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.