Monday - Day 2

Resurrection Pass Trail, Alaska - When we crawled out of our sleeping quilts at 6 a.m. this morning all I wanted was coffee. Jason had finished off the last of our water overnight, so I sent him down to the creek to fill bottles. There was no real hurry this morning since our next destination cabin was supposed to be only a six-mile hike away.

We lingered over the last of Sherry’s cookies, played a second round of cribbage (another loss for me), and began slowly packing up the backpacks. As we packed, I started a running list in my head of things we forgot, like a needle for my blisters, and things we don't need lug on PCT - like my extra pillow.

The weather today was cool and misty with clouds hanging low over the mountains. The trail turned out to be longer than promised - 7.5 miles instead of six. The elevation came in short but stubborn stretches. Little red flies hovered around us most of the day, irritating but thankfully not biting. 

 

East Creek Cabin is smaller and set a bit farther from the water. It has a sweeping view of the surrounding mountains. Jason got another fire going in the woodstove when we arrived while I stretched out sore feet and set up bedding.

We were both pretty tired today. Cool weather and getting used to carrying heavy packs will take time. For dinner we tried out our Thanksgiving in a bag concoction - a mix of stuffing, dried cranberries, fried onions, and chicken. It is surprisingly good. The kind of heavy backcountry meal that tastes better than it has any right to after a long day of walking. 

We didn’t last long after eating and went to bed before 8pm.