Day 9

6:10 am, Ebony bounces up and rushes out the door. No doubt grandpa's up and ready to take her for a morning walk. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and go downstairs to get my pack situated. Before dropping me off where I'd left off the previous day, granddad ensures that my stomach is full. I have breakfast with him and a couple of his friends--incidentally, they were going fishing that morning--and then we part ways. Winding down the evergreen highway, I meet several friendly people. One woman is concerned that I'm all alone and that I don't have any weapons. Another couple applauds the trip and adds, 'We have family in Lewiston.' Funny, seems like every other person I meet has roots in, or ties to Lewiston.

Anyway, after 17 miles (actually 18 since I had to take a detour at 164th to use a toilet) I've just passed Washougal. The wild life refuge is closed as a result of the government shut down, so I'm forced to make camp for the night under a Hw 14 bridge, and 10 metres in front of me are the train tracks. This seems like a great idea at the time, but nearly 10 heart attacks later, at dawn, I vow never to sleep quite so close to the tracks again.