Friday, August 31, 2018 – 15.10 miles
Nighttime rain ushered in low-hanging clouds that concealed my splendid view when I opened my tent doors in the morning. I packed up my tent, which was gritty with wet dirt, and set off in my rain clothes. After previous experiences in Washington I was expecting a long stretch of rain, but the skies cleared quickly with the same strong west wind as yesterday.
Most of the day was forest walking down into a valley and up again towards Cathedral Pass. I saw an adorable rabbit, a fluffy ball of fur with two tiny ears poking out. Only a few feet away I startled it and when I stopped moving, it returned to the business of hopping around and nibbling on plants. Resolving to watch it for awhile (or forever ❤ ) I set down my backpack, but the noise scared the rabbit away.
Excellent views from Cathedral Pass. I looked around, hoping to find a sheltered place to camp, but everywhere was windy and cold. I walked to the next campsite noted in eTrails, which eTrails describes as more sheltered. It certainly was not, and I continued onwards.
The next campsite was taken! The terrain was inconducive to random camping because of its cliffiness and vegetation, so I ended up walking all the way to the established sites at Little Hyas Creek. It’s dry, but I don’t need water. Hurriedly I pitched my tent, which I hadn’t dried during the day since I was expecting to camp earlier, and scarfed down supper.
A frigid evening. The weather has felt like autumn lately with the cold breeze and changing colours of the leaves, and I’ve been daydreaming of Halloween and pumpkin pie.
