Episode 72: Day 179-183

Day 179:

Started at 7:40am and finished the climb I started last night.

Small ups and downs for a while with AMAZING scenery. Everything is so picturesque in this section of trail, and i’m loving it.

Had lunch at reflection pond and during the hour I was sitting there, I saw chipmunks and field mice and marmots scurrying around – its like i’m in a fairytale.

A steep 5 mile descent into a very welcomed flatter section. But its not all fun and games. The thing about this flat section is that it is so muddy! I have been ankle deep several times – shoes are soaked.

After a couple of hours of hiking in wet shoes, my feet were too uncomfortable to continue, so I set up camp. Hope they are dry by the morning.

Still a great day!

20 miles.

Hazy yet beautiful:

The right path:

One of my best days:

Dirt pants:

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Day 180:

Rest day.

Eating, sleeping, and reading.

The book was A Star in the Storm byJoan Hiatt Harlow, and was about a very heroic dog.

Later, I fell asleep to the pitter patter of raindrops.

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Day 181:

Well, since it rained all night, its a cold and wet morning.

Hiked out at 7:45am and was pretty sure I could stay dry since it wasn’t actively raining anymore.

How wrong I was. The bushes surrounding the trail are really overgrown, so it was impossible to squeeze past them without major contact. The second I touch a bush, all the water cascades onto me, and what isn’t absorbed by my clothes drips down into my shoes. This may be worse than actual rain.

Finished the milder miles of the day and crossed a very broken bridge before the first of many climbs. They were all steep and were probably 4 or 5 miles each.

The good news is that its too cold to stop, so i’m making great time. In all seriousness, I’m pretty sure my lunch break was a total of 45 seconds.

But i’m not the only crazy one out hiking- I met a 7 other people today!

My morale was pretty low by the late afternoon, so I called it a day 3.5 miles before I had planned, but I desperately wanted to be dry again.

Not my favorite day on trail, but its over. Tomorrow is a new day.

21 miles today

Enjoying the experience:

A broken bridge is better than no bridge:

Today’s view:

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Day 182:

Happy 27th birthday to me! And I have been given the best present , THE SUN IS SHINING TODAY!

I laid out all my gear and waiting about 30 minutes for it to dry, so I didn’t end up hiking until 8:40am, but it was definitely worth it.

Got to the Suattle River and decided to forgo the 5 miles shortcut on the old PCT because it would have required me to cross a really strong river by myself, and I didn’t feel like that was a good idea. Instead I followed the new PCT down the river for a few miles to a proper bridge which I gladly used.

And then came the berries. Tons of Blueberries which I enjoyed, but Salmonberries were the highlight, since I had never had them before. YUM!

At one point, I ate something that I thought was a blueberry, but it was so bitter I immediately spit it out. There is another berry in town, The Oregon Grape. And while it is edible, it is not very tasty.

Then came the real climb, 8 miles of up until the next campsite. And it was a pretty one.

22 miles today.

Still snow up there:

Salmon Berries!

Massive:

Looks like a good place to camp:

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183:

Today is going to be a good day. My map shows that its mostly downhill to Stehekin and there are tons of water sources along the way.

And I’m quite happy to be heading to town tonight since i’m pretty low on food. All I have left is a cliff bar, peanut butter, tuna and, of course, whatever berries I can find.

Caught the second to last shuttle at High Bridge into town. And while Stehekin is hiker friendly, it didn’t feel like a hiker town since its kinda fancy and I was definitely on the receiving end of some stare downs from the tourists. I guess they didn’t know what to make of a dirt covered backpacker. BUT, I do have to qualify my statement and say that the people who worked there were really sweet!

I set up in one of the free campsites and proceeded to gorge myself on the snacks I bought at the general store.

Went to sleep with a full stomach.

18 miles into town.

Good Morning: