Saturday September 7, 24.3mi/39.1km

Twenty-one Mile Camp (1132.3/2208ft) to Bogachiel State Park (1156.6/240ft) (WA)

I said good morning to Semi-Sweet and Kate, as they rolled out of camp at 6:30am. I was on their heels, leaving at 6:45am. We all started early, as we heard this section of trail was very overgrown and to expect slow progress. It started off OK, just a little bit overgrown.

I made it three miles, and then the trail practically disappeared. I also caught Kate & Semi-Sweet, and we all waded thru the neck-high plants. Car wash time!

After a couple hours of that “hiking”, I stopped for a break at an old shelter to have a snack and to assess my scrapes and bruises. Even the shelter was overgrown!

We followed the Bogachiel River all day, as it slowly descended and made its way to the sea.

After lunch, the trail did become much better, almost as good as most trails in the National Park.

Occasionally, there would be a small stream crossing, with a log bridge for hikers, and a stream ford for horses. The drawings on this sign were a reason to smile.

Eventually, at 4pm I emerged from the forest, and took a short break at the trailhead parking area. It’s a rainforest!

I finished the day on a 5mi/8km roadwalk to a state park campground. I enjoyed the nice, easy, uncomplicated finish to the day. I arrived at 6pm, and there were still sites available, sweet!

I setup camp, ordered pizza delivery from a place in the nearby town of Forks, and then had a nice hot shower. After a week in the woods, a shower feels magical. I returned to my campsite, and Kate and Semi-Sweet had arrived, yay! And my pizza arrived 10 minutes after that, yum.

The weather forecast is for light rain/mist for the next three days. Yuck. But I only have 60 miles to the finish, time for the final push!