Trip leader Hiro reported Tuesday for the Trip 6 team:
“Wow, did we have a night last night! We have neglected to share that we have had cold mornings, late afternoons, and evenings. We have had some wind as well. However, last night the wind had a heyday whipping our tents around. Some thought it was at least 40 mph at times. The wind yanked out some stakes and caused a tent to begin to collapse. People were out of their tents multiple times in the middle of the night pounding in stakes and reinforcing them with rocks.
“Today we needed to climb Ladies Pass and Cape Horn. It was still windy when we got up this morning, but there was supposed to be a lull between 9 and 10 a.m. Our goal was to be climbing Cape Horn in that window as it is steep, narrow, and exposed. We made it, conditions were perfect, and it was glorious!
“It was windy as we dropped into Lake Edna. We explored and ate lunch, and then headed a 1/4 mile down to Chatter Creek to a meadow to set up camp.
“On our way down from Lake Edna, we saw a sign to a toilet that looked like it may be perched above a precipice with an expansive view. So, several of our team had to go check it out. This throne did not disappoint! Will, Jason’s son, has gone back up to that throne twice to take pictures so he can brag to his friends about having the best place ever to take a dump!
“Bugs have not been too bad at all. We have not seen many people out here, but we did run into three bear hunters today.
“Eric has gone from only a stick to struggle through eating his granola with to spoons coming out his ears. Hiro keeps finding spoons to gift to Eric. He now has at least three.
“And now, on our 5th day, Jason has finally decided to share his prized possession on the trail: his ‘bear’ back scratcher! Forget packing the chair; he’s bringing his back scratcher!”
Trip 3
Assistant trip leader Abby sent the Trip 3 team’s Monday update late last night.
“The Trip 3 team had our most exciting day yet! We started the day with a hard climb, which led to our first view of Mt. Rainier.
“As we kept hiking, Bobby was doing an excellent job of watching his surroundings, spotting a large, brown bear near us on the trail. The bear was face first in a berry bush and paid no attention to us, so it was a peaceful passing.
“The group also saw a marmot perched above the trail, whistling down to us. We felt very lucky to have such great views and wildlife encounters! We made it all the way to American Lake, where everyone took a dip and enjoyed a wonderful lakeside dinner.”
The Tuesday evening update is:
“The Trip 3 team breezed through the hike from American Lake to Dewey Lake. We took a nice long lunch where we tried reindeer jerky provided by support hiker Chris. We are excited to have lighter packs now that we have eaten most of our food.
“Some of the group took a day hike up to see Naches Peak while others decided to hang out at Dewey Lake. Some members of the group are planning to wake up to watch the meteor shower tonight, but all of us are dreaming of the ice cream, margaritas, and salads we will be getting once we return to civilization.”
The Tuesday Trip 3 itinerary called for hiking about 2 miles to the Dewey Lake campsite. That leaves just 3.5 miles to cover on Wednesday before coming off the trail midday at Chinook Pass Trailhead.
Trip 10
This morning, trip leader Brian sent a picture and said things are going well for the Trip 10 team.
