Anyway, the day began at White Pass off highway 12 on the northern edge of the Goat Rocks Wilderness and brought me all the way to Walupt Lake(on the southern end of things) and back in a single bound, well maybe it was a "few" less than graceful bounds but you get the picture. In terms of specifics, I followed the Pacific Crest Trail south from White Pass through the heart of the wilderness hiking up and over the many passes until reaching the junction with the Walupt Creek Trail. Down at the lake I followed the roadway to Klickitat Loop Trail(7a) and climbed out of the Cispus River drainage all the way back up to the Snowgrass Trail and the PCT, clearing the shoulder of Old Snowy once more and finally making my way back to White Pass. I know I've said this many times before, but this most certainly wont be a journey I soon forget!
This adventure also marked a strong turning point in my life as I recently quit smoking, making it the first solo endurance hike I've ever completed without getting stoned several times throughout the day. In fact, nearly every experience I have written about on this website over the past several years involved getting high pretty much all day, while in contrast(or maybe not?) I was also seemingly looking to push myself above each and every barrier of physical, mental and emotional strength I could find as I traipsed countless miles across the wilderness often under my own support. But no matter one's opinion on things, it had become painfully clear to me(and more and more everyday since my fathers passing last March) that I needed to find a better way to deal with things I wasn't satisfied with as opposed to running away into the woods for hours and days in a haze, a haze that allowed me to forget about the things I wasn't happy about without really dealing with them in a positive or constructive way. From the Hatfield 100 to the 70 miler across the coast range and dozens of 30- 40 milers along the way, I finally realized I would enjoy things even more without smoking, not to mention the lungs too! For example, getting baked on the Coopey Creek bridge less than a mile into a nearly self supported 100 miler(with just 99 miles to go!) isn't the brightest idea, unless of course you were me, because at the time I thought it was. Pondering all that on the drive out from Packwood I left the White Pass TH on Friday morning with a chip on my shoulder and what I felt was something to prove as I left for what would turn out to be one of the most satisfying and rewarding yet difficult, and at times most terrifying journeys of my entire life. At least this time I wouldn't look like the guy on the TH sign
It was a beautiful morning as I climbed up toward the edge of the wilderness boundary and eventually Ginnette Lake around 5,400 feet or so:
It was going to be a day to spend in the mountains:
Was this the terminus of a long gone glacier at one point?
Popping over to the western side of the ridge briefly and Mt Ranier was up bright and early:
I jogged many of the wooded stretches on the way to Tieton Pass and stopped for a nice break at the junction with the Clear Fork and North Fork Tieton Trails:
The views just got more spectacular as I continued on towards Elk Pass:
Bistort was still in bloom near the pass and I have to say this place was something special:
I loved this lone tree too, a testament to the "I'll find a way" spirit that seems so evident in the natural world:
Clearing the pass and it was hard to believe this wasn't a dream planet I was walking in:
Can you spot the snow caves across the valley?
They say never to look back, but up there it's impossible not to look in just about every direction on a clear day with jaws dropped, especially back if you're heading south!
I couldn't believe how beautiful this stretch was, one of the best stretches of the PCT I've ever been on as I neared Old Snowy:
To make things even better I spotted a few Mountain Goats grazing in some meadows at the head of the Upper Lake Creek drainage. While trying to get a few pictures a north bound PCT thru hiker walked by and asked what I was looking down on. I pointed out the goats and he went crazy, apparently his trail name was mountain goat yet he had never seen them in person. It was a great moment as we watched them munch on some late breakfast:
Closing in on Old Snowy and there were more views across to Goat Lake with some curious clouds looming overtop:
Once over the hump so to speak I started bombing down toward the Snowgrass junction with Mt Adams sitting pretty right in front of me:
There were still some decent Moptops near the bypass junction on my way towards Cispus Pass:
And fields of them as I curled around the headwaters of the Cispus River:
Once I reached the pass I was bombarded with even more incredible views on the border of the Yakama Land. Looking down the Klickitat River as it made its way to the SE was one of my favorite moments of the trip:
Bombing down from the pass was fun as I laced up the brooks(not old nikes anymore woohoo!) and shuffled on toward the Nannie Ridge junction:
The next stretch over to the Walupt Lake Trail was pretty in the afternoon sunshine as I continued south through the wilderness:
After reaching the junction I started down quickly, only to flubber out shortly after with the rocky nature of the upper part of the trail. Once I hit the easier segment down by the lake I started running again and took a short break by the water:
I picked up a jog once more on the roadway down to the Klickitat Loop Trail and followed it down to the Cispus River around 3,300 feet. Here is the marker to look for if anyone is curious about this trail:
I assumed beforehand that this would be the crux of the trip, 35-40 some miles in and still having to climb all the way back up above 7,000 before the day(well night) was over. After sagging out during one of the climbs on the Ten Peak I was determined not to let this uphill battle get the best of me. That idea fell out the window fairly quickly though as I let my feet soak in the cool water for about ten minutes
I followed the lesser used trail up out of the valley bottom crossing paths with several old roads along the way and some past examples of the giants that once called this forest home:
Before making the final go up to the Snowgrass TH I peeked off the trail and found this lovely meadow:
I hit the snowgrass trail and picked up the pace once more in an attempt to make it up near Old Snowy and the knife edge ridge before dark. I was able to get back to the PCT before nightfall but unable to clear Old Snowy and the exposed ridge before things went black. I was proud of myself for making it that far and being diligent on the big climb out of the Cispus but I had failed to realize just how much energy that type of effort had sucked out of me. Things were looking kinda like this before the day was finally done
More importantly I could see the predicted torrent of wind and thick cloud cover looming up near Old Snows and by the time I made it up there it was completely socked in and dark. It was so difficult to see I had to hold my headlamp low in my hand so it would shine the ground enough so that I could safely see exactly where I was placing my feet. Before long I was crossing several of the steep snowfields that sit over the PCT north of Old Snowy with the snow having already hardened back up. I took things very slowly until I noticed several large rocks rolling off the mountainside from above while I was traversing one of the snow covered segments. At first I was sure it was rockfall but with such limited visibility I just tried to remain calm and keep going at a pace that I was comfortable with. All of a sudden more rocks came crashing down with one rolling(bouncing!?) just a few feet behind me and in my exhausted state I began to panic. I continued moving when it sounded like the rocks were falling several yards back of me and before I knew it a huge gust of wind cleared enough of the deep fog that I was able to spot the culprit! It was a mountain goat traversing the slope above me that had triggered the falling rocks, I couldn't make out much more than a ghostly white being above the trail but it was unmistakable as to what was near me at that moment. Now, and to be totally honest, I was pretty much freaking out, standing in the middle of a steep snowfield with a goat trying to kill me, in the dark
Aren't they supposed to sleep at night(I guess one could say the same for me!). Anyway, I did what any normal person would do and started screaming every expletive in the book in the goats direction but after a few seconds the clouds had come back in and all I could do was muster up the courage to keep going. Long story short I made it over Elk Pass and all the way back to Tieton Pass on an adrenaline rush which lead to a subsequent crash of sorts back at Tieton. This was the closest I have ever come to tarping out, and out of all the extreme adventures over the past several years there have certainly been a few close calls 
I weighed the options of trying to find a few campers or just bundling up for the rest of the night while having some food and water at the pass. Like so many times before the calories and much needed hydration began to bring some energy back to my dwindling brain, but at this point my body was tarnished and I was absolutely exhausted. I made the decision to put on some extra clothing, take an extended break to calm my mind and gather my thoughts before finding two walking sticks to use as trekking poles as I crawled all the way back to White Pass after nearly 24 hours in the place they call Goat Rocks. It was tough to admit but on this day I had been beaten, humbled beyond expectation but left to fight on another day. In fact, I was so sore on the wooded section of the PCT just above White Pass that I think it took me almost twice as long to hike down that stretch as it had to climb up it just 20+hours before. Back at the car I crawled into the backseat, downed a banana and a few pringles, gulped down what felt like never enough water to sate me and fell asleep like a baby in a crib, dreaming of wildflower laden meadows with nightmares of the rock chucking goat im sure A few hours later I woke up and climbed out of the backseat, ashamed of my overconfidence but proud of the fact that I had once again faced adversity in the name of mother nature and lived to tell about it(ok now im being overly dramatic). All in all, it was an adventure that will live in the memory bank for a long time, serving as a reminder to never underestimate anything, let alone an undertaking such as this one. But also to remind me just how beautiful life really is, and that no matter how things ended, I had been having the time of my life for the majority of the trip in one of the most beautiful places on the entire planet. Again I will end this writing with, and I think it merits repeating on more than one occasion, if there is something in your life you wish to change, something you wish to accomplish or set out for, let no one and nothing stand in your way and remember as the great Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed, I have just found ten thousand ways that wont work". Thanks for reading friends 
