Day Two: Near Methow Pass to Glacier Pass

11.5 miles
Watering up at Brush Creek. We needed every drop if we were going to dry camp. Putting up Point Man's tent with Azurite Peak and its glacier in the background.
On this beautiful morning we knew that we'd hit some dry stretches of the trail, so we watered up before we left the Methow Pass area. After a morning forest walk, we hit the Methow River valley. At times we could see and smell smoke from the fires in the far distance, but we weren't worried. We met for lunch where Brush Creek pours into the Methow River. According to the guide book, there were two camps along the creek before it left the valley for Glacier Pass, so we decided to meet at the second camp. Chuck and Kevin went ahead and Bob and I took our time. But as we followed the trail along the creek, we couldn't find any campsites. "That's why the thru hikers call it the Book of Lies," I told Bob.

At the point where the trail turned uphill away from Brush Creek, we decided that we'd better water up. The next dependable water was about six miles and 2500 feet away. It looked like we were going to have to dry camp at Glacier Pass. We had to do a little bushwhacking to find the creek (it was mostly beneath its rock bed this time in the season). When we got back to the trail, we met some other hikers who told us they met ONE other member of our party. This was odd, because there were supposed to be two in front of us. Did Chuck or Kevin somehow find the missing campsite along the creek? Bob and I started hiking up toward Glacier Pass and soon met Kevin on the trail. He hadn't seen Chuck at all. After a few minutes of discussion, we decided to turn back. We weren't sure if Chuck was behind us, but Kevin needed to water up. Fortunately, at the creek, we saw Chuck's backpack and soon found Chuck getting water. It turns out that Chuck took the wrong trail at the junction and started hiking downhill. It took him a mile to realize his mistake, and now he was hot and thirsty and tired from rushing back uphill to find us.

We knew we'd have to dry camp at Glacier Pass, so after Chuck rested, we hiked up to the 5,600-foot pass. At first we thought we'd have to stay right at the camp by the trail, but then we found a nicer spot west of the trail. As we were resting there, Chuck went further west, following a boot track that went downhill. At the bottom, he found beautiful meadows and even water! The Book of Lies was wrong about Glacier Pass being a dry camp. If you kept walking west, you could find a great site with that essential liquid.

We had a great meal of curry chicken with couscous and drank Kevin's aged rum from Guatemala. In the background was Azurite Peak and the glacier that gave the pass its name. Even the tent seemed more comfortable, thanks to the grassy meadow. Ahhh, this is the life...

Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
Day Eight

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