Sunday, August 26, 2018 – 10.30 miles

I woke during the night to rain. By dawn, it was still raining. A small puddle of water, hopefully from the tiny holes in the roof of my tent and not from mystery holes in the floor, had collected in a downsloping corner of the tent where I had left my pants. Nooo! Putting on cold pants in the morning is bad enough, but putting on cold + wet pants…

The rain continued in bursts throughout the day. Locals have been telling me ‘we need a good rain to clear out the smoke’. Is this enough rain to clear out the smoke? In the thick mist, it’s impossible to tell.

In the morning I was passed by a somewhat comical (more worrisome if not for the close proximity of a Pancake House) procession of inappropriately dressed backpackers. Note that I say ‘inappropriately dressed’ as someone who hates being wet, but if you’re hurrying downhill in cold, blowing mist in a sopping wet T-shirt and shorts, I refuse to acknowledge you as being either subjectively or objectively appropriately dressed.

The trail passed along the Cedar River Watershed, which supplies water to Seattle. eTrails is cheeky here and says ‘Many aggressive signs warn you not to trespass on the west side of the trail. Apparently, if you poop on that side of the trail, 6-8 months later the turd will emerge from a faucet in a law firm in the Seattle Space Needle. However, pooping on the other side of the trail is harmless’. Don’t worry if you don’t remember this note. The aggressive signs really can’t be missed.

Expecting Snoqualmie Pass to be similar to White Pass, I was surprised by the large amount of infrastructure.

A signboard between the trailhead and hotel gave information about the history of the pass. I checked in and had a hot shower before heading to the Pancake House. The food was decent but definitely gave the impression of a chain restaurant. I’ve been spoiled by the smaller restaurants along the PCT.

I’ll make a decision about whether or not to leave the trail tomorrow, when I see how the rain has impacted the smoke.