Assistant trip leader LaRae reported Wednesday for the Trip 2 team:
“A gorgeous sunny day, albeit a little smoky again today. We headed out this morning at 9 a.m., tackled our last big uphill section, and made it to our final camp at Sand Lake right around noon.
“The llamas were happy to have a short day and the whole afternoon to graze in the meadow. Sand Lake has been full of wildlife sightings. We’ve seen salamanders, frogs, dragonflies, red-breasted nuthatches, and even a few grass snakes that were enjoying swimming in the lake. It has been a wonderful journey so far and we are enjoying our last evening together.
“It’s all downhill from here, literally.”
On Thursday, the Trip 2 team will hike their last approximately three miles and come off the trail at the White Pass trailhead.
In addition, we received the Trip 2 team’s missing updates from the last several days. They are below.
Trip 2 Day 1
“We met the llamas shortly after 9 a.m. and got our crash course on saddling and taking care of llamas. We hit the trail shortly after 10:30 a.m. The day’s main attraction was a bear munching on berries about 30 yards off the trail.
“We stopped for lunch at Dewey Lake and arrived at our camp site at Anderson Lake around 5 p.m. The llamas were very popular with the day hikers and had their picture taken many, many times. We hiked just over 5 miles today to start our journey.”
Trip 2 Day 2
“After a leisurely breakfast at our Anderson Lake campsite, we packed up our gear and llamas and hit the trail shortly before 9:30 a.m.
“We had another bear sighting today. This time it was a mama bear and her cub heading the opposite direction from us.
“The llamas continue to be the stars of the trail and get their picture taken by just about everyone we pass. We stopped for lunch near Two Lakes and ran into two through hikers doing the same. We chatted and shared some Oreos with them. They were thankful for the treat and lovely to talk to.
“We arrived near Crag Lake, our stop for the night, around 3:30 p.m. and set up camp. We logged right around 6.6 miles for day 2.”
Trip 2 Day 3
“We have a forager in our group, so we have been learning about mushrooms and the difference between mountain blueberries and huckleberries. Last night we found a King Bolete mushroom near our campsite that we sliced up and sauteed. It was a delicious treat to add to our dinners.
“This morning we hit the trail shortly after 9 a.m. and reached our intended campsite at Bumping River around noon. We decided to press on to the next campsite and tackle the river crossing a day early. We covered 4.6 miles today (instead of the intended 3.3) and arrived at our creekside tent site around 2:30 p.m.
“The weather was absolutely lovely. Today was a beautiful sunny day even though we could see and smell the smoke. The llamas enjoyed an afternoon of sunbathing and rolling in the grassy meadow.
“We are now past the halfway point: 16.3 miles traveled total and we are now closer to White Pass than Chinook Pass. No turning back now. Onward and upward!”
Trip 2 Day 4
“After arriving at our creekside tent site yesterday, we enjoyed a very relaxed evening. We rinsed our socks in the creek, watched the llamas enjoy their afternoon off in the meadow, and sat around sharing stories. What a lovely group we have!
“This morning, we hit the trail right around 9 a.m. and arrived at the gorgeous Snow Lake around 10:30 a.m., where we enjoyed a nice leisurely snack break. We trekked onward and upward and made it to Pipe Lake, where we set up camp, around 1 p.m.
“We had a lovely lunch by the lake, found two more King Bolete mushrooms that we sauteed up, and helped a group of teens that had a sick friend. After chatting with them for a bit and providing some electrolytes and snacks, they were on their way, carrying out their nauseous friend.
“Shortly after that, one came running back looking for a set of trekking poles they had left behind. After not finding the poles (even though they were right there on the trail), the teen headed back to his group. AJ and Karin, a little bit later, grabbed the poles and tried to catch up to them on the trail. No luck, though. We are hoping they ditched their plans to stay an extra night and headed straight for White Pass. Luckily, the poles have a name and phone number on them and we learned from the boys that they go to school in Seattle, so we are hoping to reunite the hiker and poles when we get home.
“Total mileage for today was nearly 5.5 miles, leaving us only 7.1 miles to conquer over the next two days. We are having such a great time!”