At the Longmire Hiker Center, my resupply stop, the ranger allowed me to change my 10th day trek to Indian Bar instead of Summerland. This change shortened my milage from 11 miles to 6.4 miles. Nickel Creek campsite stands at 3350ft elevation. The trail turns north from there and quickly gains elevation at Cowlitz Divide. Indian Bar is at 5100ft and Summerland 5900ft. Having gained and lost elevation for the last nine days, the shorter distance was a welcome gift, considering I still had to climb 1050ft to Indian Bar. Parts of the trail over Cowlitz Divide provided suberb views all around. Fog crept through the valleys to the east. I should have seen this as a sign of a change in the weather approaching. However, the sun still bathed the east face of Mt Rainier (see next page).