Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - September 15th
Day 145: Sunday 15th September Deep Lake – Trap Pass
I overslept, but still got away at 7.35am. There was high overcast with a watery sun.
There was smoke filtering up from only a few hundred yards below the trail at Cathedral
Pass. The trail had been closed for the past week and had only just been re-opened. The
USFS had posted the following sign:
Attention – Wildfire Danger
A lightning-caused wildland fire is currently burning in an area beneath Cathedral
Rock, downslope of the Pacific Crest Trail, one quarter mile northeast of Cathedral Pass.
The Wilderness Act of 1964 emphasizes that natural forces continue to shape the
wilderness ecosystem. This fire (named the Peggy Fire) is being monitored by the fire
managers for such resource benefit. Suppression action will be initiated if the fire
exceeds defined parameters, established boundaries, or if weather conditions cause an
unacceptable increase in fire activity.
All travelers in the area must exercise extreme caution when passing the fire on the
Cathedral Pass Trail #1345 and Pacific Crest Trail #2000. Study the fire behavior and do
not pass if the fire appears active and dangerous. Turbulent smoke, active flames or tree
torching, loud crackling sounds, or spreading ground fire are indicators that it is unsafe
to approach.
It had been the suppression of fires in the 20th century that had resulted in the build up
of combustibles (fallen branches etc.) below the trees that had meant that fires now got
out of control very rapidly. The USFS were now happy to see these small fires burning to
control the underbrush and to help build up firebreaks to slow down major fires.
On the gradual descent from Cathedral Pass I crossed, dryfoot, a stream descending
from Mount Daniel, which the USFS warned as being dangerous and suggested a 10-mile
detour as an alternative. Obviously they had different ideas on safety than the
authorities in the High Sierra where we really did have dangerous crossings.
I was overtaken by “Ranger” and “Flying Dutchman” before Deception Lake. They
were hurrying to get to Stevens Pass early tomorrow to hitch down to Skykomish before
the Post Office closes tomorrow.
As I topped Peiper Pass I saw a “Brocken Spectre” on the mist rising up from the
valley to the east. This occurred when the low sun projected my shadow onto mist and
there was a coloured halo surrounding the shadow as a result of diffraction of the
sunlight by water droplets in the mist (like a miniature rainbow). I chatted with an
elderly couple, who were section-hiking from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass. I
intended to camp above Glacier Lake, but missed the last campsite and found myself on a
steep 1,000ft ascent to Trap Pass. I hoped there would be somewhere to camp at the pass
otherwise I would be walking long after dark. It only took me 30 minutes to climb the
final 700ft to the pass; a sign of my increased fitness. Fortunately there was a largish flat
area on top covered with a very fine volcanic black dust, which tended to get everywhere,
and I got my tent up before it got dark.
Day 145: 18.7 miles 8.46 hours Camp: Trap Pass
I overslept, but still got away at 7.35am. There was high overcast with a watery sun.
There was smoke filtering up from only a few hundred yards below the trail at Cathedral
Pass. The trail had been closed for the past week and had only just been re-opened. The
USFS had posted the following sign:
Attention – Wildfire Danger
A lightning-caused wildland fire is currently burning in an area beneath Cathedral
Rock, downslope of the Pacific Crest Trail, one quarter mile northeast of Cathedral Pass.
The Wilderness Act of 1964 emphasizes that natural forces continue to shape the
wilderness ecosystem. This fire (named the Peggy Fire) is being monitored by the fire
managers for such resource benefit. Suppression action will be initiated if the fire
exceeds defined parameters, established boundaries, or if weather conditions cause an
unacceptable increase in fire activity.
All travelers in the area must exercise extreme caution when passing the fire on the
Cathedral Pass Trail #1345 and Pacific Crest Trail #2000. Study the fire behavior and do
not pass if the fire appears active and dangerous. Turbulent smoke, active flames or tree
torching, loud crackling sounds, or spreading ground fire are indicators that it is unsafe
to approach.
It had been the suppression of fires in the 20th century that had resulted in the build up
of combustibles (fallen branches etc.) below the trees that had meant that fires now got
out of control very rapidly. The USFS were now happy to see these small fires burning to
control the underbrush and to help build up firebreaks to slow down major fires.
On the gradual descent from Cathedral Pass I crossed, dryfoot, a stream descending
from Mount Daniel, which the USFS warned as being dangerous and suggested a 10-mile
detour as an alternative. Obviously they had different ideas on safety than the
authorities in the High Sierra where we really did have dangerous crossings.
I was overtaken by “Ranger” and “Flying Dutchman” before Deception Lake. They
were hurrying to get to Stevens Pass early tomorrow to hitch down to Skykomish before
the Post Office closes tomorrow.
As I topped Peiper Pass I saw a “Brocken Spectre” on the mist rising up from the
valley to the east. This occurred when the low sun projected my shadow onto mist and
there was a coloured halo surrounding the shadow as a result of diffraction of the
sunlight by water droplets in the mist (like a miniature rainbow). I chatted with an
elderly couple, who were section-hiking from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass. I
intended to camp above Glacier Lake, but missed the last campsite and found myself on a
steep 1,000ft ascent to Trap Pass. I hoped there would be somewhere to camp at the pass
otherwise I would be walking long after dark. It only took me 30 minutes to climb the
final 700ft to the pass; a sign of my increased fitness. Fortunately there was a largish flat
area on top covered with a very fine volcanic black dust, which tended to get everywhere,
and I got my tent up before it got dark.
Day 145: 18.7 miles 8.46 hours Camp: Trap Pass
Cathedral Rock
Creek from
Mount Daniel
Mount Daniel
Flying Dutchman
and Ranger
and Ranger
Surprise Mountain
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