Agnostic.com

8 10

Today's Hike to Janus Lake and PCT Thru-Hikers

What a great birthday hike! Today with Karen and Julie, I hiked to Janus Lake, gaining 2,000' in elevation over 7.8 miles.

We hiked 1,000' in elevation up to Union Gap Pass, then descended sharply to Janus Lake. Then hiked arduously up to Union Gap Pass again, and descended steeply to the car. The extreme up/down reminded me of hiking in the Olympic Mountains.

On the Pacific Crest Trail, we met two thru-hikers coming from Mexico to Canada. They were almost done.

Two men started two weeks ago in Canada, heading south. One had a large dog with him. I don't know how he can possibly carry enough dog food. His dog was thin after two weeks.

PCT thru-hikers looked lean and fit. Their packs were like an extension of their bodies, pared down to the essentials. The men had beards.

They are hungry for fresh fruit and vegetables. I gave the first hungry thru-hiker we met grapes and carrots from my lunch. Karen gave him a fresh tomato. Julie handed him a bag of cookies.

"This tomato is incredible," he gushed, inhaling it. Next Karen handed him a large, chocolate ball. "I made it from chocolate/mint, vegan protein bars that got rock hard," she said. " I whirled the bars in the Cuisinart with dates and added more mint."

When he tasted it, he nearly swooned. The look he gave Karen said, "I'll follow you anywhere."

"Here's your birthday cake," Karen said, handing me a now-famous chocolate ball. "I brought one for each of us."

LiterateHiker 9 Sep 4
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

8 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

1

Sounds like a most wonderful birthday outing. Happy Birthday!

djs64 Level 7 Sep 4, 2019
1

Nice pics.

2

Love your posts and commentary and your generosity. Pleasure to follow your adventures

@RoyMillar

Thank you for your kindhearted reply.

Hugs, Kathleen

Warm hugs back to you

2

Belated Happy Birthday. I'll bet Janus Lake is cold! Do you ever dip in? I hiked through Glacier National Park many years back and swam in Lake McDonald. It was early summer and I nearly froze my butt off. But the lake was so clear and pristine, I braved it...

@Bobbyzen

With the insulating capacity of a grasshopper, I would get hypothermia.

At most, I stick my feet in frigid alpine lakes for a nanosecond.

@LiterateHiker As my yiddisha grandmother used to say when we didn’t load our dinner plates to overfilled, “You eat like a bird!”

2

Incredible scenery

CS60 Level 7 Sep 4, 2019
2

I envy your excursions, but alas I am committed to working for now. But I do get out or shorter jaunts.
My house is to the right of the power plant which is decommissioned, YAY

2

Wow, thats beautiful, but I am too lazy to make the conversions and understand the measures you passed, numbers seem high anyway, Congrats

2

Sounds like you had a great birthday hike.... and super scenery.
That a fly agaric mushroom .. highly poisonous?

@ShadowAmicus

I don't eat wild mushrooms except Morels. No idea if the orange mushroom is poisonous.

@LiterateHiker my identifications are not definitive, so I never pick and eat mushrooms ... I ocasionally grow some ... but anything red generally means don't eat me

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:397699
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.