It rained all night, and all morning. I had to pack up my tent in the rain, getting everything soaked.
It continued to drizzle all morning, and fog gradually moved in to obstruct the scenery. Washington is clearly trying to tell the hikers they’ve overstayed their welcome.
Eventually, the fog became more of a whiteout, and the drizzle became strong rain. As the rain worsened, I happened to pass mile 2600.
It rained more and more, and the trail began to get overgrown. The bushes wiped water on us, ensuring every exposed surface was soaked. The trail became more like a creek than a trail. Washington was doing what it does best.
By 3 in the afternoon, we were thoroughly wet and cold. Hiking fast uphill helped, but when I stopped to go to the bathroom, I cooled down enough that I was shaking. Elizabeth was none too warm either, so we decided to make camp early and try to get dry.
Most of the nearby campsites were puddles, but we found some dry space, and pitched our tents. Unsurprisingly, they were still soaked, so getting dry inside them would be a challenge. We were soaked too, further complicating the matter of getting the inside of the tent dry. But, with a lot of work with my pack towel, I at least got rid of all the puddles, and set up my sleeping pad and quilt.
That warmed me up at first, but now I’m getting colder. A bit of rain comes down through my rain fly somehow, making my quilt damp. It’s only about 6PM as I write this, and I’m shivering in bed.
This isn’t going to be a good night.
49 miles left. And not one too few.
2600 -yeah!!!!!!! I hope there is some warmth ahead.