This motel night’s sleep was much preferable to the night before. Even if the rain had managed to get inside, the heater would’ve kept the room far warmer than freezing. The room was built for use by skiers, so there were all sorts of pegs and hooks to dry our gear out overnight.
It rained intermittently all night, and constantly in the morning. We begrudgingly left our warm room, and went down to the gas station to resupply at its attached convenience store (called the White Pass Kracker Barrel).
The stock was strange — though the store was small, they stocked numerous kinds of pork and beans. They had many types of pepperoni pizza, but no other pizza. They kept their tortillas in the freezer.
I opted for the tortillas, and thawed them in the sink. I’ve never had to towel off tortillas before.
I ordered an espresso drink, and the cashier/barista complained. She said she wished the machine broke. Then Elizabeth ordered one, and she tried to talk her out of it. Then the person next in line ordered one, and she flat out refused to make it.
Back in our room, when the tortillas were thawed, there were no excuses to stay in the heat any longer. We started hiking in the rain.
Back on the trail, the rain was constant, and the temperature dropped rapidly. We were soaked and cold. The trail was usually a river, since the ground was saturated. Our feet were wet enough that it wasn’t usually worth avoiding stepping in the river.
When it was raining, I didn’t want to take out my camera, so I took very few pictures. So, to picture the trail today, just imagine the earlier Washington pictures, but with mud flowing down the trail, and with no sun.
We didn’t want to stop for lunch. That would require opening our packs in the rain. Instead, we huddled under a tree for a few minutes, and ate the day’s snacks.
We passed the 2300 mile point today. There should be about 350 miles or so left.
Then, in the afternoon, the rain slowed, and stopped. The hike was tolerable again. I’d spent all morning with my arms curled up in my poncho like a T-Rex, I could take them out now.
Granted, it was still foggy, grey, and cold, but no longer raining.
As it got late, we found a spot to camp, and carefully set up our tents for rain. The temperature dropped fast, and we were quite cold by the time we got into our sleeping bags. But, at least they were dry sleeping bags.
347 miles left.