Date: August 12, 2017
Miles: 2233.5 – 2258.2
Last night, lightning lit up the insides of our tents and jarring claps of thunder made us yell with abandon, but this morning was the type of damp quiet that a storm leaves behind. The sky was gray with a few widening blue patches and lazy rolls of thunder rumbled benignly in the distance. The heat and humidity had broken as well, much to this Washingtonian’s relief.
I was happy to have to wear pants and a long sleeved shirt to ward off the hint of a chill. We took our time hiking during the morning because the views of Mt. Adams on our right and Mt. St. Helens and other hills rising up out of low-lying clouds on our left were spectacular.
Wildflowers blanketed the hillsides and meadows, and streams and rivers were everywhere. We stopped for more than our usual number of morning breaks so we could take it all in.
The Mt. Adams Wilderness is gorgeous, as Gary the trail angel had promised us yesterday.
After lunch we decided we better pick up the pace a bit so we could make at least 25 miles for the day. The afternoon hiking looked more like the last couple days, with tunnels of evergreens and sporadic views of silhouetted hills, so we moved with more purpose toward camp.
