Aug 8: Cispus River to the ridge above Shoe Lake (PCT miles 2272.9 to 2289.1)

The clouds dispersed in the early evening and I saw the stars last night. I got up early and caught a photo of the Goat Rocks before sunrise

Today I’ll be staying at higher elevations all day, with many great views. I rounded a corner and saw mountain peaks poking out of a sea of clouds.

And another great view of Mt Rainier

There were some nice cascades along the trail

And met up with another Grouse

There is a small mammal that lives in almost every rock pile along the trail named a Pika. It resembles a large Hamster, but is very skittish, so I don’t have a picture of one. They do hear you coming up the trail and sound a cute alarm chirp that sounds like a child’s squeaky toy – listen here

I climbed up above the Timberline and through a few snow fields

The trail leads to a section known as The Knife Edge, a high, narrow ridge of loose rocks. There was a steep and long drop off on either side of the trail… don’t slip!

Here’s a view looking back at the trail – it follows that ridge up and to the right in the photo.

The flowers up here are mostly Pussy Paws that come in two colors: pinkish and cream.

This bleached tree looked photogenic

I briefly dropped down into lush meadows

And came across a group of people hiking with Llamas

The group Dora’s an annual hike on the PCT raising awareness that exercise helps to combat the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease.

By late afternoon I found an awesome campsite on a ridge above Shoe Lake. It had a nice breeze and the sky looked cloud free.

Thanks for reading!