Pacific Crest Trail : Stehekin to Manning Park

Miles this section : 81
Miles completed : 2650

Many fish in the Stehekin.

Stehekin isn't actually on the trail, indeed it is fully eleven miles away along a little used road, which actually has a regular bus service, I guess intended for the use of tourists arriving in town via the passenger ferry, and as you'd expect popular with hikers.  But I have got this far on my own two feet, I'm not going to get into a vehicle now, so eleven miles of walking it is.  In fact I rather enjoy the road walk, even with the resurfacing work that is going on...  It runs through a deep gorge alongside the fish filled Stehekin River, the riverside makes a nice place to stop for lunch, and I guess those fish are attracting predators, as while I'm eating a Bald Eagle flies directly overhead!

Some fine walking in this last section.

I get back onto the trail, thankfully the weather has turned dry again, quite sunny in fact, which isn't without potential issues - I nearly step on a rattlesnake sunning itself on the path at one point, did not expect them so far north.  I reach the campsite that the rangers gave me a permit for, this is in a national park, hence all the regulations I guess.  They really didn't want to give me a permit for this site, no idea why as it is empty, at least until some more hikers join me - they have a permit for a different site, but somehow the world does not end.  I look at the wire from which I'm supposed to hang my food, I think if I spent ages removing all the guy ropes from my tent, tying them together etc. I might produce something that would maybe result in a hungry and frustrated bear lurking around the campsite.  I don't bother, but of course now I worry about rangers for much of the night.

Well, in the event I am troubled by neither rangers nor bears, but after a less than great night's sleep I have a long climb to do, up to seven thousand feet, although it's an easy enough grade so I make steady progress.  There are some last mountain passes to go through, with proper wilderness names such as Cutthroat, Granite and Glacier, they are most scenic, kind of cold camping up among them mind you - I imagine it is getting cold for the wildlife too, as at one point as I'm getting to sleep I hear some sort of critter running around between my tent inner and flysheet.

A brief escape from the clouds on the last day.

Some excitement to liven up the last few miles, a couple of hikers just ahead of me have found a gun on trail!  It's loaded with birdshot, though there are other types of ammo, plus the owner's bag and phone nearby - they carry it off to the nearest road hoping to find somebody to give it to.  I'm into the last fifty miles now, walking under blue skies to Harts Pass, where the trail crosses the last road before Canada - I did plan to camp here, but there is no water and they want eight dollars!  And yes, there is some kind of ranger / guard present to enforce this, and presumably keep a watch out for invading Canadians.

Woohoo!

One last day or so and I reach the end of the trail, something of an anticlimax of course, the country on the other side of the border looks much the same, though there is a strip of cut forest running off up the hills to either side, and a couple of monuments.  I'd hoped for a moment of quiet contemplation here, but of course there is a steady stream of hikers turning up, and enjoying celebratory drinks or indeed other substances.  Well, still another nine miles to go until I can rest, but it doesn't take long, and on reaching the road the small resort of Manning Park has all I need - yes, there is burger, beer, and somewhere to sit while I wait for the (2am!) bus to Vancouver.  Oh thank goodness, it is over at last.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Pacific Crest Trail : Indian Pass to Stehekin

Miles this section : 74
Miles completed : 2569

A cold morning after a snowy night, by Mica Lake.

Indian Pass isn't any kind of rest or resupply stop, just a random gap in the hills, but it seemed like a good place to end the last entry - obviously, not the smartest place to camp though.  Believe it or not, I am now not in a particularly good mood, really not feeling the whole trail thing, but still there are one hundred and eighty miles to go, I had best get on with it, not least while walking to Canada may be hard work, it is considerably simpler than trying to figure out an alternative in this misbegotten country with its near-total lack of public transport.

Not the best weather, though a rainbow is some consolation.

Of course, now I've been penalised for potentially starting a wildfire in this 'tinder dry' country, it is raining, a grey drizzle that matches my mood pretty well.  This turns to snow higher up, not too heavy and indeed it doesn't get me wet the way the rain does, but I guess it keeps going all night, given that I wake up to find my tent covered by snow.  It makes for a cold early morning walk, but oddly this cheers me up a bit - maybe it's a reminder of cold, damp walking back home, or maybe is because I can cope with this, whereas others are clearly struggling.

It rains on and off for days, each day my kit gets a little damper from the water I unavoidably bring into the tent, and it becomes harder and harder to stay warm at night.  There is at least dramatic mountain scenery to enjoy, and the pine forests are pretty too with the snow decorating the trees. The trail grows muddy beneath my feet, but there's not enough snow to obscure it - yet...

The beautiful Stehekin Valley.

Well, I make it to the small tourist town of Stehekin, a charming place by Lake Chelan, indeed only accessible by a ferry over the lake, or of course by walking.  Time for my last zero day, it's nice that there is free camping, although I find it hard to be patient with the necessary form filling (one for each day!) and the patronising rangers - I need a permit for my planned campsite a few miles along the trail too, this comes with instructions as to how I absolutely must camp in the right place, and also hang my food from a tree because of bears.  Apart from camping, everything here is pretty expensive, but I do manage to get some beer, a burger and some impressive pastries.  My last package is here, I sent this one using the 'retail ground' option which was at least slightly cheaper than 'priority mail', that may have been a mistake as it seems to have been used as football, my cookies are in bits and there is couscous everywhere... ah well, the hiker box comes to the rescue.

Looking across Lake Chelan from Stehekin Landing.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Pacific Crest Trail : Snoqualmie Pass to Indian Pass

Miles this section : 104
Miles completed : 2495

Dramatic Washington.

There's a long section coming up now, I leave Snoqualmie Pass after lunch, with the aim of doing fifteen miles before camping, after that I'm looking at seven full days, averaging twenty-five miles per day.  It's immediately clear that this is going to be hard, the trail consists of one gruelling slope after another, though it is worth it to walk through stunning surroundings, with views of peaceful lakes and steep sided mountains, and slopes covered by heather and bracken between the pines.  But it is slow going, I just about keep to the plan, but on each of the first two nights out I don't reach camp until around 8pm - which well after sunset now, there's just about enough light to put up the tent.

Spectacle Lake.

I decide to take an extra day getting to the next resupply stop, there's no sense spoiling this beautiful section rushing it and I am not really pressed for time - I guess at some point the weather is going to turn, but even if it does, one more day of cold and damp won't be the end of the world.  This does mean I need a little bit more food, but that's OK, next day the trail goes through Stevens Pass, yet another small ski resort - I certainly wouldn't be able to resupply here, but I get a decent lunch from their snack bar, that and some candy, plus hiker box pickings is good for one day of food.  They also have wifi, just about, I check my email, and wonder of wonders I have my Canada permit.  A good thing too, latest news is that the road I'd have needed hitch along towards Seattle, as an alternative to walking into Canada, is shut due to fire.

Heading up to a high pass.

The going seems easier after Stevens pass, and it is nice to no longer have such long miles to do, I can take decent breaks, and if I want to stop for ten minutes to pick some huckleberries there is nothing to stop me.  It is still pretty smoky, I can see the nearby peaks but the view is hazy, but I must be getting away from the fires now surely - it is certainly getting quite cold, skies are cloudy, but still the rain holds off.  I'm not doing nearly such long days now, in fact on the second day after Stevens Pass I make camp at 6:30pm, time to make fire of my own - this turns out to be a bad idea, a fat guy in sandals turns up and says there is a state wide fire ban, well OK, I will put it out - he then says he is going to give me a ticket and I realise he is a ranger, the ticket is for $230!  Really not what I need with the budget already stretched, well, screw him, screw the US forest service, and indeed screw this dystopian country.  For sure, I've had a lot of good times here, but there are also plenty of things I am now heartily sick of - the often dubious food, the towns built for cars rather than people, and most of all the way I just can't get away from people in uniforms telling me what to do, even out here in the supposed wilderness.  Land of the free my ass, as they say here.

Stevens Pass ski resort.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Pacific Crest Trail : White Pass to Snoqualmie Pass

Miles this section : 99
Miles completed : 2391

Leaving the trail at the Highway 410 crossing.

White Pass is little more than a gas station, there is a small ski resort, but only the hotel is open - I do need a rest though, I ask about a room, they want $120... OK, I plan to camp nearby in the woods, but then my trail buddy Paul turns up, he has booked a room, he needs the comfort as he has broken two bones in his foot!  He says I can have a bunk bed in his room, I have no cash to give him but I buy him some beer and pay his box holding fee which seems fair - the bunk is pretty small, nice to have a bed though.  My Walmart stuff is here, this is good, there is a lot of food which should get me to the next stop, and indeed cookies for now - of course I also find time to drink plenty of beer, and the gas station market provides surprisingly good pizza, although I guess I am no longer starving as I don't manage to eat it all!  Well, only fair to give Paul a slice or two.  The hotel has a warm pool, this is a pleasant touch, must be nice after a day of skiing - one day I must come to US and ski...

I spend the morning working out a detour around this latest fire closure, it looks OK, mainly on trails.  Then after a 'hot pocket' for lunch I head off, thirty miles of trail are open at least, I walk thirteen or so, the route is flat and easy, and it's not too smoky at ground level, though sun is red throughout the afternoon.  It rises red the next morning too, visibility is perhaps half a mile, I walk along in a little bubble of landscape surrounded by grey.  I reach the trail closure, at the Highway 410 crossing point, the road is shut too but there's no problem with walking it for three miles west to a junction, where I meet some friendly security guys, they give me gatorade and cookies, and say I can walk north, and should be OK to camp by the road.  Then a ranger drives up, he is not so friendly, I ask about trail alternatives to the road - my map shows a trail parallel to the highway, just the other side of a river, it has to be better walking - he tersely says 'all trails are closed'.

The appropriately named White River, at its confluence with the Greenwater.

OK, I walk four miles or so on the road, it's getting late so when I reach a trailhead I'm thinking that while the trail is of course closed, maybe there'll be a place to camp?  I don't see a flat spot, although sat by a tree there is a full can of... sparkling water.  That is so disappointing that I leave it sat there, then find a decent camp spot on the other side of the road - but that can is nagging me, I hate to leave stuff, and anything I can drink without having to filter is good.  So I go back for it, then that ranger turns up... he tells me there is no camping here, I have to walk to the Rainier National Park boundary, some four miles away!  I am not happy, I up my pace to pretty much top speed, nearly 4mph, but still it is dark when I get there.  Twice rangers driving by pull over to tell me things are closed, one says I can't camp in the forest land, which is what is on the other side of the boundary, either, argh.  He keeps saying 'you can't get back to the trail'.  When I do finally reach the boundary, there is a police officer there!  But he shows me to a flat bit of forest away from the road where I can pitch the tent, and even gives me cookies.  My faith in humanity, and in particular the uniformed bits of it, is restored...

Walking the railway line north of Enumclaw.

I have little choice now but to walk lots of Highway 410, though I do manage a brief escape onto the White River Trail, running parallel to the road, I'm sure it should be closed but there are no signs, whatever.  The highway is a nice road to walk at least, this is the Mather Memorial Highway, named for the USA's first head of National Parks, there are fine views of the river - which is indeed white, due to the water containing 'glacial flour', small particles of rock eroded from the slopes of Mount Rainier.  I escape the highway again for a few more miles, on a private road, for a while this is a pleasant green lane, then a gravel track.  Then into the small town of Enumclaw where I get fish and chips for lunch, and check my email to find that the Canada permit has been refused yet again, grrrr.  OK, I find a copy shop and scan my US visa, the latest thing the Canadian bureaucracy have decided they want.  Then the plan is to head out of town on an old railroad - which I do for just a few miles, after which the route is overgrown and impassable, instead I walk an actual railroad for a while, then just minor roads, which seem busier than the highway was.  Rather shockingly it rains - hopefully this will put the fires out.

The John Wayne Pioneer Trail, also known as the Iron Horse Trail.

There's yet more road the next day, slightly less busy at least, it being a Sunday, and also I seem to be heading to a dead end, the way north blocked by the Cedar river - my plan to cross this on the abandoned railroad is a washout, and the only other way across is a forest road, this turns out to be blocked by a large, secure looking gate with intercom, cameras and so on - signs say something about this being the 'Seattle watershed'?  Of course, climbing the fence to one side and then walking through the 'secure area' to get over the river would be illegal, bad and wrong, so I absolutely don't do it at all.  Anyway... eventually I find myself at the trailhead for the 'John Wayne Pioneer Trail', yes this is a genuine trail, in fact it is an old railway line so easy walking, and it really is very good to be off the road.  I get some miles along it and find a spot to camp, then have an easy morning morning walk to my next rest stop, Snoqualmie Pass, the air is very smoky indeed and I worry that the pass will be evacuated but thankfully not.  I splash out on a motel, maybe my last chance to do so in the USA, and otherwise it is surprisingly cheap here at what is essentially another ski resort - I get pizza and some beer for not much money at all.  I make good use of the motel room with a twenty-four hour rest, opening my last Walmart packages to reveal a great deal of cookies, this is good.  And the smoke is gone in the morning, fingers crossed I can get to Canada without further fire closures.

Photos to go with this post can be found here and here.