Day 35

21 miles
We woke up in a cloud, and then before we got rolling it started raining. All of the thru-hikers were gone, leaving only us and another couple that were doing Snoqualmie-to-Stehekin. They were doing shorter days, so they chose to wait out the rain. We, instead, put on our rain gear and headed out. The rain stopped after about a mile, which was long enough to get all of the plants wet. My shoes and socks were soaked, and the bottom of my pant legs, bit everything else was dry. Not too shabby. We worked our way down about 12 miles and 3500ft to cross Suiattle River and then stopped for lunch. We dried our feet, but had to put cold, wet socks back on. The afternoon was spent climbing back up 3200ft to Suiattle Pass so we can drop into Stehekin tomorrow. I waited for Marie at the top again, a repeat of yesterday at 45 minutes. A cloud was moving overhead and around me, some of the hanging moss was gathering condensation, as was my mustache. I briefly talked with a couple that had come over Cloudy Pass who were circumnavigating Glacier Peak. I started to shiver just as they were leaving because my sweat was turning cold and I was no longer warm from the hike up. A minute later, Marie came around the corner so I was glad. We got moving and made our way a half mile to camp. We are in somewhat of a meadow with a stream running through it. Mosquitos present, moreso than the previous few nights, but manageable. Very excited for a shower tomorrow. We are five days out from our last shower in Leavenworth and still 20 miles to go tomorrow, so we’re going to have another full day in sweaty, damp clothes.