Day 129
Start: Mt. Adams
Finish: Old Snowy Mountain
Daily Mileage: 31.9
PCT Mile: 2279
Some condensation in our meadow last night, but it could have been worse. There has been no condensation for a month or more, it has been so dry, but the rain seems to have awakened it.
We camped at the last spot around Mt. Adams before the trail started to descend and leave the mountain towards Goat Rocks. We cruised through the forest with little to see. Even the trees weren’t that big. It was just a matter of traversing the terrain between the scenic areas which can happen on a continuous long distance trail.
The trail started climbing up to Goat Rocks in the Goat Rocks Wilderness Area. The day was heating up for the first time in a while, so we slowed down a bit and needed more water. I also started getting a rash on my back from my pack that grew throughout the afternoon.
As we ascended towards the Goat Rocks, the trees started to transform into meadows giving us views of the surrounding area. There was a lot of volcanic rock and prominences and hexagonal lava flows.
We were targeting a popular campsite so we kept moving so as to not get there too late. We circled the entire bowl to let us see the mountains from all angles before passing on to the next one. The jagged mountain chain continued and we were out in the open climbing through meadows and over slabs of rock.
The campsite was pretty impressive with views of Goat Rocks, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, and Mt. St. Helens. Chatted with some other thru-hikers through the sunset before bed.
We started at the foot of Mt. Adams today, but now it is quite distant and Mt. Rainier looks about as far away. It’s amazing how quickly we can make progress through the mountains these days.
