PCT Day 127: Mt Rainier NP

Daily Miles: 29.1, Total Miles: 2360.4

I awoke to clear blue skies at my campsite.

A short walk to Chinook Pass and down the road a few hundred feet gave me the full Monty on Mt Rainier from the south. What a pretty sight!

The trail today was about following contours, usually high up the ridge with good views. I passed Sheep Lake and then up to Sourdough Gap and Pickhandle Gap with views of the eastern side and top of Rainier and back to Mt Adams.

I reached a high point at Scout Pass and descended into Big Crow Basin.

I eventually reached Government Camp and the Urich Cabin. Trail angels had a tent kitchen set up and invited hikers in for dinner. Appetizers included a banana, carrots and green beans. The dinner was spaghetti & meatballs with garlic bread. The surprise dessert was Krispy Kreme Boston Cream donuts of which I had two since they are by favorites. Wall-ee and Honeycomb arrived about the time I was leaving. Well done and thank you, Beaker. Dragonfly and Magic Man!

This gave me a burst of energy to put in another five miles, much of it through an old burn area. I surprised a cow elk on the trail – I had heard a bunch of elk crashing down the mountain earlier and this one got separated from the herd. I had to put on the headlamp for the last mile.