Start point
Tentsite at 2455.9
End point
Stevens Pass, mile 2466.9
Miles hiked
11
Wilderness area
Snoqualmie National Forest
Wenatchee National Forest
Alpine Lakes Wilderness
The day on trail
It was wet last night. Boo. And it’s wet this morning. But at least it’s not, like, oppressively wet. It’ll dry out or, at the very least, not get wetter. I hope. It at least doesn’t feel like it’s going to rain, even though there’s mist and fog rolling in and out.
My site mates took off early. I took a little time to dry out and organize while I could. I had a little sun so I took advantage of it.
After a relatively quick breakfast, I jetted off. It’s going to be a short day. I’ve decided to skip to Skykomish to make up some time and bypass a reroute around wildfires. The reroute skips a part of trail I was super looking forward to, and I’d rather have an excuse to come back and hike in Washington than spend energy on a reroute I’m not excited about.
I’d been coordinating with Beth to join me for the last stretch of trail. I asked for a few modifications to the plan and proposed her aunt pick me up in Skykomish instead of meeting me at Stehekin like we’d originally planned. Her aunt graciously agreed to this, which made my trip to Stehekin easier.
So the plan is to get to Steven’s Pass, hitch to Skykomish, zero there (with chores), then get picked up in two days from now by Beth’s aunt, and then resume in Stehekin. That basically means today will be short on hiking and could be long on transportation, or at least getting some.
I’m planning on booking a hotel room when I get reliable WiFi, when I can see Steven’s Pass, at the latest.
With it being a wet night, my rain fly was outside my pack. I had my camera on my shoulder strap, because it wasn’t raining. The day was pretty chill. Just hiking without any extreme climbs or descents.
The trail wound its way around a small lake.
It wrapped around and I got to see it from a closer angle.
The views were still gorgeous even though it was foggy.
And I even got to spy on a pika. Spika? Spyka? I dunno. Maybe that’s a portmanteau I can’t get behind.
11 miles is such a short distance. It’s like a few hours worth of hiking. I was already getting to some power lines.
Just past these was a network of trails leading from Steven’s Pass. I ran into some people walking their dogs, some other day hikers, and a few other thru hikers.
Ok look, ski lifts.
And a trail marker.
I’m just minutes away from Steven’s Pass.
Similar to Snoqualmie Pass, there was a shortcut down a hill. But I want as much trail as I can get. I hate cutting. So I took my time and meandered around the trail as it curved to the right of Steven’s Pass and then descended into it.
I sat down for a few, repacked my rain fly into my bag, then explored a tiny bit. I used the wifi to call the hotel in Skykomish to book a room. There was a large lodge at Steven’s Pass, which was closed. I checked the map to figure out which side of the road I wanted to be on, it was the westbound (North) side. I walked past the parking lot to a footbridge that crossed the freeway and started walking with my thumb out. Instead of walking in the direction of my destination, I walked opposite traffic. I wanted people to be able to see my smiling face, to be less threatening of a hitch. Plus, I’d spotted a good spot to pull off the road behind me, so my hitch could safely pull over and get me.
It took about a half hour. Not too bad. But there were a lot of cars that passed me. Finally a Tesla SUV pulled over. Another Tesla hitch! They asked where I was headed and I told them. I think they were surprised I was heading to Skykomish and not Leavenworth like most hikers here are. They were a couple that emigrated from Poland and were both avid outdoorspeople.
They got me to the tiny little turn off that masquerades as a trail town and I thanked them profusely. I beelined to the hotel and checked in. I showered a much needed shower, went to the laundromat, and then went to the bar there which boasts a cheap, delicious, and huge fried chicken plate.
After I ate, I finished laundry, went back to the hotel, and started winding down. I checked my email and saw the photos from Moments for Miles.
Ahhhh I have the best portraits of me I’ve ever seen.
Hummingbird, who I met at Trail Days, was driving through. We connected and I went down to the bar to have a drink with her. Apparently I dodged a bullet called Covid at trail days! She caught it there and was laid out for a while.
We hung out a while reminiscing, then I went to bed. It had been a long spell since I’d had some quality rest and I was needing it.