18th August
I had decided to have an easy day so there was no rush in getting up
I was awake by seven and lay there listening to the babbling creek and the occasional truck as it thundered along the highway nearby.
Okay get up you lazy sod  I emerged mm tent was soaked by dew that’s the problem when you  sleep by a creek .I gathered up all the spare food and rubbish and walked over to the campsite across the road and put it in the dumpster visited the bathroom and headed back.i stripped off the fly and draped it over a tree to drip dry. it was then that I noticed that i had left  out my food bag or other bits .luckily nothing had been touched (Eaten) .I slowly packed up ,twinkle toes was just emerging and had eggs boiling in her jet boil.
The other hiker was cowboy camping but I didn’t get his name.he must of been very damp!!
Okay all packed ,I hoisted my pack onto my back it was heavy   two new shirts and lots of spare food too much lol but it was nice food so I am going to carry it and eat it 🙂
I crossed the main road from the trailhead put my head down it was 9 am late for me but i’ve just been tired so I am not doing a big day today  and stomped off up the trail. I didn’t look at the GPS as I didn’t want to see the climb.but I knew there was one.
Gentle climbs hills to begin with, with the shade of the forest I had gone about 2 miles when I stopped for water .it was ice cold as I like it so I topped up my water then set off again
I passed some lovely lakes and lots of not so lovely ones lol I will fish in one I kept promising myself

It was a gorgeous morning if anything a little too warm for a fully re supplied hiker but that the trail. The next part of the trail was like a tank training ground huge ruts and bogs to manoeuvre over and around  whilst going up hill such fun NOT!!!.Well maybe a little.i pressed on then it was time for my favourite game of climb the log some are easy some take some doing with a fully laden pack but as I have been doing this a while now I got full points  hurrah. So I decided to stop early and eat breakfast. .I sat on a log and as I was getting my food out a huge branch crashed to the ground from a nearby tree making me jump!!
Breakfast today was a peach a huge plumy thing  nuts cheese and a bottle of orange juice yummy although I have to carry that bottle for five days now 🙂
I set off again and was now travelling through some beautiful meadows with meandering creeks running through them.i had to cross many of these.

A thing I haven’t done  since California . .up a head I came across a family out for a weekend hike .Dad was singing away with the kids joining in  .I passed them and said enjoy your hike the usual greeting.
Not an awful lot to see today but I’m sure Washington has a few more surprises as i entered another forest .but with the sun on it  it had that lovely smell of pine one of my favourite smells out here. I could then hear the roar of water I wandered over to a clearing where I could see. Another fantastic waterfall / Rapids  I stood and watched it for a while before moving on.i was beginning to go down hill which normally means its time for a climb soon lol.
I crossed another creek and stopped for five minutes. I refilled my water and checked my maps i had about a six mile climb to do, it was now 3.30.
I had planned to walk to 5 pm today put my tent up in the sun so it can dry  and have a relaxing evening. My left foot has been hurting I put it down to the trail as some days its like walking in a rain gutter  so you never put your foot flat and if you’re going round hills  anticlockwise the left takes a beating. I crossed another creek this one wider and a little bit tricky but dry feet hurrah lol
Once across I came to another amazing valley again with a lake and creek winding through it Just beautiful. Now the climb up and up  switchback and switchbacks so not too steep I passed three kids out camping for the weekend .Our kids just do not seem to do that anymore or rather us parents do not let them. They had their tent their stove and looked very relaxed. Funny makes me think of the film stand by me where the young kids go away for a long weekend to see a dead body. That’s sounds s bit gruesome but its more about the kids going off  by themselves

Another hour to go and then ill look for a flat spot.down in the valley I could see several nice lakes. I pondered whether to head down but  then  perfect a small grassy meadow
That will do. I dropped my pack then spread out my footprint to dry in the sun.then I did the same with the fly.
I then put up my tent, and when the footprint was dry slid it over the top then put the fly over. The sun was still hot so I aired my sleeping bag over my tent and lined up my socks to air too.they had just been washed but they needed some fresh air   through them.
All done now tea and relax.i was just tidying up when shredder and watermelon (previously wilm) came by they stopped for a chat then carried on see you up the trail snail  they shouted
Only 349 miles to go whoop