The Goat Rocks Wilderness

I don’t expect you to remember this, but a year ago Kathy “planned to do one week of Washington’s Pacific Crest Trail, but even that plan had to be cut short because of a storm”. Since then she’s had an eye on the thirty-something miles she couldn’t do last year: the Goat Rocks Wilderness. And she’s been pestering me to go with her.

In spite of all her persuasiveness, I had only agreed to act as her external support (just as a year ago), and to a day hike to accompany her at the beginning of her adventure. And that’s because I’m done carrying a heavy backpack. I’ve done enough of that grueling shit and just don’t want to do it anymore. I don’t even have a backpack nor any of the required paraphernalia (other than my trusty but heavy sleeping bag).

My resistance lasted only until she played the nuclear option: she offered to carry all the load. I could not decline anymore. Wait! No, it’s not what you are thinking! I was not going to let her carry all the weight! But the fact that she was really willing to do that showed me how much she wanted me to go with her. So I agreed to do the first day and first night with her (provided she took care of all the logistics, including borrowing a backpack and a mat for me; I’m not that easy, alright?).

Later on I figured that, more than my charming company, what she really wanted was my camera (and, okay, someone decently skilled behind it). That was mildly disappointing, but at about the same time I read in her PCT guide that the Goat Rocks Wilderness was the most spectacular section of the PCT, which evened things out: “deserved reputation for grandeur”, “jagged ridges and subalpine hillsides teeming with dancing creeks and fragrant wildflower meadows”, “the PCT stretch you’ll never forget”.

So, long story short, we drove 800 miles to Walupt Lake, I hiked with Kathy the first 8 miles to camp number one, I came back the next day to the van, and I picked her up two days later at her exit point at White Pass. She obviously provided room and board: took care of the tent and meals for her illustrious guest.

One problem was that, with that reputation, The Goat Rocks Wilderness is a very popular area for short-distance hikers. In addition, there’s the long-distance hikers who are doing the entire 2,650 miles of the PCT converging to Washington at this time of the year. So, don’t expect much solitude. You’ll see other souls every few minutes, and camp mere feet from other hikers. On the other hand… you get to meet interesting people, such as the amputee with a prosthetic leg who was at mile 2,270 of his PCT hike, or the friendly young couple who had spent 5 months on the trail (and were not done yet).

The other problem was that, judging by her pictures with a lowly cell phone, the portion that Kathy did without me seems to be even more spectacular than the part I did. I’m afraid I’ll have to be back next summer with my camera and sleeping bag to do “The Spine” (the trail you see on the right side of Kathy’s picture below).