August 10, 2016 - Woke up to clear skies which was hard to see through the thick woods. I guess had I camped right before Knife’s Edge I would have gotten the views I was promised but its not always a guarantee.
Started off with a downhill which soon began to head back up real quickly. I kept thinking maybe if I get high enough I may get a great view of the Goat Rocks and Knife’s Edge. As I slowly got towards the top it looked like I was going to get a view but I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. My jaw just about dropped when I saw that view of not only the Goat Rocks and Knifes Edge but Mt Rainier with fog all in the valley. I really thought I was going to break out into tears as this was the best view I’ve seen so far.
I then head back into the woods then come out on the east side of the mountain where I start to make my descent to White Pass. Soon after heading down I saw several goats hanging out on the rocks, who knew there would be goats in the Goat Rock Wilderness. They were pretty high up and I probably wouldn’t had seen them had a group not been stopped and pointed at them.
After a quick hike down I got to the main road but it was a half mile road walk to the Krackle Barrel, which is not the restaurant but a convenient store. I was able to get a ride by a group that was about to start a section hike. I did my best to ask for a ride without actually asking.
I ended up staying at the Krackle Barrel for 2 hours figuring out my resupply, eating chicken strips, fries, biscuit & gravy and a muffin for dessert.
Finally got back to the trail by 1pm to get 20 more miles. The first 15 were all the woods and pretty flat.
I got to a creek that I had to ford but looked far enough down the creek and saw a log, didn’t want to get my feet wet.
The last few miles were uphill but it was all open so got some great views as the sun was starting to set. There was fog starting to roll in which just added to the scenery. I will say that those last 2 miles took forever because I kept stopping to take pictures.
