Start:  1000 - Big Lake Youth Camp
End: 1830 - Rockpile Lake
Miles (today): 18.5 (17.5 PCT, 1 alternate)
Miles (cumulative): 2049.5 (1847 PCT, 131.5 alternate, 71 off)

It rained hard all night - I was so grateful to be in the bunkhouse- and I hoped it would be over in the morning.

It wasn't.

Nick woke me up at 0645 (it was so dark in the bunkhouse that I could easily have slept all day). I checked on my little friend and he was sleeping peacefully, although I could tell his time was nearing an end. 

Since breakfast was served at 0700, we quickly got dressed and made our way to the mess hall.  Just like dinner last night, the food was delightful.  It blows me away at the generosity and kindness they offered us hikers. So much food!  

I hoped the rain would let up while we were at breakfast.

It didn't.

Neither of us was in a hurry to start hiking so we did some online 'chores', like order new shoes and rain gear and purchase plane tickets from Vancouver back to Dallas.  

The rain continued to fall.

By 1000 it became painfully obvious that it was going to rain all day, so we reluctantly put on our rain jackets and our packs and started hiking.  Much to Nick's distain, I brought my little friend with me.  Leaving him with someone didn't make sense, particularly since I knew there wasn't anything anyone could do except make him comfortable.  I carefully wrapped him in a soft cloth from the hiker box and gently put him in the pocket where I usually carry my phone. 

Hiking in the rain wasn't horrible, which is good because we'll be doing a lot of it in Washington.  After about 15 minutes I was warm from hiking and sort-of enjoyed it.  Hiking in the rain is definitely not as glorious as running in the rain, though.  

A little after 1200 I made it to the 2000 mile mark.  2000 miles!!!  While I waited for Nick so we could celebrate together I had lunch and massaged my feet... And then I waited some more.  Where was he? Sitting so long made me cold, but before I resumed my hike I walked down the trail to see if I could see him.  Happily, he was close.  When I asked where he was he said eating lunch.  Eating lunch?!? Apparently he forgot all about 2000 miles, although how one forgets something like that is baffling.  LOL

Besides making me chilly when I stopped moving, the only other unfortunate thing about the rain was being unable to see what I'm sure were fantastic views.  The rain and fog made it an almost ethereal hike, though, so I won't complain too much.

Another good thing about the rain is that I stayed mostly clean - it was so nice to not be covered in dirt and dust at the end of the day!

My favorite part of the day was hiking with Nick.  Yes, we actually hiked with each other for  several hours this afternoon!  It was nice to chat with him.  Alas, after a while my slowness became too much and he hiked on.  I was completely ok with that, though, and for once didn't feel demoralized.  It's nice to have him get to camp first on days like today, anyway, because that means the tent is already set up by the time I get there.  :)

The tent at Rockpile Lake

My little friend passed away this afternoon, so when I got to camp the first thing I did was bury him.  Nick still can't believe I carried him all this way and he thinks I was silly for doing so, but I don't care - I just hope I made his last moments more comfortable than they would have been had I left him on the cold, wet trail.  

Due to the rain, Nick and I have been in the tent all evening.  He blew up his air mattress in here and we even managed to use one of the tent flaps as a rain cover so we could cook without getting soaked.  It's actually been a lot of fun!

Along the trail: