Red foliage and Chanterelles.

The bears know when its time. So do the mountain lions, the squirrels and the snakes. They sense when the snows are coming and they prepare for the winter. I can see the obvious signs like the leaves displaying reds, oranges and yellows and when the wind catches the trees we walk through thousands of them cascade down, floating from side to side like a mother cradling her baby. The mornings are colder, frost clinging to our tents as we watch a cloud of warm mist rise up as we exhale. Gaggles of Geese fly over us calling out, almost warning us of what to expect.

However, the feeling of Autumn encroaching and the signals run deeper to something that is hard to explain. Its more than just visual signals, as mesmerising as they are. This is my favourite time of year, the temperature is perfect for hiking, the sunsets magical and sitting in camp with a blazing fire is comforting. Something in my body makes me aware that Summer has ended, it's more than the smell of musty leaves, goes deeper than the mist banks swirling around me with beams of sunlight splicing through.

Pockets and I have been joined by Uncle Gary. Hailing from Petaluma, north of San Fransisco, he sports an impressive beard. 26 years old and studying outdoor education and research, he is an interesting guy to walk with. A powerful hiker with thighs like tree trunks, he walks a good, but not quick pace and reels of a series of jokes. Many times he has stopped to study fungi poking through the soil and we have feasted on the forests bountiful supply. His knowledge in this area is impressive and has supplemented my meagre memory banks of edible shrooms. Our food stocks have been well supplemented by the likes of Cauliflower Fungus, Boletes, Chanterelles and White Matsutake. Throw in some leftover bacon, fresh garlic and possibly some 'past its best parsley' and the finest restaurants would struggle to come up with anything that tastes this good.

Washington is proving great walking. Heavily forested, we meander through pine trees towering above us so high that we struggle to see the tops. The trail has been dampened with occasional rain which cushions our steps and has put a stop to the clouds of dust we normally kick up. Occasionally we glimpse valleys below us, lakes peek through the gaps and peaks such as Mt Adams and Mt Hood tower impressively above us, capped with fresh snow. Tough going after our brief Oregon entree, this state is back to the dips and crests we had become used to in California. Climbs of 3000 feet plus and 4 hour ascents make our thighs and calves scream. This 500 odd mile section will see us reach the Canadian border and trek a further 12 miles to the official finishing point in Manning Park before Pockets and I return to Cascade Locks on the Washington / Oregon border to walk south to our finish at Crater lake where we skipped up a few days ago. Having stopped a few miles short of Crater Lake, we never saw the magnificence that so many PCT's had been raving about. It should prove an amazing finale.