Trail Magic, glorious and uplifting -- an offering from those not here -- sweet, calorie-packed salvation. Eliza collapsed on the ground near the cooler on the verge of tears. We pulled out a moist register log and started catching up with the progress of our fellow hikers, meanwhile gorging on Home Run pies and Budweiser. I find the dates and times of passage equally interesting as the short, silly remarks of gratitude which people make. This is the first stocked trail cache we've come across since the Anderson's Oasis at Mile 450 in Southern CA. It is such a welcome source of excitement and comfort right now.
A good day of hiking. Eliza and I have walked a great deal in silence lately, singing to ourselves, humming, thinking silently at a sizeable distance from one another. Early on, this day felt like yesterday -- slow and dragging -- but by late afternoon, we had both picked up the pace and were moving unconsciously, enjoying great views of the surrounding mountains, feeling none of the foot and joint pains, fatigue.
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Tonight will be our last night spent in Washington. It is exciting to have passed over an entire state. It took us just over three weeks, 508 miles. We are tired, though, and so relieved to have a few days off the trail in Portland. I have been looking forward to this visit, literally, since the day we left last September aboard the Amtrak headed east down the Columbia.
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