Day 152

Trail Miles: 19.5

Total: 2572.9

I was not made to wake up and pack up quickly. I try to do it when I want to sleep longer, but that was a mistake. Just a warning, if you don’t want to hear another poop story, skip to the next paragraph. I ran out of my tent to dig a cat hole and couldn’t wait to dig first. It was too soft to move into the hole I dug, and I ended up just painting the side of the hill. My best option was to just grab handfuls of moss next to me and pack it on top of the mess I made to hopefully cover the smell at least. Ugh.

My headlamp apparently dies now way quicker than I thought. Since we started hiking at 5:00am, I had to stay close to Krista to see. But then her headlamp went out! So I had to use my phone light. It wasn’t too long though before the sun rose enough to light the path. A quick 7 miles in, there was an easy log crossing across a creek. That was just about the last time I saw everyone because they sprinted the last 12 miles to the bus stop. I, in the other hand, had to stop for water and to sit, but not too long. I got close to the bus stop just past 12:30pm. I looked to my right between some trees and saw them boarding a bus! They were going to leave without me! We agreed on the 2:00pm shuttle. So I started running as fast as I could and just made it on. They didn’t even inreach me to tell me this was an option or I would have hiked faster. 

The bus driver was like a tour guide. First stop was the ranch where we got deli sandwiches for lunch and a smidgen of cell service. Then we stopped at the bakery for cinnamon rolls! Turns out they were overhyped. The blackberry pie with ice cream was better. We will be back tomorrow for coffee and more goodies. Last stop was our destination: Stehekin landing. They have a general store, laundry, showers, campground, and visitor center right next on Lake Chelan. As soon as we got off the bus, it was off to the races to get in line for chores. Brad went off to grab quarters and a laundry pod while the rest of us went to get into the queue for laundry. Once we were in line, Brad, Krista, and I went to the campground to find spots for our tents. They are slanted and in the weeds but I’m happy to be away from the crowds. I grabbed my resupply packages from the post office on the way back and worked on organizing the food while waiting for a shower. The shower was 2 minutes per dollar and I only had 2 dollars in quarters. My plan was to use the first 2 minutes to wash my hair. Once the water turned off, I would wash my body with soap, and use the next 2 minutes to rinse off. It worked out very well!

Even to the very end of the hike, there are disgruntled hikers people who don’t want to wait for showers or unplugging other people electronics to charge there own. I’ve had enough and I can’t wait to only have to fight with my family.

For dinner, I ate a frozen burger that I heated up in the microwave and a coke. The bees were so bad in this area that I kept having to take my coke and run away. That was pretty much the end of my night here. I hope I can figure out a way to do all the things I want tomorrow without having to spend $30 on bus fares.