August 6th, 2020
Mile 447.4 to Mile 470.5
The old man was right, it rained today. I could hear some fat raindrops landing on my tent so I rushed to get ready and pack up before it started to dump and I’d have to deal with a soaking wet tent. It was so chilly and misty out that I even put on my wind pants. The air was so cold that it made the lake water feel warm when I went to fill up on water.
I got moving to try and warm up. It never truly poured on me, but it did that classic Washington thing where it lightly rains and then all of a sudden you’re wet to the bone. My backpack was soaked through (but my plastic liner worked!), my shoes soaked through, and my wind pants definitely soaked through. I took those off after a couple hours because I hate the feeling of wet fabric sticking to my legs. All things considered though, I can’t complain because this was my first actually wet day. My Frog Toggs rain jacket worked great though!! (Only $20 on Amazon and pretty lightweight, highly recommend.)
Today was all through a forest again. I passed a few lakes but they weren’t as nice as Blue Lake or Bear Lake. I didn’t really stop because of the cold and rain. I also don’t think I drank enough water. Around 3ish the rain stopped and the sun came out a little. My socks and shoes were pretty soggy and my feet were starting to itch so I took a break at 4pm. I peeled off my socks to discover that my feet have been peeling even more. The dirt and dead skin was a little alarming to see. I took some time to dry out before pushing through the last 5 miles to camp.
I had a descent down to the valley where I planned to camp. There’s a car campground nearby that I had considered splurging on to stay at. I crossed a river and met two hikers that had just gone to check out the campground. It cost $20 per person but apparently you have to pump up water yourself which is quite difficult so they decided just to walk to the river instead. Although the bathrooms are supposed to be super clean.
I decided that if I’d have to come back to the river for water anyway it probably wasn’t worth the $20 just to use a toilet. I collected some water and walked a short distance to a camp spot. I’m in a beautiful old growth forest with tons of mossy trees. It’s very lovely. If I need to poop in the morning I might go check out those bathrooms though.
I had noodles for dinner and because the bugs aren’t bad I made myself a peanut butter and chocolate shake for dessert and sat out in the forest. I put on a podcast to listen to while working on my drink. Now I’m all cleaned up and in my tent for my second to last night on trail!!
