Down to Earth at Marmot Pass

I invited a thru hiker, who hikes 30-ish miles a day, to do a backpack with me...me, the self proclaimed "slowest hiker." What was I thinking? But Twig said she wasn't hiked out! She had finished the 1200 mile PNT, and yet she was asking if I could loan her some pants so she could summit Mount Baker. ("Can't climb volcanos in a dress apparently," she messages me.) Of course I was falling all over myself trying to do anything I could do to help her out - being an obsessed fan and all. (Explanation here) 

To further clarify, after our chance meeting on Whatcom Pass, Twig DM'ed me after reading my story on the PNT Facebook page and we hung out for an afternoon when she was hiking through my area. I'm thankful the hiking community is not very fertile ground for the "celebrity" mindset that can so easily take us over. Hikers are far too down to earth for that - quite literally, covered in earth. So it wasn't too hard to go from worshiping Twig, to feeling like she was my friend. But hiking together? That was probably a bit delusional. (Maybe if she carried both our packs? ;))

Of course it wasn't summiting Baker that I was inviting myself to (egads, no! She had wisely hired a guide for that) but Marmot Pass. Since she sounded as if she still wanted to hike while she was in the Pacific Northwest, I thought she may want to come with if she hadn't already done it. Marmot Pass is part of the PNT, which was my main reason for choosing it; but there are a few alternate routes through the Olympics, so I knew it was possible she may have skipped it. (She didn't...but you can read her blog for details https://twigadventures.com/ )

It turned out Mount Baker had at last filled her hiking tank, but I'm glad I asked her. Even though we didn't hike together, I was able to give her a ride to where she needed to get to before flying back to Florida, being it was right on my way. It even worked out for her and Wolverine to stay at my house the night before leaving - I believe I can even call myself an official "Trail Angel" now! It was all so fun and exciting that I haven't written one word about the actual hike! I will do that below in my trail log, but my ending blessing here will be "happy down to earth trails, that might even include angelic opportunities."  

Of course they fell in love with our bunnies!
Who wouldn't?

Trail Log:

Day 1: A few feet to the shelter at Tubal Cain. This is one reason I was really trying to get someone to go with me - I do not like camping alone near a road for obvious reasons. But I knew I couldn't get there until 7 pm at the earliest, so camping at the trailhead was a necessity. I thought I might even sleep in the car, but I still had light enough that I felt comfortable setting up camp. (The forest road up is pretty nice, and I drove it far faster than Google estimated.) And even though there is graffiti on the side of the shelter, it's a nice spot, and I had to myself. I took a long morning and sat in my camp chair and played my ukulele...then I was able to simply walk those items back to my car. 

Day 2: Hiked the 3.2 miles to the Tubal Cain mine turn off, then the steep half mile up to check out the plane crash site, then a little further up to where it opens up to some nice views. I kept thinking I'd see a mine shaft, so I kept going, but finally gave up. On my way back down I asked a group where the trail leads, and they said they were headed to Silver Lake. The map does not show this, so beware if you try that! Oh, and the mine shaft is exactly at the turn off! I don't know how I missed it.

 

Once I was back at the main trail, I continued to the Copper Creek Trail Camp and got completely lost. The trail EXPLODES here with rabbit trails everywhere! It is REALLY confusing, especially when someone sets their tent right over the trail, making it look like just another path to yet another camp spot. Keep going right, even though the creek splits and looks like it's going left - you'll cross it on the right. Then the trail heads in the opposite direction, but thankfully there is a sign there to confirm you are indeed going the right way. It's an impossibly long switchback, but you'll eventually start heading the right way. I camped on the ridge heading up to a view on Marmot Pass, which made about a 10.5 mile day, including the side trip to the plane. 

Two rainbows in one day!

First light from my tent

Day 3: Headed back the 9 miles to the car, with a side trip to Buckhorn Lake because I was totally out of water. (Marmot Pass is a dry camp--the last place for water is at the Cooper Creek Campsites. I should have loaded up more, as usual.) So another 10 mile day, which feels just perfect to me. On the way to drop off Twig, she was telling me about her "10 miles before 10 am" ideal. So yeah, I don't see a hiking together future for us...unless she decides she wants to hike in heels. (I bet I still couldn't keep up, haha!) 

I would not recommend Buckhorn Lake