Day 32- Metaline falls

Today I woke up next to a gravel road that I had hiked into the night to get to and was not even completely sure it was the right one. But I decided to bet on it and continued down what I hoped was a forest service road that would give me a trail to get to the top of Abercrombie mountain. Luckily after a few miles there was a sign for trail #119 and that was exactly what I was looking for. From here it was going to get tricky. My maps said the creek next to me might be the only water for the next 23 miles until Metaline falls. This could be an issue since I only had three water bottles. So I forced down as much water as I could and filled up my bottles and began the hot uphill climb to the top of the second highest mountain in eastern Washington. I made it to the top around noon, so the true hot weather hadn't set in. As many of the climbs seem to go, I just went right down the other side and dropped all those hard feet of elevation that I had worked for. Eventually I got to a gravel road that would take me to the next road and on through metaline falls, but this is when I noticed the thunderheads rolling in. Within a few minutes of walking it started to sprinkle and then the true lightning started. It was truly amazing. I have walked right through the middle of two different lightning storms on this trip and have been more amazed than anything at the size and power of them. This storm didn't even let up through the entire walk so I decided I would stay in town and through some good story telling and networking if found someone willing to let me stay in their shop on a couch, dry and out of the elements. It was all I could hope for. Tomorrow I should inch closer to Idaho and cross the border in the next couple days. While walking today I saw some turkeys, chickens, grouse, and even a deer crossing the river on the bridge. My feet felt amazing due to my new shoes and my back could get used to a couch compared to sleeping on rocks nightly.