Day 143 : The Goat Rocks

9th September 2013
Mile 2285 to mile 2304 : The Goat Rocks to White Pass
Mileage : 19

Today there were two objectives, reach White.Pass.via the Goat Rocks, and hitch off trail to Seattle. Sophie, my better half, is coming out to the US for ten days to see me, and together we're going to be tourists and lots of things unrelated to the trail. Most people i know have had friends and family visit at least once on the trail, and i have been jealous everytime someone tells me of some real RnR away from the trail. Tomorrow it will be my turn with me meeting Sophie at the airport after a long flight from the UK. Between now and then however is the Goat Rocks wilderness. The Goal Rocks is the first real wilderness on Washington, and i have been looking forward to them for some time as their beauty is well known among the hiker community and so i was itching to get started when i awoke this morning. As i was breaking my trailside camp Cartwheel showed up, and it was with hikers that i shared the Goat Rocks that day. I think it is fair to say that Cartwheel is a bit of an oddball, with some hikers liking him and others finding him a bit, well, odd. I am definitely of the 'like' camp and remember his hospitality at Timberline Lodge well. Together we hiked up.a.steep climb towards the summit of Old Snowy, a prominent summit from.which we sat and admired the staggering views of Washington. The views of Mt Rainier in particular were simply jaw dropping. Unfortunately as i needed to getto White Pass with enough time to hitch into Seattle i couldn't dawdle, but that just meant i was playing with fire, or more correctly vertical drops of several hundred feet, as i descended along a knife edge ridge back down towards White Pass. It was by far my favourite few miles of trail since the Sierras over 1000 miles ago. The Goat Rocks wilderness was alas too short, and by the middle White Pass with my thumb out Seattle bound. I am a little ashamed to sat i have neither photos nor names of any of the occupants of the three cars that took me into Seattle but for some reason it just didn't cross.my.mind. My.first ride was from a group of 3 girls and a guy about my age just coming back from doing the Wonderland Trail, which goes all the way around the circumference of Mt Rainier much like the Timberline Trail does Mt Hood. I did wonder why then they were picking me.up at White Pass, as the pass is no where near the Wonderland Trail, but in my experience it is bad manners to argue with someone offering you  ride, so i just nodded politely. At the bottom of the pass, and at the southern entrance to Mt Rainier National Park i we.parted ways and i was left once again on the side of the road with my thumb out trying to flag down passing cars as best i could. An hour later i was still there, and getting a bit worried. The southern entrance of the park is in a deep valley and was already losing the light even though it was barely 5pm. I also had no mobile phone reception to call my angels in Seattle who were putting me up for the night. Not good. Finally ny.luck changed and a couple picked me up and took me up to through park's northern entrance where again i was left by the side if the road. This time however, i got a ride almost instantly from a naturalised German woman was up in the park for the day. I allayed her fears that i was a crazed murderer looking for my next victim by informing her i was a stranded British hiker/tourist on my way to Seattle to pick my girlfriend from the airport, and that seemed to do the trick. Before long we were speeding towards Seattle, and not just to he city in general, but actually to where i was going, right to the door. It turned out thus woman lived only a few streets away from where i was going, an incredible but of luck on my part given the vastness of the Seattle metropolitan area. About 90 minutes later i was once again ejected from a car, byte this time at the house of Bob and Kelley Kiel. Bob and Kelley are the parents of Nightcrawler, aka Jess who live in south Seattle and who often help out hikers in need. I am very grateful to them. My luck continued as i arrived just in time for dinner, and so i sat down to a delicious homecooked meal if corn on the cob, spicy chicken and rice, salad, and glass or two of wine  it was sublime, if not a bit surreal given my hitching fortune, and the fact that only a few hours before i had been in the wilderness of the Cascade mountains. A good end to a.great day.