August 1st, 2020
Mile 345.3 to Mile 357.8
I needed to get up at my old usual time today to make it into White Pass in time to meet Emma. I was able to get out a little after 7. The dad and son camping next to me were also awake, but they didn’t seem like very happy campers. I said goodbye and set off.
The mosquitos were quite possibly the worst I’ve seen so far. They were swarming me all morning. I put on peciridin and eventually even put on my head net. It was an overcast and muggy day so I didnt really want to put on my rain jacket and wind pants for protection but it was heavily considered many times. I meant to stop for a break to kill some time but I couldn’t stop because of the bugs.
As I got closer to the trailhead I started seeing more people. Lots of day hikers and weekend backpackers. There must be fish up in all the lakes I was passing because a lot of people had fishing rods.
I got a text from Emma saying they were ahead of schedule and would arrive at the trailhead at noon, which was perfect timing. I got there a little before them but barely had to wait.
Emma greeted me with Gatorade, Pocky, and mini donuts!! We chatted briefly and John drove in. They had all spent the previous day with their extended family at Mt Rainier National Park. Maya, Emma, and John then went on a backpacking trip last night and hiked out before meeting me.
I changed into a clean shirt, stuffed my pack into John’s car, and hopped into Emma’s backseat. The plan was to find a car camping spot at Clearwater Campground. It was unfortunately very busy. We couldn’t find a spot at an established campground so spent a decent amount of time driving around some of the dispersed camping areas. I didn’t know dispersed car camping was a thing but it probably shouldn’t be. People were everywhere and it was a bit of a mess. We found a spot near the lake that was a decent distance away from others.
It was a lazy afternoon of setting up camp, chatting, and organizing my next resupply. Emma and Maya helped me cut down my food after I showed them how much I had leftover from the last section. I got rid of a lot of my lunches and second dinners. My 7 day resupply can pretty much fit in my food bag which is a first.
We lounged around some more before it was time for dinner. Emma is an angel and planned all the meals and did all the cooking. Dinner was sourdough grilled cheese, tomato soup, and salad. I mixed the salad but apparently went to light on the dressing. I got the first grilled cheese which was the perfect oozy, buttery, cheesy meal. It was so rich that I immediately had to lie down afterwards. John also ate a full sandwich and needed to lie down.
After dinner we went down to the lake which was surprisingly beautiful. It felt warm when I waded in a bit. We sat by the bank, talked some more, and eventually started skipping rocks. John was the best, Emma got in some good ones, but Maya and I were rather pitiful.
After dinner was S’MORES!!!!! Campfires weren’t allowed so we had to roast the marshmallows on the flame from the camp stove but it was still so good. I love s’mores. John had also bought this special wine upon Emma and May’s request that had Snoop Dog’s face on it. That was big fun.
Then we broke out the cards and got to play euchre!!! Emma really brought out all my favorite things today. It was Maya and I vs John and Emma. John and Maya were learning for the first time so the teams were pretty well matched. I appreciated how often John would call trump. I think one hand he called trump with just a queen and ace and I laughed SO hard (he obviously got euchred that time). Maya and I had a slow start but made late comeback to win the game. John taught me how to play rummy after and we all played a few hands of that before bed.
