1980: The Boundary Trail, page 3

Teapot Dome camp

But this is really a great camping site – it even has a rustic picnic table! I can sit here and write my memoirs and sip my tea in comfort. Micki has found the top of the table suitable for repose, so she also gives it high marks.

First day reflections: my feet are sore and the pack is heavier than I realized. There are varying degrees of weight, you know. There is the 65-pounds you heft from the house to the trunk of your car, and then there's the 65-pounds you have to carry some 140-miles across the North Cascades. I'm already starting to think about the things that I could've left behind.

I was somewhat dismayed to realize that when I was planning this trip I'd forgotten to include the Harts Pass to Rainy Pass section. That’s easily 35 miles. That’s why the mileage for this hike is so high and what I get for not being organized.

I figure I'll have to average around 15 miles a day to make it on time. Shit-oh-dear!

Pond levels were really down.

Another thing of note: this area is really quite dry. We went by three small lakes today, two of which were totally dry. The third was only a puddle. It will be like this most of the trip, I think.  Micki and I will have to pack more water than I usually carry, just to be on the safe side.