Day 25

Day 25 - Max Patch to Campsite past Deer Park Mountain Shelter- 17 miles (269 total)

We woke up to grey overcast skies, but the rain had stopped (for now). We broke camp, mike convinced laura to let him re-hang the food/cache our packs so that we could go back up Max Patch for a look in the daytime, and up we went again. Awesome dramatic views from the summit- 360* with rain on some distant ridgelines and beautiful orange sunlit clouds to the NE. The rain finally begain to fall, and we headed back to grap our stuff. We hiked as the rain fell, then stopped, then started again. We really enjoyed the meadows feel of the area north of Max Patch, and the interesting anti-livestock gates throughout the area. We took a break near a road for lunch and to put on our rain paints (finally). Overall, it was a nice rainy day- good hiking weather for two people who got used to light(er) but constant rain in the Pacific NW. We stopped for water at the stream by Deer Park Mountain Shelter, which apparently used to be an old homestead. We were slightly surprised to find so many people stopping there for the night and not doing the last couple of miles to get into town early. We moved on, so that we could get as close to town as we could for the night, before it got dark. Immeadietly past the stream, we found 2 graves- maybe the former homesteaders. Found a nice spot, and called it a night.