After only two doses of antibiotics, I’m feeling better. Cracker Jack, Think Fast, Goose Bumps and I go down to the cafe for breakfast. The coffee here is amazing and the refills come often. I eat and have no problems.

Cracker Jack and I head over to the post office, the deli, and then back to the room to lie in our bunk beds and do computer things. We nap and then V and Cheeseburger arrive. We have two extra beds in our room so they join us. The hiker smell to actual oxygen levels goes haywire.

In the morning, I move the curtain over with the tip of my trekking pole and peek out the window. It’s raining. No one wants to get out of bed. It’s a good thing that the cafe doesn’t open until 10am, at least we have an excuse for a late exit. We keep looking outside hopefully – maybe it will clear up. Probably not.

Cracker Jack, V, and I stop at the sandwich shop for airline bottles of alcohol to celebrate with at the monument. We borrow the shop’s pre-made sign and in no time get a ride from a super high guy. He tells me most of his life story in 20 minutes while the car stonily drifts across the lines and back.

When we arrive at the trailhead, we are greeted by Jim (the thru hiker from the 80’s we camped near on our second night from Snoqualmie). He has a box of perfectly ripe pears. V and I take a couple and then head up the trail.