At a tributary of the Cispus River, Mile 2270

My goal today was to head over Cispus Pass, and around to the other side of the Cispus River drainage. I want to position myself for tomorrow, by camping near the last water supply until after the Knife’s Edge. Backpacking is like that: some days it’s all about positioning yourself for the next day (or the next, or the next).

Once again, I played leapfrog with the Scouts. I think the boys are beginning to warm up to me. I suppose being a woman backpacking solo is something they haven’t seen much. I’d like to make it a little more commonplace.

I was going slow today, as I’ve got something going on with my left ankle. Either that, or it’s my lower shin. I’m praying it will work out. So I’m doing the ice/ibuprofen thing, and elevating at night by putting my pack under the foot of my sleep pad.

I instantly forgot about my pesky ankle midafternoon, when I looked up and got my first eyeful of the Goat Rocks.

I did make it over Cispus Pass, although with the ankle thing I was going pretty slowly. It’s absolutely gorgeous up there. The Goat Rocks area is an extinct volcano, so it’s got a different look than, say, the granite of the North Cascades.  On the runup to Cispus Pass, the right side of the trail is Yakama tribal lands; they request that you stay on trail at all times. The whole area is just mind-numbingly beautiful, and I could have stayed for hours.

But it was getting late, and I needed to grab some water and set up camp, on the opposite side of the river drainage.

On the opposite side were a couple of smaller tributaries; I camped shortly after the second one. Tomorrow, the Knife’s Edge!