Thursday, 26 July 2018
Steven’s Pass (188.4) – Tentsite (192): 3.6 miles / 221.9 total miles walked
After another night in the bunkhouse, I had some baguette and cream cheese for breakfast before figuring out my food for the next section of hiking. The upcoming 75 miles between Steven’s and Snoqualmie Pass are the hardest section on the entire PCT, in terms of elevation gain and loss, with almost 30000ft of climbing and descending.
I don’t want to run out of food again, but also don’t want to carry too much weight….so it’s always a bit of a game. Maybe by the time Oregon comes around I’ll have figured it out. 😂
At around 10am we all piled into Jerry’s truck, with Relish behind the wheel, to have breakfast in Skykomish. There was an amazing old truck in front of the Cascadia Diner, basically this whole town looks like a replica of an old frontier town.
After saying goodbye to Jerry, Deerbait, Fuad, Elsa and Flicker, Relish took us to the post office, where I was able to send home about a pound of weight (including my microspikes).
We then hung out in front of the closed library, internetting till we couldn’t internet no more. I managed to take care of a few phone calls andit was nice talking to people at home. Then all of a sudden someone starts talking to me in German….turns out it’s a woman originally from Würzburg, who has lived in Skykomish for the last 25 years. Quite the character.
At about 3:30 pm Bill and Relish showed up and we got a ride back up to the Pass, where we lounged around until 5:30, waiting out the heat.
I managed to see Stephanie (the receptionist) again and tell her thanks for her husband’s kindness yesterday (our amazing driver angel).
Walking back into the wilderness and away from another point of civilization is always strange. Your bag is heavy with food, your steps are sluggish and everything seems to take forever.
We did make good time though and got to our campsite at around 7:30. And then all hell broke loose. The mosquitos here are the worst I have ever experienced. You’re constantly surrounded by at least 5 of the bloodthirsty monsters and they drive me crazy.
For dinner I hid in Sink’s tent, before putting on my rain coat and head net and trying to get some sleep. Even with earplugs I could hear the incessant whining around my head. Not pleasant.
Hopefully the bugs won’t be this bad for long.
Keeping you posted…