PCT Map Miles 334.0
Miles Hiked 206.3
Elevation 5,374 feet
Miles Hiked Today 15.7
The rain stopped some time in the early morning. Due to a breeze that was blowing, I hoped that my tent would be dry when I put it away. It was tough getting up, because I was so snug and warm in my sleeping bag, so I slept in an additional hour. Finally I got out of the sleeping bag and started packing up. And yes, my tent was dry. That made it much easier to put away. Unfortunately, it was muddy and had a lot of debris all over the tent. It needs to be washed but that won’t happen until I get off the trail.
I got going a little bit before 8:00 and stopped at a stream to get water. Once that was done, I was off and on my way. The problem with my lack of power from yesterday seemed to be gone, and I was able to get down the trail at a good pace. The day was turning out to be beautiful. It was still cool in the morning but the sun was out. That made for a good hiking day.
I passed some wonderful Alpine lakes. I never realized there were so many on the trail in Washington. These lakes are pristine. There are no boats, very few people swimming and in fact in the lakes that I passed, I saw no one in the water. The day progressed quickly as I came closer to Mount Rainier National Park. I could see Mount Rainier in the distance. Still covered in snow, it was quite a sight.
As I closed in on my target distance for the day I started looking for a campsite. I set up camp around 6:00 p.m. and had dinner as soon as the tent was up. This has been a much better day than yesterday.
