Monday, September 10, 2018 – 17.20 miles

It rained during the night, but the fifty layers of branches overhead fulfilled their duty and my tent remained dry except a few wet spots from the wind. Morale and courage to face the upcoming weather strengthened. Low-hanging clouds created a beautiful scene in the valleys below Dolly Vista.

When I began hiking, the day turned out to be one of much effort and little reward. The highlights were massive old-growth trees and the Suiattle River, a wide silty ribbon.

eTrails states that in the flood of 2003, the Suiattle bridge along with the other major bridges in the area were washed out, so that for more than a decade hikers had to take a long detour or complete a ‘difficult log crossing’. Judging the depth of the silty water was difficult, but no way would I attempt a difficult log crossing on that river. You could definitely die in it.

I tried to find the toilet at the Miner Creek campground, failed and tackled the subsequent climb with where’s-the-toilet rage. I wanted to stealth camp in a spot sheltered from the rain, and spent time searching and clearing and so on, so I was doing camp chores in the dark and fumbling with my phone. I’m eagerly awaiting being able to use my headlamp again.