We could not get our food boxes until the post office opens at 11:30 so going with the flow, we enjoyed the morning. We walked around town, saw a small house that had architecture we really liked. Tried to figure out what folks living in this town did. Buying food here was difficult. There was only one deli that sold food. It was quite foggy this morning so the delay in our departure was fine. It cleared later in the day. We checked several times to see if the post master might open early. There were rumors that she sometimes did, but that did not happen. As hikers gathered at the Post Office she opened up as scheduled. It was fun to talk to some hikers we had met on the trail as well as new ones. We met Cat in the Hat from Australia who was getting his boxes. He was making a video about the hike using a Dr. Seuss theme. He filmed Don and I for a short segment . We got our boxes and headed back to the Inn to organize our food. We found food in the hikers boxes for lunch and headed out to the highway to try our luck at hitching. Several cars passed us by and we thought that this could be a long day. There was a vehicle parked near the highway that was pulling a trailer loaded with 2 North Canoes. The driver, Zander, had stopped to get some food at the deli. He saw us standing there and said I can give you a lift. Great! He was on his way to take part in a celebration for the removing of a dam from the Snake River. Zander left us at the trailhead and we saw Switchfoot and Siren on their way to get some ice cream. We walked to the start of the trail with Clark Kent. This next section is the longest stretch of trail with no road access. It is also known for its large amount of elevation gain and loss. Our bodies are feeling strong, we are looking forward to this hike. The trail starts out mellow and we stop at Janus Lake. An older couple with their dog is already camped there. They came over to visit and tell us their story. They were our age and had planned to hike the entire PCT starting in March. Two weeks before the start of the trip he came down with an illness that left him in the hospital for 2 months. Needless to say their hiking plan did not stand. In fact several times the family was called in to say good bye. They called themselves Grateful and Faithful. They were quite thankful to be doing short hiking sections in WA. Other folks at this site tonight are Doc and Turkey, and Sky Eyes whose Dad from New Hampshire has joined with him to do the last 2 weeks of the trip. This has been our most full campsite since we camped at Blue Lake. The temperature is dropping, a cold night awaits us.
Mileage hiked 9 miles-Janus Lake
