More Washington wonders

We are half way up Washington state, just about 900 trail miles into our journey; so a third of the trail, or over two million steps, have seen our footprints impressed into the dust. We are eager for the northern half of Washington, though we are learning that it promises a remote and rugged environment which our NatGeo map describes as “ a torturous path across ridges and high mountain passes, dropping into the valley bottom only to—once again—climb above tree line. “

Resting for a day here in Snoqualmie Pass, WA, we’ve gathered our resupply boxes and are enjoying town food and the local brewery. Many, many other hikers are also here as this town is pretty much right on the trail. This little ski resort town benefits economically in the summer from weary hikers ready to spend money on human comforts to rest and refill hungry bellies. A bout of highly contagious norovirus or something similar has affected many hikers recently, including us last week. After twelve hours of vomiting and diarrhea, it took a few days to feel normal again. Hearing about how many other hikers have suffered as we did engages our empathy.