[pct-l] Southbound from Stevens Pass to Snoqualmie Pass

[griffin at u.washington.edu (Tom Griffin)]

Just got back from an eight-day section hike of the PCT from Stevens to
Snoqualmie Pass. If you want to meet a lot of through hikers, I recommend
hiking the Alpine Lakes Wilderness southbound at the end of August. I must
have met 30 on the trail, although I did not get eveyone's trail name. I did
meet Garlic Man and Greasepot, Freeman, Pickle, Rik (Lord Tea aka Sir
Lipton), Pathfinder and Oif, Buzz and Izzy, Homemade, Supertramp and Magnum.
Many others were leaving Snoqualmie Pass on the day my party got out, Sept.
4th. Many had also decided to do the road walk past Cole's Corner and Lake
Wenatchee State Park instead of the first section of the PCT detour around
Glacier Peak. Particularly impressive were Dave and Arlene--an equestrian
party that started in Campo and looks like they will make it to Canada, and
True and her dog Timber--who also started at the border and will make it to
Manning in a few weeks.

Even though I have lived in Seattle for 24 year, I have never backpacked in
the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. "Too close to home, too many people," I always
told myself. But I didn't realize that there is some extraordinary scenery
tucked away in the central Cascades--mountains that look like they belong in
the northern Cascades or in the Alps, with glaciers and waterfalls tumbling
down their sheer granite spires. It's good to know that it is "close to
home" so that I can go back.

Tom Griffin
Seattle