Last night we camped just before the snow section and unfortunately the ground, although flat, was covered with stones making it both difficult to secure the tent and uncomfortable for sleeping. In addition there were dozens of bumble bees which were attracted to Robert’s pack and one very unkindly stung him so we didn’t stay up late to chat but moved to the safety of the tent.The morning sky was clear and we were up to greet the dawn, leaving quietly so as not to disturb the other lady who was at our campground.As we had been informed by hikers we met, the snow was not bad and it was easy to find the path without having to resort to GPS. We are again among a community of hikers. When we meet someone on the trail, the first question is usually ‘are you a thru-hiker?’ followed by ‘are you northbound or southbound’ then quickly it is followed up with ‘how is the snow up ahead?’Now that the snow is melting we want to hurry north. A high snow year is usually followed by a high risk of wild fires and we want to get through Washington before they start so we can avoid detours as much as possible.This afternoon we had a long steady descent to McCloud river and saw 2 deer on the trail. One kindly agreed to be photographed! The air was hot and hearing that there was a lovely river beside the campground ahead, we hurried on with the anticipation of a cool dip when we got there. It only took a few minutes to shed our outer clothes and hurry down the path despite needing to avoid the poison oak which lined the way. Although the water looked clear and inviting, after wading in to mid calf depth in the icy cold rushing water, we abandoned the idea of a swim and opted just for a sponge down instead! After all we have no towels and only our dirty clothes to dry us off!When we went to bed, we heard some noises in the bushes beside our tent. When we opened the flap we saw a deer who turned and looked at us and then continued munching! I assume that the same deer continued to graze around the tent through the night but wasn’t game to check with visions of a mountain lion in my head!