WASHINGTON DREAMING

​​PCT Day 142: Mile 2465.7 – Mile 2484.2

Friday September 2, 2016: 18.5 miles (29.6km)

When I woke this morning it was raining as it had done for much of the night. But as luck would have it, the rain stopped briefly to allow me to pack up the tent which was soaking wet. Within 20 minutes the rain was back in full swing.
All morning I felt like a man without a shadow as the sun simply did not appear. It would brighten up briefly and a short time later it felt like you needed a torch to navigate the trail. It did rain and at times it was torrential and turned the trail into a stream. But on the upside I did make it through half of Washington before I needed the rain gear and I had anticipated that Washington would be wet.

The problem with the rain is not that you get wet as the modern rain gear is fantastic. One issue is that water is heavy and once your pack, tent and shoes are wet the load you are carrying increases. I have all my gear that I wish to keep dry inside a trash compactor bag which lines the pack. Once the tent is wet it cannot go in there which upset the methodical packing technique and this leaves the pack unbalances. The other issue is that the  scenery is hidden by low hanging cloud and trying to take a photo and keep the phone dry is also difficult. Saying all that, I quite enjoy walking in the rain.
The landscape I am passing through reminds me of New Zealand with mosses and ferns, big trees and lush greenery. It looks like the perfect place to come looking for hobbits.

There were again lots of blueberries and I started the morning by putting a number of blueberries in my breakfast oates. Throughout the day many more were consumed.

In some areas the trail goes through massive rockfalls and the trail makers do a tremendous job to establish a path through. Some of the massive rocks appear so delicately balanced that you feel you need to hurry through so as not to be there for an earth tremor.

When arriving at the  campsite it was a torrential downpour  and when putting up the tent it seems the more you hurry, the more mistakes you make. The weather is supposed to be clearing tomorrow which I am hoping will allow me to dry everything out, especially my pickled feet.