On todays menu would be another 26-mile day.
When I woke up the sun was shining bright and the skies were clear. I wondered if the weather forecast could possibly be inaccurate. I really, really hoped so.
Since yesterday morning had been freezing cold, I applied the same approach that kept me comfy in terms of clothing. Full thermal, rain-pants, beanie and windbreaker. Pretty soon after hiking out I learned that this was overkill. It was not nearly as chilly, and before I knew it, as I was tackling the first climb, I was cooking. But 3 miles in, I would arrive at Chinook Pass, with car access and a parking-lot where I’d have my second breakfast, and could change into cooler gear.
As I was messing around at Chinook Pass, not really in any rush and thus not paying mind to the time passing, Red and Chrome appeared from the hillside and passed me. They’d already made up for the 4 miles I hiked further yesterday. I thought it best to step on it and follow them.
Climbing out of the valley of Chinook Pass was rough, but I was cheerful because the weather remained good. When Maple and Dorita also caught up with me, they told me that they had checked the updated weather forecast. We might even steer clear of the rain today! That would be most excellent. We pushed on, onto the ridge, climbing higher and higher, until we finally caught impressive sights of nearby Mt. Rainier. Its summit was trapped within clouds, but the views were marvelous nonetheless. 
The majority of the afternoon I experienced as if somebody had hit the slow-motion button on my sense of time. Minutes passed extremely slowly. The miles crept by at a snails pace and even though I was listening to music pretty much continuously, which often helps to pass the time, this day seemed to lag and take forever. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but my energy level was low, and even after lunch (during which I really had to keep myself from eating everything left in my food-bag), I was feeling lethargic still. I was feeling the miles today… The last 12 miles, the trail wound mostly through a burn-area and half-way through it I finally seemed to find a bit of stride. My feet however hurt badly, so it was still not very enjoyable hiking.
All of us were heading towards the Mike Urich cabin. This log cabin with wood-stove is constructed and maintained by the local snow-mobile club and lets hikers stay there. Around 2000 we finally arrived. It is a cool and rustic structure, and when I walked in, the comfortable warmth of the wood burning stove washed over me. As I was looking around for a place to drop down my pad and air mattress, I heard voices from above: “Flat-Earth!!”. Team Canada was calling me out, already set up, on the first floor of the cabin. I climbed the metal ladder, and found them cozied up, with plenty of space for me to join them. It was a great surprise to find them here, and we spend most of the evening catching up. Tomorrow with some sunlight I’ll snap some photo’s of the cabin. It is warm and very toasty below the roof of the building, and I’m looking forward to a good nights sleep.
I’m glad to be here tonight!
When the world’s on fire
We won’t even move
There is no reason if I’m here with you
And when it’s said and done
I’ll give me to you
That’s some type of love
That’s some type of love
Some type of Love – Charlie Puth.
