I had a late start and early finish today, out of camp just before 9 am, then into camp just before 5 pm. I started out on a gentle climb above the northern shores of Waptus Lake, the trail turned up Spinola Creek and began to get steeper. After passing Deep Lake, the trail climbed hard up to Cathedral Pass with the massive Cathedral Rock high above. I continued a bit further down the other side of Cathedral Pass to camp on the eastern side, above Hyas Lake. Today I walked 11.9 miles, 19.2 km.

It was a cold start this morning and I moved slowly to get out of bed. I took my time eating hot oatmeal and drinking coffee, trying to warm myself up. When I was ready to leave, the sun was starting to reach the valley and the mountains were lit up brightly.

I began walking through the forest on a fairly easy incline. As the trail progressed, the climb became steeper and eventually I was hitting switchbacks, hoping to reach the top soon. My legs were still sore from yesterday, even after 9 hours of sleep.

The trail flattened off just before Deep Lake and I collected water from a side stream which fed into Spinola Creek. I had initially hoped to camp at the next water source along but I’d realized I was unlikely get that far by evening, so I collected enough here to bring to camp, 3.5 liters.

The climb up from the lake was long and steep, but I was rewarded with views over the valley. Thankfully, the smoke wasn’t as bad today and I could see a bit further than yesterday. I climbed for about 2.5 hours, by the time I neared the top, the lake was far below me.

At the top, Cathedral Rock towered above the pass. I was glad to have the water with me because while it was still too early to camp, it was late enough that I would definitely be dry camping tonight. I’ve never liked cooking in the dark, and it didn’t seem worth it to push into the night for the sake of camping at a water source.

Heading down from the pass towards camp, I reflected on my time in the Sierra. The terrain there was steep too, but I had approximately 12 miles between passes, which set my daily cadence. Aiming for a 15 mile daily average may have been pushing too hard for me in Washington, and then I’d be disappointed to fall short. I thought perhaps it would be better for me to aim for the same 12 mile daily average as I had been able to hit in the Sierra, I’d just need to figure out how that would affect my finish date. I settled into camp with these thoughts circling around my mind, building a strategy to finish on time without breaking myself.