Over two years ago, my sweet cousin, Annesley, asked if I might be interested in taking her and her friend Savannah on a backpacking expedition...to which of course you all know my immediate and excitable answer :)
We settled on the North Cascades of Washington, and in time honed in on a 30 mile loop in the Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest with about 7500 feet elevation gain. It was stunning, to say the least!
In the decade since I began making these sorts of trips backcountry, it seems my risk assessment skills have finally leveled up and around February I started planning for our adventure, mostly out of a newfound fear of being responsible for other lifeforms.
Let the packing begin! Between Emergency GPS trackers, first aid in-field kits, bear bags, ice axes, water purification, bear spray, 5 days worth of food for hiking with weight at elevation gain, and everything that falls in between, we had a lot of gear to gather. We meet up in Seattle end of July, sorted through our gear, and miraculously managed to pack everything into our 65-75 liter backpacks weighing in around 40lbs each.
Hit the trail midday on a Monday and enjoyed a mellow hike getting our muscles warmed up and acclimated while enjoying the beautiful old growth forests that Washington is known for.
Lots and LOTS of elevation gain on our second day; Tuesday hiking was just up 3500 feet of elevation gain in 3 miles of switchbacks. But the up up up was well worth it! Then a mile and half traversing the mountain side continuing elevation gain but also gaining crazy views of the surrounding ranges, until we made White Pass and found our camping spot for the following two nights.
So many beautiful wildflowers collected and identified during our rest day at White Pass.
This bouquet was in honor of Annesley's 3rd wedding anniversary!
Danny spent multiple evenings at home leading up to our trip dehydrating veggies and meats and prepping us some amazing dehydrated dinners! It makes a huge difference on the trail when you get to look forward to a full flavored, hearty meal at days end. Somehow, he manages to keep me well fed and fat even from over a thousand miles away ;)
From White Pass we hiked along the PCT South bound and enjoyed some ridiculous views of all the surrounding peaks. The day drew on to 10 miles in total before making camp at Baby Blue Lake (which we named because it wasn't actually on our map...)
I was mostly amazed during the whole hike that at 4 months pregnant, baby Munckster seemed completely content to be along for the adventure and didn't make the trek any more difficult in any way....which was AMAZING.
A Snug Bug of a baby makes a good hiking companion...or something like that...You have lots of time to think about these things while hiking for 8 hours a day, but clearly not enough mental energy to come up with any cute saying that actually makes sense.
Shepherds Pie was my absolute favorite of all the meals Danny made!
Annesley did most of the cooking, and Savannah loved the art of cleaning the dishes with pinecone and biodegradable soap!
Even in the backcountry, far from home in a ruggedly beautiful setting, the daily tasks of dishes still need our time and attention and help create the slow rhythm found within the days that slip away so quickly when you're enjoying every present moment.
Below: Hard to top this setting for washing dishes at days end
On our final day we broke camp around 8am and hit the trail for what would be our longest hike yet, and in some ways some of the most difficult trail of the whole loop. In all we made 10.5 miles back to the trailhead, crossed some snow fields, traversed Pilot Ridge for a large portion of the afternoon, and climbed some before descending what felt like 800 of the steepest switchbacks ever. Some good laughs were had for sure, along with some really blistered and swollen feet and shaky legs by the end! Wouldn't trade it for a thing. So incredibly thrilled to be able to ask such things of my body and find that I can still do it, even if I pay the price later ;) And more than all else, the girls were the best company I could have asked for along the journey!
Needless to say...we're already talking about the next trip :)
Below is an arial view of our GPS waypoints and the full loop
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