Mile 2580 Chelan via Stehekin to High Point camp

As if the snow on the mountains ahead wasn't enough to deal with, the US Federal government is having a shut down. It was only when we were being driven to the ferry, by Karen at the Apple Inn Motel for the 8:30am ferry to Stehekin, that she mentioned that the parks shuttle bus to the trailhead 18 miles away may not be running. This would change everything. We wouldn't take the ferry but hitch to another trail access point instead. We had a dramatic 20 minutes, while Karen waits for us, as we tried to get more information. Tracy called the Stehekin Lodge's satellite phone only to find out they open at 8:30, the same time as the ferry leaves, and we needed to decide whether to be on it or not. Meanwhile I ran over to the float plane office, which also acts as a booking office for the lodge, to see if they  knew about the shuttle buses. The woman there told me that 'the woman who knows everything starts at 8:30'. We decided to take a chance and got on the boat. Just after we boarded we got confirmation that the buses will be running for at least 48 hrs. Phew!

The ferry was very relaxing, we did the NY Times crossword and actually saw our surroundings on this trip back up Lake Chelan as the weather was good. When we arrived at Stehekin we talked to hikers who were leaving the trail. Muk Muk and UB however were both continuing. We were excited that we had found others who were still gung ho about continuing. I shared my brothers message of support with them:

That's the spirit Ing .  We are from Scotland remember.  If we couldn't handle a wee bit rain n snow, we ginger folk would have died out millennia ago.  
But..

we Didnae! 😠

We hung out for a while then decided not  to stay overnight, as Muk Muk had offered, but to take advantage of the good weather and take the bus to the trailhead. When we got to the trailhead we left a note on the notice board for hikers coming in from the trail. We let them know that due to govmt shut downs as of Thursday afternoon the lodge, restaurant, store, shuttle bus and ferry would be closed down but the post office remains open. 

And then it started to rain. Fortunately we found a fantastic shelter at the campsite near the trailhead. The kind of shelter we have dreamt of the entire journey. A solid open log structure with a grand smell of horse manure, which neither of us mind. Smells a lot better than most hikers. It was infact a kind of manger, with straw on the floor. Little baby Jesus would not have looked out of place here. Tracy lit a candle and made little night tables and benches with logs. Cosy, cosy and we didn't have to use our tent, keeping it nice and dry. 

Mile 2580 Chelan

Oh dear, after looking at the weather reports it seemed to us that the best plan  was to wait in Chelan, dry, warm, relaxing and eating as much as possible, until the weather improved. We had fun hot tubbing and going for beers with Slosh, Smiles, TRex and Rocky. Also bought more food for the next last push in case we have to wait out a storm in our tents. Plus we got mini garbage bags to use on our feet. Experimented today by wearing one on my left foot. Scientific Result: right sock dry, left sock a little damp but not saturated from sweat. 

We leave tomorrow, Tuesday, and will take the 4 hour ferry back up to Stehekin and get back on the trail around 3pm. If all goes to plan, we should arrive in Manning Park, Canada by Saturday. 

Mile 2571-2580 Cedar camp to Chelan via Stehekin

Rain, rain, rain. We heard Shredder leaving at 4:30am so that he'd make the 9am shuttle bus to Stehekin. We got up at 7am, packed up our soaking wet tent and hiked the 9 miles to High Point and waited for the 12:30 bus. There's no shelter at the bus stop so we made videos under our umbrellas to keep warm. I'll eventually update the photo and video sections once we finish the trip.

The bus finally arrived and the first stop is a bakery! Guess who came out of the bakery? Smiles and Slosh our first trail friends. Fifty dollars of bakery goods later, T and I sat on the bus and caught up with them and other hikers. 

We arrived at Stehekin landing and confirmed there was no internet or cell reception. Lots of hikers were leaving the trail, the rain and snow reports were not good and there was a rumour that the northern part of the PCT had been closed. We decided we needed to find our for ourselves. So we got on the 2pm ferry down Lake Chelan and booked into the Apple Inn Motel along with Smiles, Slosh, TRex and Rocky where we checked weather reports and formulated a plan. 

Mile 2541-2571 Dolly Vista Trail Camp to Cedar Camp

Epic day!

Woke up to snow falling. We had 29 miles to get to High Point where there's a shuttle bus to Stehekin. In this terrain we knew we couldn't get there by tonight, but if we pushed it, it might be possible to get there for the 9am bus tomorrow. That way we'd get there before the post office closed on Sat morning, pick up our resupply box and not have to wait till Monday for it. Challenge! Fun! Snow!

Our concern was getting over the high pass in the snow, but first we had a decision. Take the new PCT trail and go over a bridge, which adds an additional 4.8 miles, or take the old, non-maintained PCT route and hope that the scary log crossing is still there. No competition, the log crossing it is. 

This section has been the most isolated and wild we've encountered, there are no fire roads or service roads so it must be very difficult to maintain the trail. The old PCT route was even more wild. There were huge knocked-over trees crossing the trail, wash outs and overgrown sections which made the trail like an obstacle course. Awesome! No need for podcasts today. We were both fully engaged in the trail, ducking, climbing, jumping, only stopping to ring out our gloves. It rained all day. 

When we got to the infamous log river crossing Tracy and I followed the cairns upstream and I saw part of the large log. But then we heard people shouting at us from across the river downstream. We walked the quarter mile back downstream and found out they wanted to tell us hikers that they had successfully crossed at another log even further down river. This was turning into a rather long shortcut, however we all (Frosty, Goldilocks, Shredder and Tracy) crossed the log using various styles and methods and finally found the trail on the other side. 

The pass wasn't a problem but we decided not to race to make the post office as Tracy had bad cramps in one of her legs and had to slow down and didnt want to make things worse. (We eventually remembered, thanks to my dad, to take salt. She said her leg improved by 80% almost immediately.) We also didnt want to walk in the dark. Just as we were approaching camp in the half light we spotted Cherub, our South African hiking buddy. She had fallen in the river when using a rope and was drenched. Fortunately her sleeping bag was protected. She wanted to make the post office too and was planning to hike in the dark till 9pm. Such a trooper! I asked if she'd cried after she got soaked.  "No, my feet are dry, I have waterproof socks." She also took Tracy's drivers license and offered to pick up our package for us. Meeting people like Cherub, Bebo and Sharky, and Booboo Kitty who demonstrate such strength of character has been one of the highlights of the trail. 

Mile 2520-2541 Baekos Creek to Dolly Vista Trail Camp

Today we had about 30 minutes of sun. Fourteen of those had the audacity to come out in a showy way at sunset. The weather report had promised a sunny day. Liar. 

Tracy complained in the afternoon that I had been listening to podcasts, picking berries and taking pics, moving at the speed of a 100 yr old, losing valuable time. True, I wasn't going at my normal pace, but clusters of iced blueberries are very hard to resist. Plus, Radio 4's Desert  Island Discs is very soothing and a brusque pace would be jarring to the senses. And, even if the light isn't good for taking view shots, there are occasional bursts of color, like weird mushrooms or moss right next to the trail that are worth taking pictures of. 

Later Tracy was just behind me when she fell in the river. I immediately, without thought of personal discomfort, plunged my right foot into the icy water in order to pull her up. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt, she just banged her hand and wet her gloves. Her feet remained dry. 

We had total elevation gains of 8,000 ft today and lots of descents. When it started to snow at 6 ish we decided to call it a day. After dark we were joined at our campsite by Shredder, whom Tracy has been calling "Cheddar".

Mile 2492-2520 Cascade Crest to Baekos Creek

Walked through mist all morning. Had breakfast about 7 miles in. Our cereal with Nido powdered milk is what motivates us. It's the only powdered whole milk we could find. It's in all Hispanic supermarkets. Lucky Hispanic babies, all other babies must put up with low fat alternatives. Anyhow at our breaks we usually get out the solar panel and charge our phone, batteries etc. There is now no sun, so we have to be frugal with phone and camera use, and it's cold so we have to put on extra layers. 

Passed by Shredder, Pimp Limp, Frosty and Goldilocks, then we saw Double Sprainbow heading South! She, Sharky and Bebo just behind, had encountered a blizzard and had stayed in their tents for 24 hours. The snow was deep, the trail covered and they were running out of food. So, rather than continue into the unknown, they decided to hike back to Stevens Pass. Then Bebo and Sharky told us their tent pole was broken and one of their down sleeping bags had burst open. They may get off the trail. Back in the High Sierras Bebo fell, breaking three ribs, teeth and bit through her lip, got stitched up and continued hiking. For them to consider leaving the trail conditions must have been really bad.

In the afternoon the mist rolled in and out revealing stunning views and making for the most dramatic and wild scenery yet. Mountains dusted with snow, and patches of autumnal color. 

As we climbed higher it got noticeably colder and the ground was white with scattered hail stones, as if a bean bag factory had exploded. Finally, up and over Red Pass we descended into the forest and had to peel off layers as we warmed up. 

We camped near a creek and Tracy built a fire in an attempt to dry out our tent. I tried to dry my shoes and socks. There's nothing like sleeping in the damp with the smell of smoked sock in the air. It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow..can't wait to dry things out.