2465-2487 (21)
I woke up feeling pretty sick to my stomach for the second day in a row so I ate very little throughout the day. We met a nice woman at our second break who talked to us both about our trip, our life after the trip, 9/11, and current news. We enjoyed her company for a while and then made an easy 6 miles into camp. The elevation throughout the day was pretty rough but the views were gorgeous as we got higher and higher. We camped with Petunia and Zombie Dust, Marissas friends from the desert.
Day 84
2487-2508(21.4)
At our break this morning we got a bit more rain and walked through it for about an hour. After that the rain clouds moved away and the views were gorgeous. I did have a slight cry/laugh today as a soap bottle I had opted to carry the last section spilled all over my hip pocket. I thought "wow those weekenders smell good, my senses are really on point" but no, there was biodegradable lavender soap spilling down my jacket, my pants and my hip belt pocket. I tried to rinse it out at the nearest pond and just smeared more soap all over everything. When Marissa came up, I was crying but laughing as I tried to explain what was going on. We sat for an extra hour or so attempting to dry things out and use the puddle of soap in my pocket. The night before we had been offered a ride to Vancouver with the caveat that we finish later... I was forced to think about why I want to finish sooner rather than later. I've grown more and more tired these last 100 miles or so and feel ready to be done. At the same time, I know that the real world will hit me head on as soon as I finish. I was told a story about a person who was constantly wishing it was the weekend, wishing they weren't at work, wishing it was a different time of day and a school boy asked "why are you always wishing your time away?" This is the question I asked myself today anytime I felt like I wished I was in Canada. I don't want to wish this time away, this is great time, this is peaceful time, this is beautiful time.
Day 85
2508-2529 (20.88)
Huge climb! 8,000 + feet of elevation drop and gain. Beautiful northern cascades. We spent an hour fishing for water off of a small footbridge because the slope down to the fast flowing river was too steep and we both needed water. We laughed hysterically and helped each other guide the water bottle down to the river and collect enough to make it to the next water source. When life throws us curve balls, we learn to hit them! At camp we made huckleberry pie with Chips, Petunia, Zombe Dust and Apple. Chips boiled huckleberries with sugar and poured it into a pie crust. So delicious!
Day 86
2529-2555 (25.6)
We watched a nice pink sunrise and then we walked down into a cold dark valley until we made our way to a nice wooden bridge where we took lunch. We were passed by a large pack train shortly after leaving break and talked with the two guys for a bit to check in about fires in the area since we smelled a slight bit of smoke earlier. After reaching the 24 mile camp we were hoping for by 4:30 we opted to walk a bit more and pick berries before setting up camp close enough to get the 12:30 am bus into Stehekin.
Day 87
2555- Stehekin bus (14.8)
With muffins in our thoughts we walked quickly through the morning until arriving at the bus stop at 11 for the 12:30 bus. The bus into Stehikn (a small community only reachable via ferry or foot) stopped at a bakery on the side of a dirt road with delicious pastries and handmade pizza. We chatted with a man who hiked the trail in 2006 and his wife who was just starting to do more trips with him. She asked us lots of good questions on the ride down. We arrived in the town and gathered our last resupply boxes, enjoyed some juice, warm sun and a swim in the lake before setting up camp at the campground and making our way to the restaurant. There, our table grew through the evening until there were 9 of us telling fun stories and enjoying our last town meals on the porch overlooking lake Chelan. We made it back to camp around 10
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