Walking in the rain...

Hey guys, I'm currently at the Dinsmore's Hiker Haven in Baring, WA. And man am I glad to be here, because is pouring rain outside. Only had about 10 miles to do this morning to make it down to Steven's Pass. When we reached the trail head, Cricket and I had just planned on hitching up HWY 2 to Skykomish or Baring, but trail angel Tom was already there waiting to give any needy hikers a ride. Thanks Tom!

We have been so incredibly lucky with our weather here in Washington. It has generally been in the 60 to 70 degree range everyday with sunny skies and decently warm nights. However, that all changed after leaving Snoqualmie Pass on Wednesday. The first night out, it began raining and never really stopped. Not only has it been raining, but the temperatures also dropped considerably. This all makes hiking fairly miserable and I look forward to the nights when I can climb in my warm comfy sleeping bag and forget about the cold rain that pounds my tent. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later, after all, this is Washington right?

As if the rain and cold wasn't bad enough, I'm now dealing with a new injury. Just in the last two weeks, I've began to experience shin splints. They typically like to begin bothering me sometime in late afternoon and make the pounding footsteps very painful. I've had them on both legs now, although it typically only hurts on one leg at a time. It started in my right leg before White Pass, however after a night of rest I no longer noticed it. Now it's mostly been my left shin, causing me pain about every other day this week. The pain usually goes away after I've slept for the night and given my legs some time off, but today it still hurt when I woke up. This is an injury I've never felt before and I wonder why it decided to start acting up now! You'd think by this point my body would be tough as steel after 2400 miles of training. Well at least I'm here at the Dinsmore's, time for a day of rest and I'll assess the pain in the morning...

Cricket and I spent the week walking through the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, which I hear is extremely beautiful. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see a lot of scenery. Just clouds and rain for us and the occasional view of a turquoise colored lake. The terrain is becoming more and more rugged as we get deeper into the North Cascades. Next up we'll enter the Henry M Jackson Wilderness and then the much loved Glacier Peak Wilderness. I am so happy to be getting closer to the completion of my goal and the end of a very long trip. This is no time for new injuries, as I am less than 200 miles from the border. This last week has left me with very low morale and I hope I can turn that around in the next few days. So here's hoping the weather gets better and the injuries subside. We'll see you soon guys! -Headbanger