Tuesday - Day 3

Resurrection Pass, Alaska – We woke up entirely too early this morning thinking it was much later than it was. The clock read 4:30 a.m., but with Alaska’s endless daylight it can be hard to guess the hour. For the first time this trip the sky was clear and blue.

Coffee and oatmeal for breakfast this morning as we sat together, already sore, looking over the map and the miles ahead. Today was supposed to be our longest section of 12.7 miles, and I couldn’t help feeling wary of how the day would go. J is carrying a lot more weight than me, and I could see it wearing on him before we even started.

A spruce hen crossing the trail, the only wildlife we saw today.

The first three miles leaving East Creek we climbed steadily uphill, legs burning, until we finally broke out above the tree line into alpine. The views stretched wide and open with the kind of scenery that makes you forget for a moment how heavy your pack feels. 

We stopped for lunch on a mossy patch, leaning our backs against a rock and enjoying the alpine views. I'm testing out several new backpacking meals for the future PCT hike, and the Packit Gourmet chicken salad and crackers turns out to be surprisingly good trail food. 

A little further along we marked the halfway point of the hike and passed by a lake and Devil's Pass cabin.

The final mile to Swan Lake Cabin was the hardest, a bushwhack downhill through thick cow parsnips that swallowed up the trail. By the time we reached the cabin we were both exhausted and just wanted to get the packs off. I zoned out for a bit with two episodes of Four Seasons downloaded from Netflix while J took a nap.

Dinner was stroganoff, one of our favorites, but we ate inside even though it was sunny because the mosquitos near the lake made it hard to be out. We were both asleep by 8:30 p.m.