Fishtails

During this section we will have a total elevation gain of 27,996' We will descend 23,810'!! This just covers the area from Cascade Locks to White Pass, about 145 miles. Washington is definitely more challenging than Oregon.
We saw a new creature on the trail



Slugs -- ughhh

But the scenery was beautiful with more mountains in view.



We could still see Mt Hood - looking so majestic in the distance.
At lunch we stopped at a stream and Steve scouted out for fish (as usual). This time he had good news- he saw several fish and conditions were perfect to finally try out my Tenkara Rod.



Success!! My first fish with my new rod
We would have starved eating this one so we threw it back and settled on our own usual grub. The thimble berries were in bloom so we munched on these throughout the afternoon and enjoyed the perfect weather and more views of surrounding mountains:






Mt Saint Helen



We could see Mt Jefferson and Mt Adams too.
Then we descended down a thousand feet and were surprised and delighted to find trail magic from Windbreaker and Turbo - gatorade and snacks- wow!

Camping sites were few and far between as we reached our last water source for the day so we climbed a steep incline and carved out a small flat spot for our tent just before dark. We made our usual Quesadillas, then I surprised Gone Fishing with an old favorite of mine-- banana boats. These are fresh bananas stuffed with a chocolate bar and topped with marshmallows then wrapped in aluminum foil and roasted on the fire. I added a handful of blackberries to each one and what a treat they were. (I was also very happy to be rid of the weight of the bananas). What a great start to Washington.
Heart