Today was our last official ‘town day’. We head in to Mazama after a 13 mile walk and a hitch. The morning walk wasn’t too eventful aside from a ranger asking if we had permits for the trail.

After waiting about five minutes for a ride. We sat in the bed of a truck for the twenty minute ride in and then Devin and I headed straight to the local public house. We had to sample all of their beer to decide which can to bring to the border of course. We did our due diligence and decided on a pale ale. Devin and I each grabbed a four pack to share with the group.

After grabbing a quick bite, we headed back out to trail. It was about six when we got back to walking and we all noticed the trail was soaking. We missed hail and rain while in town sipping on beers. Seemed like the move to grab beers was a responsible one.

We’re camped by the trail and the temperature is dropping fast. After a quick bear hang, we’re back in our tents. Two more full days left on trail.

Happy trails…

So the photo feature on this app seems to be not working at all anymore. Wish I could share the sites from today. The trail seems to have saved the best for last.

After dealing with a damn cold morning, scraping frost off our tents and warming ourselves as best we could, we started on our first climb of the day up. The views of the North Cascade mountains were incredible. Similar to the dramatic views of the Sierra only conifer trees line much of the mountain faces.

The morning hike was excellent with manageable climbs and rolling hills for most of it. We climbed over Mather Pass and had lunch. Then, back down 3,000 feet where we then climbed back up 2,800 feet over Glacier Pass and Grasshopper Pass. The climb up was a never ending sequence of switch backs that paid off with some of the best views on trail.

We’re huddled in our tents again piling on layers to beat the cold. We have to sleep with our filters now so they don’t freeze. If they freeze, water can still flow through them but nothing actually gets filtered. Cozy night ahaid (so we hope).

Happy trails…