Day 130, Firestorm

Part 5, Washington, Day 130

Firestorm

Miles: 26.1

Total Miles: 2257.88

I woke up at 4:30am and knew something was up. My tent was filled with smoke. The smell of smoke was strong. I went outside into the freezing cold and the air was thick with smoke. All of my stuff and my tent was covered in ash, which was raining down from the sky.  Great. I waited until 6.30 and packed up my stuff. I hiked out at 7.

The Cougar Creek fire seemed to have grown overnight in the wind. The side trails were already closed.

I've never seen this much smoke in the air before. My lungs were burning and my eyes were watering. 

I was forced to hike like an outlaw again.

The smoke obscured any views that might have been. 

The sun was blood red and made everything look like a science fiction movie. It was eerie out today. 

On top of all this, the day was very cold and windy. It honestly felt like a nuclear winter scenario. 

Most of the water came from glaciers and looked white:

Basically, today was pretty crappy. I'm trying to be nice too. 

I did see something amazing... 

The return of MARMOTS!!!

I was disappointed today. The last week has sucked. Everything hurts and I'm tired. It's been tough hiking, and now this apocalyptic day. It makes me wonder what I'm doing out here still. Hiking 14 hours through smoke and ash isn't fun.

I got the sense that the area was very pretty, but the smoke made it impossible to tell. The ash made it look like it was snowing out. 

I ate lunch at Lava Spring with Houdini and Wild Pony. 

This place was cool. The spring flowed from underneath the lava rock hill.

This water was great. Some of the best on trail.

We all couldn't believe how weird the day was. The sky was brown and orange and ash rained down all over us. I had a headache from the thick smoke. 

I had hoped that I might out hike the smoke, but it's cover seemed endless. 

I'm seeing a lot of mushrooms. Since my views are gone, I'm gonna start capturing these guys:

I entered the very start of the Goat Rocks Wilderness:

I have been waiting for this spot my whole hike. It's been a top destination. If it gets smoked out tomorrow, disappointment won't even begin to describe what I'll be feeling. I just have to hope the smoke clears tomorrow. 

Houdini, Wild Pony, and I are camped in some creepy forest. The zipper on my tent just broke, so the rest of my hike will be a slumber party with any bugs that wish to join me. 

With the fires raging up north, I need to decide soon what I'll do regarding this hike. Hiking hundreds of miles through smoke isn't a fun time.