We have a short up hill before a very long down hill to the Suiatle River. It is a cold, wet day with lots of fallen trees to make our way over, under and around. So far this has been the worst maintained section of trail. At one point the trail was rerouted due to a washout and another because of a damaged bridge. On a muddy section, Donna managed to do a flip off the trail and not get hurt, just a little muddy. Don got very cold and his hands did not want to function properly. We wish we would have had some waterproof gloves. Donna made a skirt from a plastic bag to wear over her rain pants which no long had much protection in the rear. One very large tree had minimal clearance underneath, but was impossible to climb over. It felt like we were back into caveing mode going underneath it. Once we got down to the river corridor we were treated to a very nicely maintained path. It passed thru some amazing old growth forest trees. We stopped for lunch under one of them and felt honored to be in its presence. Not a long lunch though as we soon got cold from sitting. Finally the bridge across the river appeared. It was recently completed for which we were thankful. Crossing the river with all the rain we had would not have been possible. Having spent all morning going downhill, it was time to readjust and head up hill. So going at a controlled pace we headed upward. When we were high the valleys below were completely obscured by fog and mist. We found a designated campsite in a boulder field. If there had not been a fire ring there I am not sure we would have recognized it. There was water near by and it will work. After we had gone to bed another couple, Big Fish and Firecracker, showed up with their head lamps on. They had hiked the AT (Appalachian Trail) before and were excited add the PCT to their accomplishments. They wanted to get to the trail head tomorrow so had put in a very long day.
Mileage Hiked 25 miles
