I heard about him when we were here in 2017 and staying at Packwood Washington. A guy who worked the lodge said he knew the guy and told him to delay going back on the trail because a big storm was moving in. He did not listen and went missing. In 2017 they were searching all the caves in the area hoping to find some evidence of him. This guy looks like a mountain man. He has a name of Sherpa!! He had hiked 2300 miles of the PCT. He just went missing.

So……I’m minding my own business just hiking, I come around a corner and BOOM, there is Mount Rainier. I take a few pictures (4 actually).

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I get to some water after 11.5 miles (that wasn’t so bad) and decide to have a snack and a little to eat.

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As I continue walking I get to a burn zone and there is a eagle boy scout information sign there that indicates the fire was started by a logger back in 1988! It is just now starting to show signs of recovery in that pines are starting to grow. Huckleberry bushes are everywhere and of course wild flowers. They is a family group on the mountain and they are picking huckleberries. The second time I have noticed a family group out picking from the side of the mountains. I am sure they sell them to the local fruit stands. Given that they only seem to grow at these high elevations, away from civilization, they are very expensive and I’m sure this family will make a few bucks on all they are picking. I have a video of the burn zone.

Getting closer to Mount Rainier

So I stop for the day pretty early at Mike Urich cabin just because it is so pretty and a little bit of a famous spot on the PCT. There are already 2 people stopped here as well and within a couple hours there are at least a dozen people. It is just one of those places that you have to stop at and write about how you stopped at it. One of the guys already there is a PCT thru hiker named Huckleberry (not sure why) and he has stopped so early because he is hurting. The tendon that runs from the outer hip to the outer part of the knee is inflamed and he says at times he can’t even bend his knee and has to walk stiff legged. And I thought I had problems. Anyway he is guessing he will have to go off the trail when he can get to Snoqualmie. He indicated he skipped the High Sierra’s because none of the towns in the area wanted PCT’ers because of COVID. A little while later in another group a PCT hiker named Turtle comes in and has severe pains in her left calf and also thinks she will have to go off trail for awhile. Whoever named her Turtle is like the Russian skating judge who gives the first skater all 10’s. There is no wiggle room. If they named her Turtle then what are they going to name me? I guess they could call be Sloth but that would just be rude. I mention them both only to indicate what an achievement it is for those who can start and finish the trail in 1 year. There are so many things that can go wrong and some of them you can’t just suck up and work through. They are within 250 miles or so of reaching that goal and both may have to stop. I tell both of them….OH Yeah…… well….. my back itches.

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The cabin was built to commemorate the life of Mike Urich, a forester who died in 1957. There is a plaque which reads,

     The mountain Gods from seat on high,
     Rejoiced to see Mike Ulrich die.
     And at his death gave this decree:
     “to all who pass here, know that we entrust to big Mike Ulrich’s hands these camps, these trails,
     these forest lands: to rule, protect, to love and scan as he did while mortal man;
     And deal out sentence stern and just on those who violate his trust.”
     Stranger, beware, leave not a fire
     Foul not Mike’s camp,
     Rouse not his ire!”

Taken from: https://bobofwashington.blogspot.com/2014/10/ulrich-cabin-to-snoqualmie-pass-on.html

• Miles: 13.4
• Steps: 35736
• PCT Mile: 2347
• Elevation: 4764
• Location: https://w3w.co/astonishing.computers.spine