August 6

2220-2263

We are in deep forest, with occasional obscured views of the horizon. I see what I think are dark clouds on the horizon, and wonder if we will get rain in the afternoon.

I munch on huckleberries and plod along the trail, before coming to a road crossing with a truck full of hikers. The driver informs us the trail is closed and tells us to jump in the back of the truck, so he can get us out of the area.

On the drive down to the tiny town of Trout Lake, Washington we see an entire ridge ignited and massive clouds of billowing smoke.

Once in town, we hear that the recent light ing storm sparked a rapidly growing fire. Overnight it grew from 4 acres to 1,000 acres. Hikers are advised to stay in place, while the forest service gathers more information. To pass the time I take a shower at the local campground.

I try to not be judgemental, but I think this shower needs a spritz or two of bleach.

As we are waiting, we learn that one final group of hikers will be allowed to proceed, if they can be driven 10 miles up trail to the next road crossing, but we are advised to go fast to get as far away from the fire as possible.. We leap at this opportunity, and pile into a small convoy of trucks that take a group of hikers back to the trail. The roads are technically closed, but the forest service workers allow us through.

We hustle as fast as we can, and enter Goat Rocks Wilderness, one of the most picturesque areas of Washington. Tomorrow we will be walking along one of the crown jewel sections of the trail.

We later learn that the fire again doubled in size and continued to grow. The town of Trout Lake had to be evacuated, and any remaining hikers will need to skip up to white pass, Washington. We are exceedingly lucky to have gotten through when we did.