A couple of days after the heat waves burst, the rain returned. Cold rain. Hand numbing rain. Luckily I was closing in on Steven’s Pass so I was able to continue along cheerfully with the knowledge that by night fall, I would be dry. I was so eager to get into town that I practically ran for the last few miles. It took me about 20 minutes to get a ride down.
There is an Inn in the town of Skykomish but thru-hikers rarely stay there thanks to the hospitality of the Dinsmores. Jerry and Andrea Dinsmore have been taking hikers into their home for years. They let complete strangers use their shower, eat at their table and sleep above their garage. One phone call and a quick ride later brought me to this heaven. Their hospitality was overwhelming. The second I walked into the door, Andrea showed me where I could find a clean set of clothes so that I could put mine in the wash, and then let me take a hot shower. When I came out, warm and dry, she heated up a delicious bowl of chili and toast. I could not eat half of the food she put in front of me. A few hours later Alden, Stilts, Truant and Sweet Fish along with Hearsay had showed up. We stayed up late sitting in the Dinsmore’s armchairs, laughing and listening to the rain beat against the garage roof.
The weather report for the next two days was very disheartening. Jerry Dinsmore told us we d be crazy to hike out now. That was all the encouragement we needed to make the decision to rest there for two more days. We played cards, feasted on barbequed food and cup cakes that Sweet Fish made. Another thru-hiker, Dragon Ant, showed up that afternoon as well. We all went on a road trip into town to see a movie and enjoy dessert at Dairy Queen. Being in a town is like being on vacation for a thru-hiker. Cars, running water, and thermostats seem like incredible luxuries but after two days of rest we still found ourselves itching to get back to the woods.
The following day we were off by 6:30am. It was still raining and we were all a little sad to be leaving the friendly Dinsmores, but the weather report promised an end to the bad weather by 11am. ? We hiked in a cold, wet conga line. At 10:30 Dragon Ant looked at his watch “only a half an hour of rain left” he said. It did not stop raining until 7pm. We covered 30 miles with only one break and camped by an alpine lake. I was too restless for much sleep and ended up setting off the second a hint of light appeared in the east.
Glacier Peak Wilderness is something of a challenge for thru-hikers. A couple of years ago, heavy rains devastated the area. There are miles and miles of blow downs and an enormous washout by Milk Creek. In the past, hikers have taken a re-route, but while we were staying at the Dinsmores, we were informed that following the original PCT was a better bet. It is shorter and the forest service has fixed up all but twenty miles of trail. So, we decided to take the original route without any idea of the adventure that was in store for us.
Dragon Ant, Stilts, Alden and I had plans to pitch our tents at a site about a mile before Milk Creek. What we did not know, was that this area had also been carried away by the washout. You can imagine my surprise when I arrived at the washout around dusk and the trail dropped off the edge of the world. Dragon Ant and I had gotten a bit ahead and hadn’t seen Stilts and Alden since lunch so we made a decision to follow the washout down to the river which we knew the trail would cross. And so we continued down, down, down. Had it not been dusk, we probably would have been able to see that this was a bad idea. The washout became increasingly steep and wet until it was completely impassable. We started bush whacking.
Devils club. I cannot identify many plants, but this one I will not soon forget. Its little thorns tore at us as we fell through the dark. The growth was so thick that it took us forever just to move ten feet. We desperately scraped our way through, taking turns leading. After all light was completely gone and coming to a close call by a precipice, we decided we d have to make camp. Luckily we found a tiny clearing. The ground was not flat but there was just enough space for us to lay our sleeping mats out. “We can make it a bit homier” Dragon Ant said, and we pushed aside a few sticks and pine cones. Neither of us slept very well that night. We were worried about having trouble finding the trail again but we were both very thankful to have company. We tried to make light of the situation. “They ll have to add this new established campsite to the guide book . . . only for the hardy.” Dragon Ant joked. We noticed the stars and did not talk about the predicament we were in.
The sun woke us up early the next morning and we discovered navigation to be much easier in the daylight. We got closer and closer to the river and then stumbled upon a strange sight. Footprints. Not the sort of thing you d expect to see in the middle of nowhere. They led us to a rough trail that went straight to the river and up to an abandoned forest service tent. A few minutes of upstream scrambling finally brought us to the trail. We were so relieved and happy we gave each other triumphant high fives, inadvertently waking up the occupants of two tents we had not spotted. It was Stilts and Alden! Who had had similar misadventures the previous night but had finally made it down to the river just after midnight. We were all very relieved to be re-united.
The rest of the day was a struggle through overgrown trail and over enormous blow downs, some of which were so large, you wouldn’t have been able to see a person standing on the other side. Our Glacier Peak Wilderness experience culminated with the Suattle River Crossing. The bridge over this river had been wiped out two years earlier and the only way to cross the rapid white waters is to balance over a blow down. We all made it alive and were very glad to have the worst behind us.
After such a brutal section of trail we all had the same idea in our heads but Stilts was the first to say it out loud “lets just go. . . you know, all the way to town.” It was dinner time and we still had about 15 miles until the road but all we wanted was to be sitting in Stehekin’s famous bakery, resting our poor bodies and feasting. And so we walked into the night. The trail was nearly all gradual down hill and we flew through the dark. The first hour of night hiking is always the same. Exhilarating. Your senses come alive because you need them. But then the second hour comes and you start to tire and by the third you are more of a machine than a human being. You are too tired to think and your feet automatically take you where you need to go.
We stopped at the last campsite before the road and fell asleep instantly. The next morning the ranger at the station in Stehekin gave us a ride to the bakery where our dreams were fulfilled. Stilts and Dragon Ant had one of nearly everything the bakery was selling and I ate a cinnamon roll as big as my face. It was a great start to a great day.
Many thru-hikers praise Stehekin as their favorite trail town. It can only be reached by foot or ferry and all that you can find there is a lodge, a convenient store, and of course, the bakery. Sweet Fish, Truant, Alden and Hearsay made it to town that afternoon. It was a Sunday so we had to wait to pick up our mail drops from the post office the next day. Stilts and Dragon Ant had disappeared for a little while and when they returned they said “Lost, we have a surprise for you.” And around the corner walked my good friend Gopher, who I had met while hiking the Appalachian Trail last year. I knew that he was hiking the PCT this year but he had started with the herd, a month before me so I was not expecting to see him. It was wonderful to see an old friend. All 8 of us enjoyed dinner together at the lodge that evening. The main topic of conversation was what everyone would be doing after the trail. Butterflies were in our stomachs. There were only 3 days left until we reached Canada.
