Section 25 - Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass View Photos September 2 20 miles. I'm headed north after a day of rest, food, and friends at Snoqualmie Pass. The weather is good; the way is clear; the end is near. A number of friends drove up from Seattle to see me yesterday and the night before. Steve, Franz, Stacey and Juan, Paul, Donna and Pam came by to feed me and say hi. I was, and still am, touched. Stacey and Juan took me to lunch, Donna and Pam took me to dinner. I should do this trail more often. Last night's dinner, courtesy of Donna, was in Cle Elum, about 20 miles east of Snoqualmie Pass. Snoqualmie Pass has only one restaurant open after 6 p.m. and I'd eaten there 4 times already so we made the trek down the hill. We were in search of a highly recommended Italian restaurant. Arriving in Cle Elum, we followed the directions--a right and then a left--and arrived at an Italian restaurant. Appetites ready, we walked to the front door and discovered that the establishment was closed, by order of the Health Department. Not a good sign. Fortunately, it was the wrong restaurant. We got new directions to Spiccones, the right restaurant just down the street, and were soon seated. It was the real deal. I had a delicious pasta with ham, vegetables, and mushrooms in a cream sauce. I also had half of Donna's pasta entree, a salad, bread and a slice of 9-layer chocolate cake. 9 layers!!! It was about 8 inches high and I had to brace it with a spoon while eating it with a fork to keep it from toppling onto the floor. I'm still recovering. I didn't get out of Snoqualmie Pass until after noon. On my way down the road I ran into Dana, who I thought was ahead of me, and we exchanged trail news. Packrat, Shirt, Charlotte, and Jim are 4 days behind me. I had hoped to finish the hike with them but Canadian gravity is too powerful to resist. I'm ready to finish. I want to see Cynthia. It's time to make a run to the border. I'll finish, celebrate, and go to Seattle with Cynthia to see friends. Then I'll go back to meet my hiking friends and celebrate all over again. The plan will work out. I had a gorgeous hike up and into Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The wilderness--stretching from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass--was bitterly contested in the 70's before its eventual preservation. From what I saw today, it was worth the fight. It's a land of spectacular glacier-carved lakes, valleys, and peaks. It's also the closest wilderness to a major city in the country. For a few short summer weeks, Seattlites are blessed to have something so beautiful so close to home. The trail ascended 2,500 feet to the Kendall Catwalk, a trail blasted out of an alpine knife ridge. Distant Mt. Stuart still held snow from the recent storm. I descended the ridge and crossed between two picturesque lakes before ascending another long beautiful ridge that wrapped around Alaska and Joe Lakes. High above Joe Lake I passed a trail crew out for another day of cleanup from last winter's havoc. Washington, I must say, takes care of its trails. I then crossed over Chikamin Pass and descended past inviting Park Lakes. Snow banks still lingered at 4,800 feet but the trail was virtually snow-free. After a brief ascent, I dropped 2,000 feet to tonight's campsite on the trail, about a mile past Delate Creek. I'm hoping to do 30 tomorrow. September 3 32 miles. A stunning walk with a lot of vertical. The concept of horizontal has no meaning in this land except at the surface of lakes. After this morning's 2,200-foot climb to Escondido Ridge, I had gorgeous views of Waptus Lake and the alpine panorama surrounding it. At the head of the valley, Bear's Breast Mountain thrust skyward, its summit still frosted from the recent storm. The lake was wrapped in vertical splendor and I had views all the way down the switchbacks to the valley floor. From the inlet stream, I made a rising traverse past the large, azure lake and then left the valley for an ascent up Spinola Creek to Deep Lake. The lake sits in a glacial basin, wrapped on 3 sides by 2,000-foot walls. I ascended one of those walls to Cathedral Pass--so named for Cathedral Rock which guards its crossing. Passing alpine tarns, I made my way down to the headwaters of the Cle Elum River and, fording several glacial streams, climbed to Deception Pass. I passed quite a few other hikers today. All were hiking from Stevens Pass south to Snoqualmie Pass during the long Memorial Day weekend. The backpacking season was short this year. Much of this area has only just cleared of snow and will be covered again in a few weeks for the winter. I'm camped tonight on Deception Pass. I got here in the fading light and cooked dinner from inside my tent. The mosquitoes are atrocious but, fortunately, they're on the other side of the netting. A few moments ago, a deer--I think--came down the hill and crashed through the brush. I "Hey bear"'d it away. 22 miles to Stevens Pass, food, and a shower. September 4 22 miles. I'm sitting by the pay phone at Stevens Pass watching the traffic go by and waiting for my friend Perry to come take me to Skykomish. There's a cold wind blowing and I'm wearing every layer of clothing I have. In winter, this is a skier's paradise. In summer, there are no services here, no places to get warm. People stop only to hike, make calls, have a smoke, or change drivers. I'm early and I hope Perry is too. Another day of climbing and descending with no flat in between. My knees could use a week in the Bahamas. I left Deception Pass and began a long, ascending traverse to Deception Lakes. I had great views south to glacier-wrapped Mt. Daniel and west to Blue Ridge. I picked a few berries from the stunted huckleberry plants and looked across Deception Creek valley to see Lake Clarice, hanging as if in space, in a bowl below the ridgeline. From Deception Lakes I climbed again to Pieper Pass and looked down to large Glacier Lake, a thousand feet below. Looking North I caught my first glimpse of Glacier Peak. I'll be on its slopes in a couple of days. I dropped off Pieper Pass, made a knee-wrenching descent past Glacier Lake, and then climbed again to Trap Pass. Another descent past Trap Lake to a boggy land of lakes and streams, with ups, downs, twists, and turns all the way to and over Stevens Pass Ski Area. I woke to clouds this morning. They herald an approaching Pacific storm that will begin tomorrow. At least I got through Alpine Lakes Wilderness in dry weather. Winter is coming soon. The subtle signs are everywhere. The mornings (and evenings) are getting noticeably shorter. The dusting of snow has still not cleared from the highest peaks. The first tinges of autumn color nip at the low-lying plants. La Nina is still hanging around, waiting to pick up where she left off, and I hope the last of the PCT hikers get through before the high country becomes impassable. 185 miles to go.