The rain stopped today and the sun mostly came out, it was only blocked by smoke which filled the air, even up on top of the ridges. Today was another big elevation day, I began by climbing for hours up to a small lake near Escondido Ridge, then walking around a high shelf covered in blueberry bushes to another set of lakes. The trail then followed a ridge before dropping down to the Waptus River. Today’s distance was 13.3 miles, 21.4 km, with 5581 ft, 1701 m of elevation change.

This morning, I could see Overcoat Peak up the valley through a haze of smoke. I was surprised there was still a fire burning somewhere after all the rain yesterday, maybe the wind did more than the rain to stoke the flames.

The first thing for me today was a long climb up out of the valley. The climb was 5.3 miles, 8.6 km and took me up 2365 ft, 721 m. I was climbing all morning until lunchtime. As I got higher, I could see more of the glacier on the mountains over the valley, but also more smoke.

When I finally reached the top of the climb, I stopped by a small lake. I had a quick lunch here, and ate a few handfuls of fresh blueberries which were growing all around the trail. This spot also gave me the opportunity to spread my shoes, socks and insoles out to dry in the sun.

After lunch, the trail took me around a couple of small ridges to another collection of small lakes. I took enough water from here for the descent and continued along the trail.

Elevation and mileage wise, the descent down the other side was much the same as this morning’s climb. Essentially, I’d just climbed up and over one big ridge. I walked for hours, down countless switchbacks until I could see the valley below me though the smoke.

At the end of the day, the bridge over Waptus River was a welcome sight. I’d heard that Washington was hard, but now I’m seeing that it’s not pulling any punches. Until recently, my biggest worry was reaching the terminus and feeling like I’m not ready to finish hiking. The beauty and difficulty of Washington seems like it’s going to help me to feel complete when I get there.