Let's begin with the postive! The past 5 days have taken me into some of the most rugged, yet beautiful, glaciated landscape with huge, granite rocks, overpowering canyons and dense growth of flowers, shrubs and trees. Two hikers, Roadrunner and Naughty Eyes caught up with me and the three of us decided to take the original PCT instead of the detour that was recommended by the rangers. We had reports from other hikers that the bridges were intact and even though the trail was not maintained, it was passable. We entered into the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area and then to Agnes Creek at the fast moving Stehekin River. Everything worked out for us except for the RAIN!
This brings me to the negative aspect of this week. Rain, rain, cold temperature, snow and more rain. For four days it has rained. I put on everything I had with me to try to stay dry - my 'packa', my rain jacket, my hat, my long pants and the plastic bag I carried in my pack. On Thursday night, we took a room at the Stehekin River Ranch so we could dry out our bodies and dry our sleeping bags. The accommodations was a positive! Good food and a great room to rest. I called Shirley to tell her that I would be at Rainy Pass Friday afternoon.
Shirley and I are camping at the trailhead this night, Friday, Aug. 22. We are both tried and will not be driving to a restaurant but will eat smoked salmon and crackers, then get a good nights rest. Roadrunner and Naughty Eyes are camped out here as well. We'll be getting on the trail at 6 a.m. to finish up in Manning Park - THE FINAL 69.7 miles.
Keep hiking,
Greybeard
