August 22, 2016

High Bridge Ranger Station (mile 2569.4) to South Fork Camp (mile 2581.3)

Miles: 11.9

Our total miles: 2175

We woke up naturally around 5:30am. It was still dark out so we lit the kerosene lamp (our cabin didn’t have electricity). We talked and snuggled – enjoying the opportunity to get out of bed leisurely.

We each ate our weight at breakfast. We enjoyed fresh blackberries with yogurt and granola, an omelette each, hash browns, sausage and of course bread with butter and jam for Andy. 

We ate and ate until our stomachs, hearts and spirits were full. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our town fund, you helped make this stay possible.

We then packed our bags discussing what we wanted to send home to lighten our load. 

Around 9:45 we boarded the white Stehekin Valley Ranch school bus and headed down to “town.” But first we stopped at Rainbow Falls, the old shool house, an organic garden and of course the bakery. 

We bought 2 day-old pastries and were talked into buying another freshly made pastry. Really it didn’t take much to convince either of us. Laurie has a gluten intolerance but decided to take another gluten holiday. 

She wants to believe that the ingredients are fresh enough to overcome any potential stomach irritation. It may be the power of the mind but so far so good.

The organic farm was amazing too. Karl, the barefoot farmer, is 70 years old. We wandered past tall rows of kale and swiss chard. Both of our mouths watered looking at the fresh veggies. Despite all the temptation we only bought a pear and peach to enjoy with lunch.

We got dropped off at the post office, where we joined the hiker commotion. We were not expecting a line but spent at least 30 minutes waiting to retrieve our boxes. 

We had 5 boxes in all – 2 resupply boxes, our umbrellas and 2 surprise care packages. Thank you Amber, Tommy and Ali for all of the goodies! And thank you Mollie for forwarding our umbrellas.

Given the weather report and recent trends we did not accept our umbrellas and had them shipped back home. We also packed our rain pants, pocket knifes and other extra foods into a flat rate box to mail home. 

We are hoping to carry on our backpacks and wouldn’t be able to do so with knifes. We hope trekking poles, stakes and tent poles will be okay.

It took us at least an hour to sort through our boxes, transfer items from vacuum sealed bags into ziplock bags (since we would no longer have a knife to use to open them) and divy up the bars.

With all the waiting and sorting we missed the 11:30 bus. 

With our later departure we knew it would be harder to make it 15 miles to Fireweed campground, so Laurie walked to the Ranger Station to switch our permit while Andy disassembled the boxes.  

While in line at the Post Office we ran into Paul. We had met him the night we camped at the lake waiting for the boat ferry to VVR. He had promised to hike with us to Mammoth to help us with the river crossings. 

And here we were together in Stehekin at the same time, although he has walked 406.3 miles more than us. 

We chatted, were reassured that we had made the right decision to jump ahead in the Sierras, and rode out together on the 2 pm bus.

We hiked up past Coon Lake and along Bridge Creek. We walked through Bridge Creek Camp and veered off to the right. We hiked through the afternoon, listening to Paul tell stories of his adventure since we last saw one another. 

Around 7:30 we dropped down to South Fork camp. The spur trail wound around eventually bringing us close to Rainbow River. We found a flat spot large enough for 2 tents and settled in.

Laurie gave Paul Swedish Fish and he later gave us a rasberry strudel. Thanks Paul! We talked through our tents and all fell asleep around 9 pm.

Tonight we are grateful for care packages from our friends & blog followers and gentle inclines.

August 21, 2016

Five Mile Camp (mile 2564.3) to High Bridge (mile 2569.4)

Miles: 5.1

Our total miles:2163.1

We both slept hard and well. There is no longer a concern about not sleeping well while backpacking. The trick is to walk so far that when you allow yourself to get horizonal, you fall asleep. 

And our new pads are glorious. They keep us so warm that even Andy, who sleeps much cooler than Laurie, has slept in quilt mode for much of the last week.

We wanted to catch the 9:15 shuttle from High Bridge so, although we both felt like we could have slept forever, we started to move.

We were walking by 6:30. It was mostly downhill to the ranger station and bridge. The sky looked clear and we couldn’t smell any smoke. We were not sure if the fire was put out, the wind had shifted or if we were now far enough north. Whatever the reason it felt good to be breathing fresh air again.

We hiked down through the forest, past small creeks and alongside the roaring South Fork of the Agnes Creek.

The creek formed a large gorge through which it traveled and we walked above. The steep cliffs were a new sight for our eyes, now accustomed to only green foliage and brown dirt.

We got to the Ranger Station and bus stop around 8:30. We recognized Sam but there were at least 10 other unfamiliar faces milling around.

“Where did all of these people come from?” we asked one another.

During the day we see nobody. Lately, it is when we get to camp that we see others, mostly section hikers since some thru hikers camp later than us.

Today, people just kept coming. Many had hiked to Stehekin from Cascade Pass or other starting points to the north. Eventually there were over 30 hikers waiting for the shuttle. Some in their early teens and others in their 60s. 

As the bus pulled up familiar faces departed – all smiling – including Lux, Nemo, and Rob and Christa! We were so bummed we never got to hike with Rob and Christa. It was nice to finally meet them in person but we were both overwhelmed and distracted that we didn’t know what to say. 

We and 30 others piled into the bus and headed down the bumpy dirt road to the bakery.  

We got a salad, sticky bun, cinnamon roll and muffin. We demolished the last three within 30 minutes. Laurie decided to make today a gluten holiday – there was just too much sugary goodness to pass up. But the salad was a huge dissappintment. It was small and very expensive ($10 for a large that wasn’t very big).

Stehekin is a small tourist town. It is accessible only by plane, boat or foot. It is quaint, beautiful and would have been a wonderful place to take a zero but we were on a time line.

We wandered around the boat dock, got a permit to camp within North Cascade National Park and explored the hiker box while waiting for the Stehekin Valley Ranch white school bus to make its way to the boat dock.

Laurie had stayed at the ranch with her mom in the past and we hoped they would have availability. They offer fancy and rustic cabins and 3 meals/day.

We were in luck and got a cute rustic cabin for the night!

The Stehekin Valley Ranch is nestled up the valley away from the activity of the lodge and boat dock. We ate meals staring out at sunflowers and open fields. 

We arrived just in time for lunch. “Showers and laundry can wait. Let’s eat!”

Andy had a cheeseburger, a grilled cheese sandwich, meat and veggie soup and two chocolate chip cookies while Laurie ate two cheeseburgers, two bags of chips and an apple.

The burgers were delicious! 

Satiated, we happily left the dining hall to grab our dirty clothes for laundry. 

“I’ve never been this filthy walking into town.” remarked Andy when looking at his clothes. And since we had been sweating profusely everyday since Snoqualmie Pass his clothes were stiff from all the salt deposits. 

Once clean, we went back to the room where Laurie enjoyed an epic nap.

An hour after lunch we were hungry again but dinner wasn’t until 5:30, so we distracted ourselves with our to do lists. We edited blog posts, walked around and tried to get online. 

The Internet was very slow so we gave up on trying to do anything more than reach out to family and let them know we were ok. 

At 6 o’clock the dinner bell rang. We made our way back to the dining hall for an all you can eat roast chicken dinner. 

We inhaled mashed potatoes, salad, chicken, carrots and swiss chard, and garlic bread.

One plate was enough for both of us to be content. “I haven’t had swiss chard in 4 months” Laurie said excitedly as she savored the green leaves. 

Overall the food was ok, but most disappointing was dessert. Laurie’s been looking forward to pie for days. And when she was here a few years ago she remembers having all you can eat dessert. Now, we were only allowed one piece of either cake or pie. 

When Laurie went up for a second piece of pie and was rejected, she felt disappointed and ashamed. We had chosen to not buy pie from the bakery anticipating we’d get pie for dessert and unfortunately Laurie was let down. 

We sat in the dining hall, savoring what was left of Andy’s slice of blueberry pie. The ladies next to us started chattin with Laurie, asking if she was hiking the PCT.

We chatted for about 20 minutes and eventually the conversion turned to food. Laurie stated her disappointment with just one piece of pie, and Polly, who had passed on dessert said, “what would you like? I haven’t had a slice yet.”

With glee, Laurie took Polly up on her offer. She was once again happy and excited. After enjoying a piece of sour cream pear pie we left the dining hall, retrieved our charging phones from the men’s showers and went to bed. 

It was 8:45pm and Laurie was starting to write. Andy encouraged her to put her phone down and go to bed early. At 9:15 Andy blew out the kerosene lantern and we went to bed. 

Tonight we are grateful for available cabins and kind, giving strangers.

August 20, 2016

Miners Creek (mile 2541.9) to Five Mile Camp (mile 2564.3)

Miles: 22.4

Our total miles: 2158

We slept like rocks. The sound of the creek muffled all noise around us.

We headed out of camp with Ed around 7 am. The trail very gently climbed up towards Suiattle Pass. We talked as we walked – Ed asking us questions about our experiences on the trail and us asking him questions about his life. It is amazing how fast the miles go when caught up in good conversation.

We stopped to dig a hole and Ed continued on. The trail meandered past multiple clear and cold streams. The twists and turns of the trail felt so gentle that although we were climbing it felt like we were walking on flat ground. 

It feels great walking on gently graded switchbacks! We are aware we’ve mentioned this numerous times but it really is that nice.

We were pleasantly suprised that the air was less smoky this morning. There was still a haze which lessened the dramatic views but at least our throats and noses didn’t burn.

We caught glimpses of Glacier Peak and tried to make out other peaks and glaciers through the haze. 

We stopped to pick blueberries and attempted to fill a Talenti for dessert but the sun was too intense. With no breeze it felt like we were standing directly under a heat lamp. After 10 minutes and 1/5 of a Talenti worth, we were walking again.

From the top of Suiattle Pass we descended into a basin. We washed our faces in a creek and took a short break in the shade, staring out at a wall of rock. 

We switchbacked down, out of the boulder fields and back into the trees.

Here we discovered super ripe and sweet huckleberries and thimbleberries.

We were both immersed in the bushes when Sam, an Aussie thru hiker, joined the picking party. We talked and picked and hiked until we found another good patch of either berry.

We had heard of Sam from Nemo and thought he was ahead of us. Upon meeting, Andy recognized him from the desert. We had started around the same time and had chatted briefly around mile 85. Neither Laurie nor Sam had any recollection of this but it didn’t matter. It was nice to see him..again.

We descended through overgrown bushes, trying not to trip over rocks or roots that lay underneath. 

We crossed the South Fork of the Agnes Creek by walking on a huge fallen tree. There was a large river bed but only one third contained running water. The fallen tree spanned the entire river bed. 

Laurie took a quick dip in the river to revitalize herself. She does not do well in the heat. She feels sluggish, her feet swell and she gets grumpy. Cheese, candy and cold water help bring the smile back to her face.

Once her internal temperature had dropped to a comfortable level, we continued on, walking through the forest. Despite being in the shade, it was hot. Near creeks we enjoyed brief reprieves.

“I am tired.” reported Laurie. She was tired of being hot, sticky, dirty and stinky. We had walked more miles per day in this section than the majority of other sections. And with not enough sleep she could feel her body starting to rebel.

“We are almost there, you can do this” reassured Andy. “And tomorrow you can have pie!”

This brought a smile to Laurie’s face. “Yum pie, I can do anything for pie!”

With 3 miles until camp we stopped for ‘happy hour.’ We soaked our feet in cold creek water and shared our last chunk of cheese. 

Laurie was hungry today. Apparently she had donated too much of her food to the hiker box at Stevens Pass. 

Tomorrow we will be going into town with only bars (2 for Laurie and 4 for Andy). It feels good to know that we are not carrying excess weight but it is uncomfotable being hungry most of the day.

We got to camp around 6:45. Many people we have never seen were already there. We found a flat spot and set up the tent before going down to the creek to rinse off and get water for dinner.

The water in this creek was cold. So much in fact that it hurt to stand in it for more than 30 seconds.

We returned to our tent, Laurie lay down inside while Andy made dinner. The ground was warm from the sun and to Laurie it felt like she was lying on a heating pad.

Eventually the air cooled and we were able to fall asleep.

Tonight we are grateful for sweet thimbleberries and trees to cross rivers.