24 miles of hiking • 6000' elevation gain •
Totally wore ourselves out yesterday! Began the day with the always fun, and frequently spooky Ruckel Ridge climb. I will definitely call this stretch a climb rather than a hike. Frequent need to use hands. Peril abounds with a single slip. Helluva workout! Truly, one of those "the journey is the destination" places.
By the time we pushed through 3700', we were definitely walking within the clouds. After surmounting the Benson Plateau, we crossed Ruckel Creek and followed the Benson Way trail all the way to the PCT, where we turned south to go explore a little lake that shows up on maps. Had to detour a quarter-mile and 200' or so off the PCT, to find more of a watering hole or pond than a lake, but it was fun to bag it.
We then headed south along the PCT, all the way to Cascade Locks. Before dropping off the plateau, we briefly debated tagging the other hidden (unmapped) lake up there, but we had a long, long way to go still, and this side-trip would've meant dropping over 500' off the edge before needing to climb back up. Maybe next time? Snow has almost completely melted, with perhaps only a few dozen feet of trail covered in a few inches at most.
As we descended the PCT, the temps gradually rose nearly 20°, and the sun began to poke through. Took a much appreciated break at the 3000' viewpoint, and saw a little rainbow form over Nick Eaton Ridge. Wooly Horn and Tomline were in fine shape, too. We shifted into high gear at this point, and plowed through, stopping to enjoy Crest Falls and the Pinnacles along the way.
Got back to Eagle Creek a little after 9pm. Wow, what a day!
