Day 142 

Mile 2270 to White Pass (2293), 23 miles

Cost: Stayed in a room behind the Kracker Barrel Store White Pass with KC, DLux and Ladiesman, $25pp

I woke about 5am and heard DLux and Ladiesman talking about the weather being worse now than it was yesterday… This wasn’t good news. I said that I was happy to lie in bed until 9am and let the sun hopefully burn the cloud away, but everyone agreed it looked like the cloud was here to stay so we may as well get on with the day. 

 

 
  
I was the last to leave and my right ankle had a shooting pain when I put weight on it (since the road walk 2 days ago but never before) and I knew today would be slow going. I told KC I would probably struggle to keep up and today wasn’t the kind of day you wanted to be sitting down waiting for someone (cold, windy and wet) so she went ahead. DLux was going to walk fast so he said he would get a hotel room for everyone so I could relax a little knowing I didn’t have to hurry.

   
   

I caught up to Ladiesman after a couple of miles and because we both have injuries and were walking slow we decided to keep each other company and walk together. We saw KC just before walking across the slippery glacier and struggled across it together. Then we got to the alternative stock route right before knife’s edge and all decided to take the lower stock route rather than go over the top in zero visibility and strong winds. It was a terrific idea!

   
  

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
 The clouds would part briefly every now and then to give us a glimpse of the valley below and we even saw a part of the top of Mt Rainier just for a second or two! 

It was slow going for Ladiesman and myself and my ankle would periodically send shooting pains up my leg and calf making me stop suddenly… I have no idea what is causing the pain but I really hope it goes away as fast as it came on. 

We reached the trailhead before turning off to White Pass and came across one of the most exciting trail magic experiences ever! There were 2 iceboxes, one was full of donuts, muffins, chocolate croissants, chips and fruit. The other was full of soda, Starbucks frappucinos and coconut water! It couldn’t have been better timing because we’d just found out that the Kracker Barrel store had closed at 6pm and there was nowhere to get any food now and we’d eaten all of our food because today was the last day before resupplying! We sat down and ate a donut and a packet of chips before writing a very thankful note to the trail angels in the register. 

   
 Then we walked the last 0.7 miles to the Kracker Barrel store and found the room behind it that KC and DLux had booked for the night. It was so toasty and warm in the room which was perfect because I was frozen to the bone and wet too. I had a long hot shower, hung up my tent on the balcony to hopefully dry overnight, hung up my sleeping bag and then was treated to a delicious pasta dinner cooked by DLux, it was perfect, thanks DLux! 

The weather is supposed to stay rainy for the next 4 or 5 days so I’ll check it again in the morning and decide whether to wait it out a day here or get back on the trail. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind if tomorrow was really stormy to give me an excuse to stay an extra day and rest my sore ankle.