Day 144 (PNT 49)

Day 154 (PNT 49): 16 miles

I woke up last night without even realizing it. Someone came into camp late and yelled “Hello” and I woke up to myself replying “yeah” loudly. I did not mean to speak. I was asleep. I don’t know how or why I instinctually responded while I was asleep. But after I yelled it and woke up my heart was pounding.

I’ve strolled into a lot of camps late when people are already sleeping. Never have I even remotely considered yelling out something in hopes that someone could direct me to a campsite. That’s goofy arrogance only a NARP could have.

It was a slow and steady climb in the morning up to Appleton Pass. It felt nice to only be climbing 900 feet per mile.

When I got up there I took an alternate off the official PNT. Instead of dropping down into a valley and climbing back up, I did a ridge walk around the Cat Basin which was glorious. I had good views of Mount Olympus almost the whole time. It was only slightly diminished cause it was a hazy day, but still incredible. This felt like I was as close as I could get without being on the mountain and touching a god myself.

I saw 3 bears while on the alternate which was cool. All black bears and all scaredy cats.

I ended up changing my plans late in the day and deciding to do another alternate off the PNT. I’ve had a good number of people tell me to check out the Hoh River Valley. You’ve gotta see the Hoh River Valley. You can’t miss the Hoh River Valley. So I’m gonna drop down to the Hoh River tomorrow and see what all the hype is about.

My trekking pole just keeps getting worse and worse. About a week ago the bottom two thirds would separate anytime it got caught in mud and I’d yank the top third off. I taped that up. Then a few days ago, the cork grip got loose and slides up and down while I’m walking which is annoying. Today, I filled ripped off the top grip of the trekking pole. I might care a little less if I didn’t need it to set up my tent. Just need to get a few more days out of it.

Song of the day: stuntin like my daddy-lil Wayne