Saturday, September 29th.

Saturday, September 29th: Todays miles = 24.5 . Total PCT miles = 2,374.6. Miles remaining = 288.9.

Cold, foggy, wet (but not raining), then freezing cold. I think this does a good job at summing up the day. I woke up in the morning and knew it was going to be one of those days; those Washington horror story days that I have heard about. The morning pretty much tells you what the rest of the day is going to be like here in Washington and I knew I was in for it. I hiked the entire day bundled up in my pants, fleece, hat, and gloves! The wind was whipping through the fleece and chilling me to the bone. The hiking was pretty mellow today but the conditions were not, making for a difficult day. The nice thing about today was the smell of the forest. All day smelled like Christmas because of the abundant pine. It made me anxious for the holidays with my friends and family and all the creature comforts I can take. My mood changes from day to day. Some days I can't wait to be home baking Christmas cookies while others I become depressed at the thought of the trail ending. I have come to discover that there is a direct correlation between the weather and my mood.

I climbed up and over Blowout Mt. late in the afternoon and for a split second the sky cleared and I had a view. It didn't last long and before I could even take a picture it fogged in again. Ah, well...at least it didn't rain.