OG told us that he heard elk calls in the early morning. We couldn’t see them but headed out with our eyes peeled. The track was literally covered with elk tracks and it was clear that a whole herd of elk had passed close by us as we slept! Just a short way down the trail, though, we saw 2 small spotted fawns with the doe resting in the meadow below them.

Cloud closed in on us as we walked and we had a day of intermittent misty rain. Just enough to get us wet and to block the potential view spots and keep us moving. We hope that the forecast for clouds clearing tomorrow is accurate.

Along the way we met hiker Odie who told us he was compiling a yearbook for 2019 PCT hikers like he did last year. We will probably contribute our photo and details and buy a copy in due course. It will be good to see how other hikers we have met went and have contact details for them.

We completed 25.2 miles and are retiring to the tent after a dinner of mushroom risotto and couscous followed by a hot drink. We are still in cloud and misty rain but occasionally the sun pokes through.

After a night of gastric upset and d’s and v’s, I felt like just staying in bed. We had arranged to meet Jean at the Chinook Pass trailhead 5 miles away at 8:30-ish so OG headed off at the usual starting time but Rob and I were slower to get going. I started to feel a bit better as the hours passed.

Bridge over highway at Chinook Pass

We took our food supplies from the van, said goodbye to Jean and walked a short mile or so to a lakeside where I was able to lie down and have a snooze. I was awoken by a chipmunk running over my leg.

Feeling better, we all hiked on up the hill and enjoyed more mountainside scenery including a closer view of about 20-30 mountain goats (you will recall that they are the fluffy white ones whereas the mountain sheep are brown, short haired and look like goats. OG pointed out an elk in the distance but it moved into the shade before we could see it clearly.

We only managed 15.6 miles today however we passed another milestone – less than 1000 miles left to go!

After a quick cold breakfast at the cabin we set off with Jean to the trailhead. On the way we saw a group of about 6 mountain sheep. You can see they are sheep – brown hairy coats, horns – as opposed to the white fluffy mountain goats that we saw high on the rocky slopes of Goat Rocks 2 days ago. Figure that one out!

OG also pointed out to us an elk calf which was in the forest by the side of the road. So we had seen two new animals before we even started to hike.

By 7:20 we were striding along at a good pace on a pleasant path with a gentle uphill climb to start.

The walking was easier today but the views were somewhat less spectacular. At about noon we found a lovely lunch spot in a shady spot beside a river and enjoyed the ham, turkey and salad rolls that I had made the day before.

Mt Rainier

In the afternoon the path was steeper uphill for more than 4 miles. We are camped close to a lake and have retreated to the tent to avoid the mosquitoes. We hiked 23.7 miles and have just 5 miles to go to Chinook Pass in the morning where we will briefly meet up with Jean again and collect from the van our food supplies for the next few days.

We enjoyed a nice sleep in a comfortable bed, followed by cooked breakfast, then planning for a trip to Yakima for resupplies.

After shopping and lunch with OG and his wife we returned to the cabin to sort our food. Kevin, OG’s brother came to meet up with us all and to cook for us. He is a chef so we had an incredible culinary delight including locally collected mushrooms with rice, mussels, crab, chicken, salad, freshly baked bread and a lovely white wine. For dessert we had locally sourced peaches with rhubarb cooked in a delicious sauce with ice cream. It was so good to have hearty appetites to be able to enjoy it all.

Tomorrow we will be up early to hit the short 30 mile section with light loads as Jean will meet us the next day bringing what we have packed ready for the longer 4-5 day stretch

We had a straightforward 14 mile hike to the highway at White Pass. The weather was still great and the scenery still spectacular.Eagle-eyed OG noticed 8 mountain goats high up on the rocks.We arrived at noon and waited for OG’s wife Jean who picked us up at 1pm. We then drove to OG’s brother’s hunting cabin which is next door to OG’s friend Jeff’s cabin.So we are enjoying their hospitality for tonight and tomorrow night.

Today was an especially good day, although tiring. The weather was perfect, and we started the day with easy level and downhill walking in the forest. We got some good views of Mt Adams, Mt St Helens and our first view of Mt Rainier.

The path had now opened out from the forest onto the mountainside and just before noon we passed a sign indicating that we were entering an Indian reservation. We rounded the corner and walked into what seemed like a movie backdrop. Spectacular colour with high rocky mountainsides, pine tree forests, fields of grass dotted with wildflowers and a tall waterfall. After traversing the valley we climbed to a saddle and joined some day hikers who were eating their lunch while drinking in the scenery.

After lunch we climbed higher in the Goat Rocks area, and this included climbing Old Snowy. The PCT goes almost to the top. Again the views were spectacular and we were thankful for the blessing of fine weather and clear skies.

Coming down was like walking down a ramp covered in marbles with lots of loose rock and some miles of ridge top track with steep dropoffs either side (consequences obvious – a fall flat on my back but no serious injury). We spoke to another couple who were walking just ahead of us who said that they both slipped and fell as well.

22.9 miles brought us to a relatively mosquito-free campsite, and takes us over 1600 miles and 60% complete to date.

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.

Today was a resupply day so there was no rush to get started, nevertheless we were keen to get to town and hit the trail before 6:30 am. We had a short steep uphill stretch in the 8 miles to the road crossing and then settled beside the trailhead and chatted to some other hikers who were also waiting for the shuttle bus to town. We had a couple of hours to wait before the next scheduled pick up but a man (Carl) pulled over in a pickup and offered us a lift into town. He piled us all into the back with our packs and drove carefully so that the ride was uneventful wrt bums. 10:30 saw us in town heading straight for the coin operated showers. Then clothes into a washing machine and we whiled away time in the nearby Cafe where we enjoyed milkshakes and burgers.

We had to collect a resupply box we had mailed to the grocery store from Portland and buy a few fresh items for lunch makings. By 2:30 pm we were ready to go but had to wait until 5pm for the next ride out. Beside the grocery store there was a lovely lawn and trees in the shade where hikers could hang out so we rested there and enjoyed the company.

Right on 5 pm Norm Bright, a retired gentleman who lives near Trout Lake, took a bunch of us all back to the trail.

Of course the path was an immediate steep climb but we were happy to put a few more miles behind us before dinner and bed. It seems we have now passed the 2500 km mark.

Tomorrow we expect to climb to the treeline on Mt Adams.

Well, another fine day in the ‘wet state’. We had a cool uphill hike in the morning but after about 8 am it started to warm up and by 10 o’clock we had both warmed up and encountered ground water and lakes – welcome to mosquito country.

We are still meeting plenty of southbound hikers and today caught up with some we had met before in Southern California including Autobahn, Jenny and Bat Girl. Hopefully we will see some of them when we hike through the Sierras as they will be heading south while we go north.

In the heat of the afternoon and after an uphill stretch, we met ‘Has Feet’ again. He was reading in the back of his 4wd and waiting for his buddy to come by. This time he gave us mandarins, cheese sticks and soft drink which were greatly appreciated. That makes it 3 out of 3 days of trail ‘magic’ so far in Washington.

We finished 25.8 miles and camped on an old disused dirt road. Tomorrow we will get to Trout Lake for a cleanup and resupply. Also a feed at the Cafe.