1980: The Boundary Trail, page 5

Day Two, Tuesday. 6:50 PM

Upper Cathedral Lake.

We are at Cathedral Lake and it's absolutely breathtaking – not only the best thing I've seen so far on this hike, but it just cracked my ‘Top Ten Spots in the Cascades’ list!

It took an awful long time and a hell of a lot of effort to get here.  We hiked from 9:30 AM to about 5 PM. I had to keep taking lots of rest stops. It was a long, dry dusty trail. Fortunately there was lots to look at. One of the more interesting things was the remains of Tungston Mine. I used every opportunity to stop and stare (and rest!) Micki, thankfully, wasn't too critical.

Remains of Tungsten Mine.

This walking eight hours a day with a heavy pack is for the birds! Why do I do this to myself? Two days in and I already have two blisters on the bottom of my right foot. This whimp is seriously considering taking a layover day, or at least making tomorrow a sub-10 mile ‘rest’ day.

(I cannot begin to describe to you the look of utter contempt I'm now receiving from my loyal, loving dog. If there’s a ‘Top 10 List of Critical Canines,’ she’s right near the top.)

But I digress …

As I recall, it takes two to three days before my body will get used to the weight of the pack and accustomed to the grinding, repetitive distance of the day. My hips and shoulders were incredibly sore today and I fidgeted with pack straps until I finally settled on an adjustment that distributed moderate pain to all three main pressure points, shoulders, back and hips.

Micki on the trail to Cathedral Lake.

Micki is tired, too.  She’s sacked out on the ground next to me. She's on 22 dog biscuits a day; that has to last six days, then she can start on the Bonz. Why, you might ask, isn't she eating dog food? Well, the biscuits and Bonz have a higher calorie count and are generally considered delectable treats by the little beastie. The only thing she could possibly want more might be cat food… or my food.

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