We slept in, but this wasn’t too much of a concern. A quick breakfast and we set of down the road. The road is a gravel road and VERY rough. It felt like the car was going to shake apart at times. We would occasionally catch glimpses through the shadows and trees of the Cascades and were already awe struck by the passing views.
Eventually we reached the trailhead and set off. The first two miles of hiking was just switchbacks through trees. It was fairly easy, but some sections were steeper than others. After an eternity of switchbacks, the trail straightened out and took us, quickly and without fuss, to the pass. The views were… spectacular.
We lunched, pictured, and celebrated a return to hiking, and then headed back. We made the descent quickly, stopping only occasionally to take pictures (and one extended stop to observe a hoary marmot that was only a few feet from the trail). We completed the hike in just over 3.5 hours.
We drove down the hill, having all our bones vibrated, and got on our way. We ate a celebratory Five Guys (though, not the best Five Guys experience we’ve had) and drove on to Enumclaw to stay a night at a motel. We passed through Seattle (both of us having never seen it), and got some cool views of the skyline of both the city and the Olympic range.
Tomorrow, Mt. Rainier and Spray Park.