Day 9, August 20

Day 9, Saturday, August 20, from High Bridge Ranger Station  North Cascades Nat'l Park (& shuttle to Stehekin) at pct mile 2569.42, elev. 1619 ft. to Hideaway campsite at pct mile  2582.81, elevation 3512 ft. Walked 13.39 miles- total up/down: +3549/-1647ft.

Dear Trail Friends,

I took the first shuttle to the trailhead (leaves Stehekin 8:15, arrives trailhead 9:15). Since I usually start hiking around 5:45 and take my first break around 9:30, this was a late start. I missed being able to hike 7 miles before the heat of the day hit. I found the walk exhausting, but ended up going past the turnoff to the campground where I made my reservation. Fortunately a generous camper allowed me to pitch my tent near her reserved space. She also welcomed three PCT thru-hikers, a young woman from Ireland and young men from Austria and Sweden.  They had hiked northbound to Truckee CA then flipped to Rainy Pass to hike south. They joked about it being an American thing to need to go from A to B, to do a thru hike in the proper order without bouncing around. The woman from Ireland said they walked through the Sierra without much snow, and now they were walking through Washington without much snow and she was happy. They started May 19 - and skipped most of the Mojave where the temperatures were 115 or so. 

The Austrian man helped me hang my food bag / and it's a good thing. After five attempts I was no closer to throwing the stone (tied to my cord) over the branch I meant to hang my bag from. I suspect I could have thrown that stone all night with no progress. And my shoulder was not happy about being asked to perform this new chore. (I forgot to mention that hanging food bags, like reserving a campsite, was a rule in North Cascades National Park. I like to obey the rules when I can. )

But I'm getting ahead of myself. When I rode the shuttle this morning, Chuckles Rocketship was on it too so we got someone to take our photo as we were about to start hiking (photo 1). 

 

And that is pretty much it for today. No more photos. A couple of "lost and found" stories though. On the shuttle (before it left) I was chatting about gear with a woman, and she mentioned gaiters and I looked down at my shoes and mine were not there. So I asked Ronnie, the sweet shuttle bus driver with the Texas drawl, if the bus could wait while I ran back to my room. I borrowed back the key, ran up, and there were my gaiters where I had hung them in the window to dry (after rinsing them out).

Then in mid-day I reached into my pocket for electrolytes and they weren't there. It made no sense. I had taken some two hours before. I checked all pockets and found them nowhere. I began to imagine playing beggar again, asking for "spare electrolytes" and decided I'd wait til I used up the 3 days worth I still had in my food bag. Then later in the day when I was getting water and refilling my bottles I discovered the missing electrolytes in the bottom of the "pocket" that I keep my water bottle in. Weird. How did they get there?

Anyway. I am tired. Let's head for bed. Sweet dreams and I hope to see you on the trail tomorrow.