Gem Lake (Alpine Lakes Wilderness) on trail runners

Snow, Gem, Wildcat Lakes.
I wanted to revisit the Alpine Lakes again after a great trip with Phoebe August 20-23.  I left Tue, 2 hours behind schedule, and I cut over to Staircase hoping to score a wilderness pass at the Ranger Station to go up to Flapjack Lakes--no one there to issue one.  Again, the employee/volunteer at the Park Information Center in Hoodsport, having said the Ranger's Station was open, had misled me.  A maintenance employee at Staircase said, "The ranger will return in the next hour.  You didn't get a permit online?  Call the Wilderness Information Center using the pay phone," but the pay phone would accept neither coins nor credit card.  No ranger returned to the office for 30 minutes--very unhelpful.   I left for Olympia to get a map for my original destination and a year pass to the national parks.  Then home to sleep and arise early to make the trail head by 10 a.m.  Mission accomplished.  My footwear decision:  the LL Bean low Mountain Treads or the Montrail Rogue Racer trail running shoes, I chose the 19 ounce Montrails.  A chance of rain would call for the LLBeans.  I forgot to take the dry bag and cord to hang my food (small critters, no bear) and took the bear can.

Snow Lake has at least three campsites at its east end with a poop box, too.  But to camp there, you'd have to love a good cold dew fall, cold enough that I had to don my mittens on the hike out on Friday.  Further west on the north side of the lake I passed a campsite with a great view and all day sun.  Beyond that, before crossing the outlet from Snow Lake, another campsite.

On arrival at Gem Lake I scored a lake-view campsite only big enough for one person (Google maps: 47.476126,-121.46515.)

An hour or two later, two solo day hikers arrived, one with a Nikon D800 ($3500 for the body alone), the other with a pool float.  The latter showed me how it was done:

Here I am below, having borrowed the float:

photographed by Nikon guy.

Two more hours later, a trio of backpackers arrived sweaty and tired, dropping their packs 30 yards and several shrubberies away from my camp.  I exchanged some polite words with them--I found them pleasant but somewhat bland--their speech was controlled and sterile, lacking any color, i.e. tastefully selected and timely mild expletives.  They made camp and I observed that the older woman either had her iPhone playing tunes through its speakerphone or was humm
ing something melodic and definitely not among top song hits for any generation of the 56 years I've been alive, until I made the connection between their sterilized style of speech with the simple tunes:  they were born-again Christians (BAC).

On Thursday morning I descended 1000' to Lower Wildcat Lake and went back up after I saw the trail begin to fade.  The BAC trio of hikers talked about going, I joined them, then turned back after descending 300' because I thought I should return to camp for my socks in case I needed them.

I arrived at Lower Wildcat Lake again, and walked to Upper Wildcat Lake, whose warmer waters welcomed my sweaty skin--a nice September dip.  This clear lake has an island (to which I dared not swim) and some nice, mostly shaded campsites.  (Google maps 47.486005,-121.490433)

On the way back up from the Wildcat Lakes, one member of the trio asked if I read the Bible.  I replied, "I've read enough."  Oh, boy.  Another bunch whose life work was to spread the gospel, as if it hadn't done enough harm to all sorts of people who were already happy with their lives.  I don't recall their exact words but I'll paraphrase "those other religions don't follow the teachings of Jesus Christ"   "our religion is the true religion", "I prayed to God and asked if he would accept me"   "Jesus came to me and took me in" etc.  For twenty minutes I received no answers to my questions:

1. "isn't the Bible a book of tales where God kills a zillion people?" 
2.  "what was he wearing when he came to you?" 
3. "where did he touch you?" 

I said, " you guys go ahead, I have to take a pit stop."  I stopped, waited five minutes and didn't hurry to catch them.

I used the alcohol stove for this trip. burning maybe 40-50 ml per meal, heating 2-3 cups water plus dried food.  It didn't seem very efficient, but I liked the weight for a short trip--maybe only solid fuel or a wood stove would have been better.  For my own part, I didn't measure the food well, nor did I measure the water.  The quinoa the 2nd morning out wasn't quite ready to eat--too much water for the last 30 ml of alcohol to boil.

Thursday night again the sky remained clear, but not a bit cold.  No dew blanketed the wilderness around Gem Lake.

Friday, the morning of my hike out, another solo camper broke camp and left in the predawn light.  The holy roller husband yelled at him, "Jeff, is that you?" thinking that I'd fled without a good-bye.  Shortly after that I told him that I'd stop by his camp before leaving.  I did stop by his camp on my way out, but he had walked off for his morning talk with Hay-Seuss and wasn't in camp for me to bid him adieu.  I asked the wife to convey my thanks and good bye.  About 6 minutes later as I was ambling down the trail, I heard Holy Roller husband hurrying down the trail, trying to catch me.  I turned & greeted him.  He made a speech announcing the time and day in 1979 when he was saved and said it was his life work to save me (as if it were possible).  I shook his hand, said good-bye and took the pamphlet he offered with his name & phone number on it.  One does not outright reject a zealot 5 miles from the parking lot.

"Eet!"  Mr. or Ms. Pika!

Finally, how I walk in trail running shoes with a 23 lb pack.  I regard every step with great importance and critically evaluate the ground where my feet land if the ground is not uniform as in smooth asphalt or a pine needle covered trail.  this doesn't mean I don't look at the scenery while hiking.  It just means I walk very mindful of foot placement as well as of the scenery--and it is OK to stop to look, listen, feel and breathe.  Going up or down, I don't use the forefoot to propel or support myself.  Horses don't need huge feet to walk, just a hoof at the end of each leg.  I don't use the forefoot to push off while walking.  I used to walk muddy trails with my heels flipping up chunks of mud onto the backs of my lower legs--I try to take shorter steps and with my ankles flexed to reduce the throwing of mud.  The muscles on the front of my lower leg get a workout, but I am much more stable.  Going up and down steep grades I favor short quick aerobic steps, vs. slow giant anaerobic steps.  Tips for handling the steep stuff:

1. Going up a steep grade.  Short quick steps.  It's like down shifting a multi-speed bicycle.  No reduction in speed--sometimes I actually go faster.  
2. Going up steep steps.  Foot A goes up to the step with the heel bearing weight--don't push off with the small muscles of the calf and the ankle.  Foot B goes right next to foot A, again with the weight on the heel.  Lather rinse repeat.
3. Going down a steep hill without steps.  Small quick steps take the stress off vs. long big steps without any change in speed.
4. Going down big steps.  I place foot A on the step with the heel and the forefoot hanging out over the lower step, I either 
1. place foot B right next to foot A and then lower myself and foot A on the lower step if the drop is great
2. or lower myself and foot B on the lower step if the drop isn't great.
5. Dare to lighten your pack and tent to make walking easier, regardless of your walking style.  You'll have more fun with 5, 10 or 15 lb less than what equipment makers want you to have, and you'll still be safe and comfortable.  Try this link to backpackinglight.com.

I look for solid sites for foot placement & try to not to rush steps,even while walking through boulder fields.  It is also critically important to walk with the toes pointed at least a little bit to the sides and never pointing across the direction of travel--this reduces the risk of rolling over the outside of an ankle which far more often leads to a sprain than rolling to the inside of an ankle.  The heel and the mid foot bear weight--the forefoot is just there, & should do very little.  In addition, this walking style greatly reduces the risk of blisters for me.

Trailhead map with a loop of I-90 at the Snoqualmie Pass

Near complete gear list:

Pack B wt: 13 lb 5 oz, Wt w/food/water: 20 lb 0 oz
#	ITEM	Where you stuff it	weight oz.
1	RAIN Rain skirt 1		2.8
1	RAIN legs		2.1
1	t neck LL Bean Powerdry, black		8.5
1	leg warmers-nylon		5.6
1	sweat wrap		0.3
1	REI silk one socks for sleeping		0.8
1	PACK Ray Way 3000		12.0
1	tent stake bag blue/yellow		0.2
1	SLEEPING RayWay alpine quilt		35.2
1	KNIFE Gerber light weight		0.8
1	paper, pencil		1.0
1	Firestarter: waxed paper		0.9
1	alcohol fuel bottle		0.6
1	Beano		0.4
1	allergy Benadryl, Zyrtec, oxymetazoline		0.0
1	Camera Sony RX100		9.0
1	Pyrethrum soak for debugging apparel		0.0
1	water: liters		35.3
1	bug dope stick	L bottle pocket	1.3
1	insulated RayWay hat	lid pocket	1.2
1	neck warmer-windproof	lid pocket	1.6
1	headlamp Tikka MUST HAVE	lid pocket	2.5
1	iodine, vit C	lid pocket	1.6
1	map MUST HAVE	lid pocket	3.3
1	modified first aid kit MUST HAVE	lid pocket	4.0
2.5	toilet paper: 12 squares of double ply/day	lid pocket	0.4
1	lip balm (SPF 15+) MUST HAVE	Belt pocket L	0.3
1	long bottoms Patagonia capilene	clothes bag	5.6
1	Jacket Cordillera 800 fill down jacket	main bag	13.0
8	tent stakes MSR	main bag	2.8
1	Sleeping Pad/Pacific Outdoor Equipment Peak Elite AC 72"x20"	main bag	11.9
1	Water container Powerade 32 oz	main bag	1.8
150	Denatured alcohol, ml	main bag	4.2
1	Ti saucepan/lid EverNew .9L rubberbanded shut	main bag	4.9
1	bear canister Garcia	main bag	44.1
4.5	FOOD for trip MUST HAVE	main bag	72.0
1	arm warmers-nylon	mesh pocket front	2.1
1	pack towel 9x25	Outside-lashed on	1.2
1	Umbrella GoLite reflective	Outside-lashed on	8.0
1	sunscreen cream or stick (SPF 30+) MUST HAVE	R bottle pocket	2.0
1	Compass MUST HAVE	Right Hip belt pocket	1.1
1	Stove Supercat stove--DIY web link	saucepan-main bag	0.2
1	stove alcohol stove windscreen	saucepan-main bag	0.7
1	toothbrush/paste, floss	saucepan-main bag	0.6
1	soap & cleaning pad	saucepan-main bag	2.5
1	spoon plastic Kenyon	Saucepan-main bag	0.4
1	trekking pole BlackDiamond CF each	This item is worn	8.9
1	whistle/mirror MUST HAVE	This item is worn	0.5