Day 56, Tentsite at Mile 2633.5 to Castle Pass

The first thing we spotted on the trail was a spruce grouse. It didn’t want to share the trail, and only begrudgingly moved to the side as we approached.

The trail was smooth, which made travel easy in the cool morning.

That ease quickly came to an abrupt end in less than an hour, though. We had come to an area that had been badly burned late last summer. The Holman Fire, as it came to be called because of its location near Holman Peak, was started on August 17.

All of the trail we have walked since yesterday had been closed because of the fire. Hikers trying to reach the Canadian border were redirected just past Hart’s Pass and got back on the PCT at Woody Pass.

Dozens of dead trees were still lying across the trail. This made travel in the burn section extremely slow and difficult. Thankfully, it wasn’t much more than a mile in distance.

Many of the blowdowns we had to climb over were charred black. This was a challenge as I tried to avoid being covered in black soot.

Coming out of the wooded area, the trail began a long climb up a ridge. Along the way, Ralph and I stopped to enjoy a view, as we often did in this section.

About that time, Marmalade and another hiker came by. I had run into Marmalade a few times in the desert and we had reached Kennedy Meadows on the same day.

We said hello, then as I was about to take a photo, Marmalade and the other hiker tried to pass us on the narrow trail.

Marmalade accidentally bumped into me and my feet slipped from under me. I was fortunate to not fall forward because the trail made a long drop of at least 100 feet. Instead, my feet slipped forward on loose rock and I fell backward, with my butt landing on the trail.

Because I was in the middle of snapping a photo, I happened to capture the moment of my feet slipping out over the steep drop from the trail.

Marmalade was horrified by the sight of me falling and apologized, but I laughed it off.

Then we continued on.

As Ralph and I walked across a broad mountain meadow, we were passed by a hiker named Josh. He was faster than us, despite his awkward gait. He walked with one leg stiff, as if to favor it.

He told us he was having trouble with the IT band in his leg. He said he injured it two weeks ago while running, but didn’t intend to let it stop his thru-hike attempt.

Josh told us his friends called him Scoot, so we did too. As he hobbled down the trail ahead of us, he didn’t look like he was scooting well.

Today’s weather was much different than yesterday. The sky was nearly clear and the temperature was pushing close to 70 degrees F.

When we reached a flat area near Woody Pass, we decided to take a break and spread out our tents to dry in the sun.

Western pasqueflower were blooming here. This wildflower only grows in the western part of the U.S., soon after snow has melted.

The plant is classified as a herb and has been used traditionally for medicinal purposes, though it is also poisonous in large doses.

We continued up to Woody Pass, which provided spectacular views of the Northern Cascades.

Beyond Woody Pass, we saw many flip-floppers and SOBO hikers who had been to the border and turned around to go south. Among them was a hiker from Australia named American Idol.

We also saw Scoot again. He had only gone a couple more miles before turning around. He was giving up because of his bad knee.

We felt sorry for him, but it was obvious he was in a lot of pain and needed time to heal his leg.

Scoot borrowed my Garmin inReach Mini to send a text message to his mom and ask her to come back to pick him up at Hart’s Pass.

The trail continued up and over a knob that provided more outstanding views. Standing at 7,117 feet, this was the highest point for us since getting on the trail yesterday. From here, the trail would make a long descent to the border.

Part of this descent was down a series of switchbacks called Devil’s Stairway.

The trail then followed Lakeview Ridge, which was true to its name. We had great views of Hopkins Lake.

More northbound hikers were coming from the monument, so as they passed by I asked each of them if the monument was still there. They laughed and assured me it was.

The trail continued its easy descent, but it became overgrown in several places. A couple of northbound hikers had warned that the closer we got to the monument, the more overgrown it would be.

We stopped to collect water about a mile before camp, then arrived there at 6:20 p.m. That was earlier than I had expected.

Two other trails intersected the PCT at Castle Pass. One was the Pasayten River Trail, which serves as part of the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) going east. Nearby and heading in a westerly direction was the start of the Boundary Trail, which is also part of the PNT.

The PNT is 1,200 miles long, connecting the Continental Divide Trail with the PCT and farther west, the Pacific Ocean.

Other hikers were camped here, but they were all in their tents. The mosquitoes didn’t seem horrible, but bad enough that I presumed they were the reason everyone was already in for the night.

Ralph and I decided we will leave our tents set up here in the morning and make a quick, early hike to the monument at the border. It is just 3.8 miles away.