PCT day 145 – It's winter in Washington
We woke to a chilly morning, the weather is definitely on the turn. We went for breakfast and Bonus Miles got the check which was very nice of him!
We got all our stuff together, even after all this time we still lift each other's packs to see how much they weigh, making sure that yours isn't the heaviest and feeling smug when it's called out as the lightest (although I'm not sure that has ever happened to me!). I had to put my damp shoes on, they haven't been dry for about a week now so they are really really stinky.
We got on the bus for the journey back to the trailhead. On the way we stopped at the infamous Stehekin bakery. People talk a lot about this bakery! It didn't disappoint, although the smell of cinnamon was a bit overwhelming for me. It was raining when we got there and it was so warm inside, the temptation to not get back on the bus and stay inside the bakery eating was huge. But, we got back on the bus.
I bought a 'black bottom cupcake' which had a dollop of cheesecake in the bottom and a pesto cheese and mushroom pastry. Bumble and Bonus Miles both bought cinnamon rolls as big as their headS and ate them on the bus. Unfortunately the smell made me feel really nauseous so I saved my treats for later.
The bus driver told us that they opened the closed section of the trail this morning. Bum. Well, it had been closed for over a month and I could have sat around waiting for it to open but I had to make a decision at the time. We decided to carry on with our plan. The trail will always be there. It is what it is.
We made the rest of the half hour journey on the bus and then we started back on the trail. In the drizzle, but at least it wasn't too cold, the constant uphill saw to that.
The sun eventually came out and I got to walk for a bit without my waterproof on. Stopped near a river for some lunch where I ate half my goodies from the bakery. So good. We saw a lady from the USFS who said the trail was still closed. With no cell service we had no way of knowing what the real answer was. It is what it is.
There was a lot of bear poo on the trail today. Didn't see any bears though. We carried on and had to cross a washed out bridge. It was a dodgy crossing, especially as it started to rain and everything was slippy, you can't really tell from the picture but it was pretty high up!
The afternoon brought more crossings on giant slippy logs in the rain. It then started to hail and rain even more. We got to rainy pass, where it was...raining, and the temperature had dropped considerably. I could see my breath.
We had 3.5 miles to go to camp. We started walking through little patches of snow. Brr.
It wasn't the best campsite but we managed to squeeze 5 of us in there. We all got in our tents straight away and all cooked our ramen. We chatted from out tents, it's so nice talking to people at camp!
I wasn't really that hungry all day but about a mile from camp I felt starving. I finished off my bakery goods and ate Cheetos and chocolate and ramen in my tent. I was not expecting it to be this cold! I even zipped my sleeping bag up for the first time in a very long time, aybe since the desert! Someone came looking around for a camp spot and I'm sure I recognised him...
My feet legs and hips are all super sore today. I don't think I could have gone any further. Three days off makes you weak!! So does 6500ft of elevation gain over 23 miles.