8/5

My camp tonight is very well placed. It isn't scenic but buried in a dense forest. It wasn't pre-made but instead I had to kick layers of decaying branches off to the side to clear it. It's flat enough and it's located just where I started to get tired. I think that's probably the biggest distinction between thru-hiker camping and most other camping. For me, the thru-hiker, I am not necessarily looking to end at a destination. In the big picture, my destination has been thousands of miles away for most of the trip... So instead I just go as far as I am able or willing. 

Tree cover is very important for a camp site. A lot of people don't give it enough weight in site selection:

The tree cover will protect me from condensation and keep me warm by preventing heat from escaping out into the night sky. Last night, for example, I was under open sky and really remembered why I prefer to be under trees when I woke up and my bag was soaking wet from condensation (which actually occurs because of heat loss from the bag...)

Anyways I am less than 40 miles from Washington and it may take me 3 days to actually cross the border since I am thinking of taking some R&R in Cascade Locks (the border town in Oregon along the Columbia River). 

Some beautiful but more challenging sections ahead! Challenge accepted!

-Luke