Almost There!

So I'm half way through Washington now, and only have ~250 miles to go! Washington has been really fun so far - huckleberries are out in full force, so I've spent a lot of time trying to make up for my lack of fresh fruit. Compared to Oregon, Washington has a lot of elevation change, and is relatively slow going. As a headlight is needed by 8 pm at the latest, I've started getting up at 5 am so I have enough time to put in 25 miles by the end of the day. Makes for some really chilly mornings, but the sunrise definitely makes it very worthwhile, and the early morning is such a great time to hike. So far I've had pretty good luck with weather, with only 2 unpleasant days so far. I unfortunately had to hike over "the knife's edge" in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, known as one of the sketchiest sections of the PCT, in a complete whiteout with high winds, which was pretty scary. 15 feet visibility at best. For you Bozmanites, very similar to the Bridger Ridge, but much more narrow and exposed. Today I woke up to rain and had to hike all day in the freezing cold wind. Luckily I ended up at Snoqualmie Pass, and I took advantage of my last opportunity for a hotel. Definitely nice to dry out, and they're calling for sun all week, so I'm excited to head back out. One thing that has really motivated to hike through unpleasant weather is that I see so many locals out hiking at the same time. All seem to make the comment that the bad weather is well worth the amazing scenery. I definitely agree! Coming up is the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, which sounds like heaven to me . . .