Day 98: Mt Adams

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Norm who gave us the lift back to the trail yesterday had given us the weather prediction – a cooling of the temperature tomorrow but continuing fine weather. When we were up in the night the clear and moonless sky showed a myriad of stars above the treetops.So when we awoke in the morning we were not surprised to find it quite cold outside the tent but what we were not prepared for was the dense cloud cover.Our first stop of the morning was to get and filter water just up the path, then on up the mountainside. We could catch occasional glimpses of Mt Adams right beside us as we hiked but Mt St Helens remained shrouded in cloud.With less of the scrubby undergrowth between the conifers we were able to see across grassy meadows with a profusion of wildflowers and the occasional rocky outcrops. Misty cloud turned to rain and the cold continued until late morning. Many of the river and stream crossings so far in Washington have had bridges but today we encountered a wide stream of rushing water with just a collection of thin logs for crossing but we all made it safely across.

We met a couple of ladies who were taking an inventory of hikers on the trail for the forestry department who want stats on how many people are going north or south on the trail and what animals (dogs or horses) are with them. There was a good lunch spot at a trail Junction where we were able to relax and finally take off our rain gear.Moving on down the trail after lunch we passed a couple of crews of volunteers who were working hard on trail maintenance, clearing the path of new growth. We thanked them for the great work they were doing.A little later we crossed a road at a trailhead and were met by a family who had set up table and chairs and were providing all sorts of foods and drinks as trail magic. They refused to accept any donations of money to help cover costs and just took enjoyment from seeing the delight on the faces of the hikers. I had 2 mandarins, an apple, a packet of chips, a can of soft drink and a hot dog with added salad. Rob also feasted. It was lovely to spend some time chatting to the family – “Butters” (trail name acquired when hiking the PCT last year) and Crystal with their 7 year old twins Finn and Eva. It was hard to tear ourselves away to continue our hike.After another 5 miles or so we found a campsite with a number of other hikers – some travelling north and one south bounder. We have hiked 25.9 miles today.