July 8th

For those of you concerned about the possibility of global drying, you can rest easy. The rain returned with a vengeance yesterday and has not stopped since.

Today, Jack and I got an early start to the day hitting most if the sites in the Nemo Loop (16 miles of winding dirt road) before nine. We finished the day at the Upper Salamander site and headed back to camp. I had suggested a hike down to the Turn Island site (three backcountry camping pads constructed of yellow cedar about two miles from the road) but Jack suggested that we wait for better weather. I agreed.

The truck was running low on fuel so after finishing our rounds, we headed in to town for supplies and to check in at the ranger office.

Jack and I spent an hour or so at the library before going to the pool for a swim/run. I love to run in poor weather and it's been the first chance I've had to to run in heavy rain since arriving in Wrangell. This was the day!

After we cleaned up at the pool, we adjourned to camp, had dinner, and crashed early. On the way back to camp, the sun made a brief appearance, bursting through a small opening in the clouds. The beam of light shining through the clouds created an incredible sunset.