14.8 miles of downhill towards Stehekin, what a breeze! Got a little rain too, falsely making me think the famous Washington rains had started. A woman told me there was an alternate to get to the border now too, which turned out to be very false as it was a shitty roadwalk with a hike along an unmanaged trail that didn’t even go all the way to the border.
Getting to the bus stop to Stehekin, a remote town only accessible by shuttle bus or ferry, I saw Princess and Pebbles getting out of the bus. They were getting ready to hike the last 19 miles to Rainy Pass and get off there. I also found out they are not a couple. Very shocking after having thought the opposite for 2000 miles.
The bus made a stop at the Stehekin bakery, the only food place in town. Hikers had been gushing about this place for weeks now, especially the cinnamon buns. Half and Half discovered they gave away the day old stuff at a steep discount, which we both happily made use of. To no one’s surprise, the food was just good, nothing extraordinary. Still more than welcome after all the shitty food I ate in the last 5 days.
In Stehekin itself the porch of the general store was, by virtue of being the only store in the town, the default hangout spot for all thru hikers. Perched right next to the lake it made for a fine position for spotting hikers coming in and out of town with the shuttle . And it provided easy access to the snacks from the general store, that too.
I did some calculations and determined that even with us skipping the fire closures, we hiked just over 4000km. Pretty darn good if you ask me. I saw Solemate right before she got on the shuttle back to trail. She was going all the way to Hart’s Pass and getting off there. No heartfelt goodbye with her just yet, as we were planning to meet up in Seattle.
All I could do today was dream of more trails. I want this again. I want to come back a’d finish the miles on the PCT and then hit another one. This is too good not to do.
We loaded up on drinks and snacks in the general store and sat outside the general store for a long time with Indi and Hedwig.
Solemate <3