Sept 19th
Gamma Creek(2546.2)-Stehekin(2574.2)
Today’s Mileage: 28mi
The alarm went off at 4:30pm and we woke to wet tents and slight mist. We had no time to waste because we had a 6pm bus to catch to Stehekin. The problem was that our mistakes yesterday left us with a 28mi hike and a major log crossing. We hiked in complete darkness and the trail was not maintained, so there were a lot of fallen trees to get over, under, or around in the dark. We made it to the Suiattle River crossing just as daylight broke. There was a washout here years ago and other detours and bridges have been constructed to get around it. Unfortunately for me, most true thru hikers still take the original route, which requires a walk(or in my case, butt scoot) over a log. We made it across and I just tried to do it quickly before I had a full meltdown. Have I mentioned I don’t like logs? I was so glad when this was over! Here’s Yankee crossing.
When we got across, there was a sign where that detour from yesterday reunites with the trail. It was a much better sign and we were pissed the same sign wasn’t on the other side where we needed it!
We had to push the rest of the day to make it in time. We had a big climb in the morning and were up in a cloud. When we got to the top, I took this picture. I’m relieved that the iPhone cleared up overnight and that it is no longer fogged over.
Right after I took this picture, I took a minute to do something with my gear and when I looked up, the clouds had cleared and we got an amazing view. We couldn’t believe how perfect our timing was to see it change. So amazing!
We ended up jogging most of the downhills to make sure we got to the bus on time. The views and forest were great!
We ran into Bookworm at lunch as he was finishing and it was good to see he made it on time too. He had enjoyed the detour yesterday. I agree that it’s really pretty, but they need to officially make it the PCT, or hikers won’t take it.
We made it to the bus stop at 5:30pm and met a mother daughter pair, Katie and Shannon, who had just completed a ten day hike where we were. It was practice for them because they hope to hike the PCT in 2013. It was great to talk to them and we invited them to join us for dinner at the lodge.
I immediately liked Stehekin when we got there. The only way in is by bus or ferry and the view there is great!
As a side note, we found out that both Colin and Eggman also took that ridiculous side trail yesterday and lost at least two hours of hiking. Eggman ended up going all the way over the bride and took the detour. It was also funny to hear that Colin also threw a pretty good tantrum like Yankee did yesterday after he too lost two hours of hiking.
I am roomed with Yankee, Bookworm, and Colin. The only connection here is a very weak wifi. It takes forever to even load an email. I’ve found that I’m only able to load my journals after 11pm when no one else is on the system. Tomorrow, we will work out the details of the final leg, but we will finish on the 24th or 25th. We are all worn out and wanting to enjoy the last leg with hopefully shorter days. I’m so tired, I’m wanting to zero tomorrow, but I probably won’t. I’m so tired, it hasn’t hit me yet that this is my last trail town and that I am only 89mi from being done! So crazy!
**I may not get reception again until the day after I finish, so I will post ASAP and will do a SPOT check-in on my map when I get to the monument. I have gotten a ton of supportive emails in this last leg and I’m sorry if I haven’t replied. This connection is so slow that I wasn’t able to do as much as I wanted, but I did get to read the well wishes and I thank you all for your kind words and support! They are really motivating. Canada, here I come!
