It was very warm again this morning – no need for jackets.  We woke up to the hum of bees and other swarms of insects.  These little bee-like flies would not leave us alone.  I’m not sure if they’re attracted to our salty sweat stains or what.  The trail was much easier today than yesterday, with no real hills to speak of.  We passed a number of small lakes hidden in the forest – including Junction Lake, where we had intended to stay yesterday. It looked scummy and stagnant.  Blue Lake was a much better source and we were glad we’d stopped short.  I got stung again in the leg while just hiking along and minding my own business.  It didn’t hurt for as long as the last one, but it itched like the world’s worst mosquito bite.  I can’t wait for the weather to turn cooler and (hopefully) put the bees to bed for the winter.  We hiked through the forest, checking out all the mushrooms that had reappeared. So many varieties!  We seemed to pass a new one every few minutes.  We even got to chat briefly with a knowledgeable day hiker who was out photographing them. On one ridge we got another peek at Mt. Adams – closer than ever before.  We will hike its slopes tomorrow. We stopped for lunch at Mosquito Creek, which had no mosquitos but a million bees and bee-flies droning around.  The afternoon should have been a piece of cake but was made more difficult by my mystery sting.  My calf swelled up like a balloon and ached.  It was painful to move my ankle.  Even with the minor ups and downs I was hiking slowly.  Eventually we made it to the road into Trout Lake, which we will skip in favor of pushing on to White Pass.  A local Zen Buddhist temple had left their blessings and some trail magic here next to a shrine for travelers. The creek right next to the road was crowded with tents so we hiked on another half-mile to a nearby trailhead.  Tomorrow the scenery ought to start getting more interesting…