16 September, Wednesday

A busy day! We have several stops to make for groceries this morning,
then off to REI. I tell the customer service rep at the desk about
the broken headlamp. She tries it as well… no light. I am
instructed to go find a replacement and bring it back to the desk.
This I do. Now a young man is helping me. He picks up the
non-functioning light and tries to “unlock it” by depressing the
button for 6 seconds. Nothing happens. He picks up the replacement
light still in its package and begins slicing it open so we can make
sure it, too, is not defective. Just as he is slicing the plastic, S
glances at the non-functioning light and says, “Wait a minute!”
He picks it up, presses the buttons and, lo and behold, there is
light!  He had not seen what  kind of light I had picked out until
that moment. He has the same head lamp. One must tap the on-button
quickly, three times in succession, and then hold it down for several
seconds to unlock it. The defective lamp works fine. It was, for
reasons unknown, shipped locked.

Problem solved, it’s time to head back to the apartment to work out our
backpacking route in the Olympics while S heads off to work. The four
of us had been concerned that our original choice of route was too
demanding. The first day would have been 14 miles long with very full
packs. We finally settle on a more doable hike up the Duckabush River
to Marmot Lake. The first day on this trip will be only 10 miles.
There is a fair amount of elevation gain, but we are confident we can
do this hike.

O and I head off for haircuts at the purple sign with the scissors. We are pleased with the results. Then we return for a wonderful dinner of wild-caught salmon and
accompaniments at the apartment. It’s been pleasant and relaxing to stay in a place with hot and cold running water for the day, and especially to have a real kitchen in which to prepare food.