The sky was overcast in the morning, which made my early morning walk through an old growth forest feel gloomy and dark, almost like I was transported to the grounds of Hogwarts and not heeded Dumbledore’s warning not to enter the Forbidden Forest. I let my mind imagine I’d encounter Aragog (the car sized spider from the first book), but then became terrified of the thought and quickly distracted myself. 

Shortly after, I met Jazz and Squatch packing up their camp. We’d been running into each other the last 100 miles or so, and it was fantastic to chat. Turns out Jazz went to college at Miami University, which is just 20 minutes from where I grew up. Small world. 

I left them at our first water stop, determined to make the remaining miles to Snoqualamie Pass, my next resupply, go fast!

The day remained mostly overcast keeping the temperature cool and the hiking mostly sweat-free. 

I arrived in town a bit before 4pm, booked a room at the hotel, and pick up my resupply box. The box looked to be in bad shape and covered in a plastic wrap. The guy picked it up with one hand, and instantly I knew something was off. There was supposed to be 5 days worth of food.. not something you could casually pick up with one hand. I read the sticker ‘this was box was received damaged in Seattle’ and groaned. I opened it up to find just a few items of food remaining. My new socks, some cash, and a bunch of food were gone. I was frustrated, but there was nothing I could do so I walked over to the grocery and resupplied there. The trail, just like life, is a lesson of flexibility.

The rest of the night was pretty chill. 

Miles: 28.2

Total Miles: 2,491