Got up around 7:00am and hobbled my way down the stairs. Got some coffee and went back up to pack. I asked Texas Poo if he knew the Sheryl Crow song "Everyday is a Winding Road". He said he did.

"Good..cause that song can now be stuck in your head too", I said.

For some reason the band Skid Row came up and I think TP was a bit unnerved at how many lyrics from their first album I knew. (Camaro Rock).

Stilts came upstairs to use the bathroom and I joked that we should hold the door shut until Stilts sang the chorus to one "power ballad". TP pointed out that Stilts might not be old enough to know any. Good point I thought. Turns out Stilts was born in 1986, so I think he might know a couple or so if he listened to the radio.

(Gabe just said "heh, it is weird hearing a keyboard out here...")

The guy who made dinner last night for everyone was still here this morning...and he made breakfast for us.

Got my pack outside just about the time Gabe and Linette pulled up. Gabe is gonna hike with me to Stevens Pass. They said that they didn't get any sleep. Camping at Denny Creek was completely miserable. It is basically a campground right in between the west and eastbound lanes of Interstate 90, down in an echo chamber of a canyon. Gabe said he took out his earplugs and could hear the creek plus traffic. Putting the earplugs back in meant he could only hear the traffic.

We stopped at the Chevron where all the hikers had just been dropped off. Talked to them a bit and then drove down to the PCT. Talked to Cora a bit on the telephone. It didn't kill my battery too bad. Somehow if I use the Internet (even with wi-fi) the battery drops like crazy.

I walked from the trailhead parking lot back to the I-90 overpass, walked down the PCT, then turned off at the spur trail to the trailhead. Gotta keep those Mexico to Canada steps complete. Had a breakfast burrito that Gabe and Linette made me in the parking lot.

Gabe and I got going up the trail...straight into the drizzle and clouds. It was exactly like it was when Curtiss and I hiked this stretch, all in the clouds and we knew we were missing a lot of great scenery. It is my fault though. Had I not ordered extra memory cards the scenery would have been great, but because I have an extra 64 gigs of SD cards now the clouds are hanging in.

Caught up to Baxter/Wildcat, Stilts/Muppet, and eventually Splits/Two-step. We all walked together for several miles, they were all really impressed with Gabe's pack, he made it himself.

Because Stilts and Muppet were with us, we saw all kinds of wildlife today. Somehow they are a magnet for it. A lot of marmots and pikas right next to the trail Saw a deer eating berries too.

Met a few southbounders hiking from Stevens to Snoqualmie Pass. One guy said today was his fifth day in a row of packing up wet gear. Two nights ago it was pretty bad in the tent with all the rain, thunder, and lightning.

Gabe and I turned off the PCT and went the 1/2 mile down to Spectacle Lake. It is a pretty cool lake with rock sides and all of these nooks and crannies. A lot of the camp spots were full but we managed to find one. The rain started to come down a fair bit so I cooked dinner in the awning of my tent.

The rain stopped and it looks like the sky is clearing up. It is almost dark but Gabe just said "whoah, there are all kinds of peaks around here now that it has cleared up!".

Looks like it will be nice for tomorrow hopefully. Tomorrow I get to hike the one part of the PCT I have never hiked before due to a fire detour in 1994.

Gabe and I have about three more days of food each but I'm not sure how long we are gonna stretch it. On my previous PCT schedule I would be in Skykomish tomorrow night, but I think we will be there in three nights (or four if we camp at Stevens Pass and hitch in the next morning).

Body is feeling a bit tired, those three days off really took it out of me. Pretty much have confirmed that one day off the PCT is great, but any more than three is a bit miserable to come back to the trail on. Feeling like I'm getting sick but I think it is just being tired and getting rolling again. nite nite.