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Thursday, May 21, 2000
8:30
Wow! A lot has happened since my last journaling. The rain has returned and so has the forest. Tonight we are all in our tents hiding from the weather. It's not even dark yet. I'll have to say the last couple of days have been psychological tough for myself and for all it seems. There are only four more days until we reach our destination at North Bend. Tonight we camp near Crystal Springs in between the towns of Easton and Hyak. Today I hiked by myself. I covered a lot of ground quickly. Made it to our destination by 1:00. This gave me time to scout the area for camp. Found a great spot as opposed to last night's hellacious choice. Some of the group slept in a tunnel. They were visited by some creatures and fishermen. It really was the weirdest camp spot I can remember seeing. The night before that we stayed behind a caboose which was converted into a cottage. It was a part of the Iron Horse Inn Bed and Breakfast. It is located in south Cle Elum. This is also where the resupply dropped us off. We were shuttled around, a part of the trail that was "thought to have been closed." Before Cle Elum we stayed at Ellensburg in a hotel room. Ellensburg was a great time. The locals were very kind.
This drastic switch from the desert to mountain wilderness has been refreshing. Snow covered peaks and tall pine trees surround our camp.
I had a great encounter today. About 2 1/2 miles into the trail I saw a bear. It was a huge brown bear. I had noticed that Brandy was tracking the scent of something. When I looked up I saw the bear about 30 yards away. I called Brandy and she obediently came to me. Made some noise and scared the bear away.