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| This is cattle country! |
July 31, 2015 – Friday (Sullivan Lake / Metaline Falls)
My first morning in the state of Washington! I am anxious to get moving, with hopes of scoring pastries and coffee, minimally, at a camp store six miles away that I'm not even sure exists. So I pack quickly, skip breakfast, and weave my way along the gravel road.
There are a dozen or more designated campsites along Sullivan Creek Road, and the closer I get to Sullivan Lake, the more campers I see. None of them offer any pastries and/or coffee though. I check a message that comes through from Money Shot. He and Marathon had taken the wrong turn first thing yesterday onto the Hughes Creek option instead of the Jackson Creek Trail, and that's why they never heard my calls for help when I was desperately lost. Then they swung back south and caught trail #512, but added at least a full day to their hike. With my accidental shortcut, I'm way ahead of them now.
When I reach the lake, there is a large campground, but no store. Metaline Falls is still six miles away, and it's more road walking along a paved highway. But first, I stop for a snack break at the lake. There I meet some other PNT thru-hikers, Wobash and his girlfriend Cali. They are seasoned hikers having completed the Pacific Crest Trail last year. None of us are excited about the road walk ahead of us, as the temperatures are soaring into the mid 90's now. I leave first, and I tell them if they are able to score a ride to please stop and pick me up along the way if they see me.
The next couple hours are very unpleasant, and I find a place to water up and cool off about half-way to town. I'm excited about a town day, and I plan to get a room at the one old hotel in the tiny town. There is very little traffic on the road, mostly vacationers who generally won't pick up hitch hikers. Around mid-afternoon, as I'm approaching Metaline Falls, a covered pick-up pulls over and a guy named Mike offers a ride for the last half mile or so. I hop in the back, and there is Wobash and Cali.
As we're unloading, we're greated by a young lady whose mother is one of the few trail angels along the PNT, Mary. We're invited to camp in their yard, but I need a room, a shower, and a bed. I check into the historic and charming Washington Hotel. It was built in the 1930's and probably has not been updated since then. For $40, I get a small room with a window unit A/C, a common bathroom and shower. It's perfect!
I'm instructed to pay by credit card across the street at the saloon. So I get a shower and head over there. Metaline Falls, population about 200, is a hiker paradise, with a grocery store, bar and grill, cafe, and a trail angel. There is even a movie theater with showings nightly, Friday through Monday. Terminator (the new one) is showing, according to the marquee. The town looks like a movie set, and I learn that the 1997 movie, "The Postman," was filmed here.
I pay for my room and enjoy a great meal of a burger, tots, two cans of Coca-Cola, and some coconut cream pie. There are several other hikers in town, Spaceman Spiff, Honey Bee and Stumblin' Norwegian, Wrongway, Cali and Wobash, Freebird, and the ladies, Rainbow Brite and Morning Glory, as well as a young couple I'd heard about but this is the first time we've met, Spice Rack and Bluebird. Money Shot and Marathon might get here by tomorrow... nobody has seen them out on the trail.
The whole bunch of us meet up later on back at the saloon for some fellowship, exchanging war stories and comparing bushwhack scars. Some are staying at the hotel while others are camping at trail angel Mary's. To my surprise, Money Shot rolls in late in the evening, but Marathon is camping somewhere back toward Sullivan Lake
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| Metaline Falls - a hiker's paradise! |
August 1, 2015 – Saturday (Metaline Falls)
With temperatures forecast to reach more than 100 degrees this weekend, it's most certainly going to be a "zero day" in town. Money Shot and I enjoy a huge breakfast at the cafe, and I take a couple naps. Marathon arrives in town pretty early, having caught a lift for the last four miles into town. Hikers can be seen lounging all about town.
The heat swelters by early afternoon, and just to the south and west of town, a large column of smoke billows from a new wild fire on a nearby mountain top. It's unsettling, but at the same time, the smoky haze prevents the temperature from soaring even higher.
Trail angel Mary and her family have invited all the hiker guests to their garden for grilled steaks donated to her by the local grocery store. Eleven thru-hikers participate, probably the largest assembly of PNT hikers ever in this or any other PNT trail town. We dub this the First Annual Metaline Falls Trail Days Festival (unofficially).
As the sun sets, Spaceman Spiff, Wobash, and Cali decide to night hike out of town. Others plan an early morning departure before the heat kicks in. I am leaving my options open. I'm back in the hotel and sound asleep by 9:30 p.m. |
| Big hiker bubble at trail angel Mary's garden |
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| Life is good today! |
August 2, 2015 – Sunday (Metaline Falls)I got my things packed up with plans to leave the Washington Hotel and hike out of town early, before the afternoon heat forecast to hit 106°. Arle, the hotel proprietor, had done my laundry for me. Honey Bee and Norwegian had left town early and left two large cinnamon rolls by my door. They are avid hikers and have been dating a few years. They live in the Seattle area. Norwegian has many stories he shares about his past hiking adventures, including the Pacific Crest Trail a few years ago.
I walked down to trail angel Mary’s, where Marathon and Money Shot were still packing, having camped in her yard. We decided to head over to Cathy’s Cafe for breakfast. It was very crowded on a Sunday morning, so we bellied up to the bar. Our discussions turned toward waiting to hike out in the evening to miss the heat of the day. This was fine with me—we could still do the 13 miles to the Abercrombie Mountain Trailhead tonight.
I got my journals caught up, old school written in pencil lead on the back of my maps, and stuck them in the mail to Mom & Dad, less things to carry. Afternoon turned to evening, and we went to the movie at 7 pm—the new Terminator movie. We got back to trail angel Mary’s at 9 pm to grab our packs, but she shared news that would thwart our night hiking plans. The wildfire that we’d been watching to the southwest of town, and had been dropping ash on us part of the day, had forced the closure of the route we needed to hike over the mountain. After reviewing our options, we decided to stay at Mary’s, then take her up on the offer to drive us to a different point where we would avoid the smoke and closures. I cowboy camped in the garden.
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| Sorry folks. Trail's closed. |
But our crew had another problem, stemming from Money Shot’s documentary project. His camera lens broke, and he ordered a replacement due to arrive in Northport on Tuesday. A few miles outside of town, Bruce & Shirley own an organic farm. They are listed as Trail Angels in the guide and had hosted about nine hikers the night before. He came through town and we hopped in the truck. We crossed the river and turned onto some gravel roads, arriving at Greenwave Gardens. Bruce showed us a great place to camp, right next to a strawberry patch. He welcomed us to explore and sample the fruits and nuts. We snacked on many delicious fruits and were pretty amazed by how much better everything tastes right off the tree. We found the small pond and spring which serves to irrigate the entire 87-acre farm via a system of pumps and lines. Honey Bee and Stumbling Norwegian arrived for the night. Honey Bee has a problem with her foot—either tendonitis or a stress fracture. We’re hoping for the best, but it could spell the end of their hike.
A light rain fell toward evening, but not enough to impact the threat of wildfires. We used a kitchen in the house to fix supper. It was getting dark, so I made my way back to the strawberry patch and into the tent. This makes three days without hiking and I’m getting antsy.
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| Work for stay at Greenwave Gardens |
August 4, 2015 – Tuesday (Northport / Elbow Lake)I had a weak phone signal, so I sent my brother a happy birthday text message. Money Shot was tracking the overnight shipping of his new lens from New York to this little town, Northport, Washington. Amazingly, it arrived at the post office by noon. Shirley had driven Honey Bee to nearby Colville to get her foot X-rayed. This news is not good—she has a stress fracture and will be going to see a specialist in Spokane tomorrow.
We got another town meal and bought groceries. A couple of us shipped boxes of food to Ross Lake, several weeks away still, where there is no store for a proper resupply. Shirley and Honey Bee arrived in town, and Shirley dropped Marathon, Money Shot and me off at the trailhead for the beginning of what would be a 40-mile walk on gravel roads. Spiff had left earlier in the morning. Even though we did not start until late afternoon, and the road was mostly uphill, we were able to make about 12 miles, setting up camp just after dark next to Elbow Lake. One highlight of the hike was the cows. I had read about lots of cows along the PNT. First, I came across three. They ran when they saw me, then several more appeared. Soon there were about 15 of them, some with bells. This went on for a couple hours. I would get close and they would all run down the road. Weird.August 5, 2015 – Wednesday (road walk / Kettle River)The long road walk would continue. On maps, it seems to be one road, but the road number changes several times. Money Shot left about 45 minutes before Marathon and me. I walk fast on the roads, and I got ahead of Marathon. I had several moments of confusion because the roads and crossings are almost never signed. It’s just guesswork. At one point, I was at a place where five unmarked roads met. I took a guess, and a couple miles later, I emerged right where I needed to be. There were lots more cows today, and dodging cow patties on the gravel road started to become tedious. Around 3pm, I crossed the narrow one-lane bridge over the Kettle River. I took a long break to rehydrate. Marathon caught up. A guy driving a Forest Service truck stopped to talk to us. Byron works as a liaison between the PNT and the Forest Service, plotting where exactly this trail will be in the future. Cool job!
The evening was a long uphill on more gravel roads. I got pretty far ahead of Marathon again, after he stopped to poop. After about a 20-mile day, I was tired and my feet felt bruised from gravel. I found a place to stop and cook supper, but light rain started to fall. I started to feel cold and decided this spot would be suitable for camping. Marathon came by, and I did a “bear drill,” shaking a bush and jumping out behind him. He froze, failing the test. I persuaded him to camp here with me. The rain stopped just long enough to allow us to cook and set up camp. We did not see Money Shot all day.August 6, 2015 – Thursday (road walk / Kettle Crest Trail / Sherman Pass)I think that physically, this hike is going very well. I don’t have near the achiness I had last year on the A.T. I have gotten into trail shape much quicker, and I’m knocking out 20-mile days regularly. This trail, the PNT, is much easier on the feet and legs than the A.T. The huge ascents are less frequent and the terrain is much less rocky. The PNT offers many other challenges, like not being sure where you are most of the time.
We got started on the final leg of the long road walk. There was more confusion, but I was eventually able to confirm that all my choices were the correct ones. The roads started to look more and more like trails, and around 2 pm, I stopped at the highway by Deer Creek Summit for lunch. Marathon arrived here just as I was leaving to start the Kettle Crest Trail #13, which by itself is a National Scenic Trail, about 35 miles north to south. As evening approached, I found myself on the west side of the ridge as it opened up to some amazing views about 40 minutes before sunset—just beautiful! I took a long break there to cook supper, then hiked down to a saddle where a side trail crossed. It was getting dark, so I decided to camp there, on a flat rocky surface covered with soft moss. Marathon arrived an hour later and cowboy camped on the next rock over.
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| Kettle Range in Eastern Washington |
August 7, 2015 – Friday (Kettle Crest Trail)
I was out of water and on a mission to get to the next spring. I found a small, slow one, and got enough to get by, about half a cup. The next spring, and the next few after that, were shared with cows. Spring water gets piped into a large trough from above. We watered up plenty at the Midnight Spring before the ascent up to the ridgeline. On the way up, I met a young woman with a black lab dog. She said there were no other hikers up there except a family taking a break. It was a tough climb for me. At the top, I chose a sunny clear area for what turned into lunch and a long nap. Marathon must have gone by while I was napping and did not see me. I awoke and had a nice sunburn on my chest and belly, packed up around 3pm, and kept moving.
I caught up to Marathon, and then passed by him. My maps indicated a camp site near Highway 20, and I thought I could get there by about dark. This would set up a reasonable day for Saturday to hike into Republic for a resupply and probably an overnight stay. I made my way down a series of switchbacks, and this made a long night of it. Just before the highway, I found the “campsite,” but it was an RV park, so I got my headlight and kept hiking in the dark. I could not find a place to tent, so I crossed the highway and made my way up the next mountain. Again, I could not find a place on the steep and rocky slope to pitch a tent. About half a mile up, there was a relatively flat area, so I went off the trail and found a small place between two small fallen trees where my tent would fit nicely. I was able to clear some sticks and get set up by around 10:30 pm. I must have fallen right to sleep; I did not even hear Marathon go by.
I had passed the hiker family at a campsite earlier, around 6pm. At the spring, I talked to the dad. Most people are interested in things like what food we eat and do we encounter any wild animals. But he also inquired about how I can swing this lifestyle financially. I explained that I decided a couple years ago to make some changes. I was spending money on stuff I really did not need and that did not make me happier. I shuffled some priorities and turned my house into a rental property to generate enough revenue to almost break even, so I won’t need to dip into retirement savings for another ten years or longer. I have a very simple lifestyle that doesn’t cost much, and I have had the opportunity to connect/reconnect with immediate and distant family. So far, it seems to be working out well, and while I don’t consider myself to be a wealthy man, I am one of the richest people I know!
August 8, 2015 – Saturday (Sherman Pass / Republic)I woke up to the buzz of several bees on the sapling outside my tent, going for the sap dripping from a branch. I got packed and on the trail extra early. My plan was to jump off the Kettle Range Trail in about 3 miles and take the trail #10 to a Forest Service road back to Rt 20, then hike or hitch a ride 7 miles into Republic. It would take at least half the day.
I made my way up the mountain and entered into a ridge of a regrowth zone following a huge fire in 1988. A mile into the hike, I met Marathon coming the other way toward me. He had reached Spiff on his phone, who was in Republic. Spiff convinced Marathon to hitch into town from the pass we had just passed, Sherman Pass. Having just hiked up this mountain, I did not want to turn around and go back to the road. But Marathon said he needed a town day, so I went along with it. But I told him I would not hike up this mountain a second time, so we would be skipping a few trail miles.
We got back to the road around 9:15 a.m. and found the best spot for hitchhiking. But we could not get a ride. An hour went by, then two. I was pissed that we were wasting this beautiful morning. Then we spotted Money Shot, just arriving at the pass. Turns out he took a wrong turn four days back when he left Elbow Lake before us. He bushwhacked his way back but lost four hours. He’d been behind us all week. But he declined on the hitchhike idea and went back toward the trailhead. Then, 3 hours into our wait, we got a ride!
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| Trying to hitch a ride when there is not much traffic |
We got to town around 1 pm and met Spiff, along with the two girls who are now hiking with their friend Bonnie. Wrongway was also there. Plus, we talked to Honey Bee, who has multiple stress fractures in both feet, and Norwegian. Instead of them going home to Seattle, he is going to keep hiking, while Honey Bee will be following along in a rental car providing support to Norwegian and the rest of us, as needed. This will actually be a very comforting thing to have access to.
Spiff wanted to get a room, so he, Marathon, and I checked into the Prospector Inn and took advantage of the shower. Layers of caked-on dust from the dry trail made a mess of the tub. I gave myself a haircut and trimmed the beard for our town day, then we grabbed some lunch. Later, Money Shot arrived, and he accepted our offer to sleep on the floor, since our room has just three beds. We’d made plans to meet the ladies at the Republic Brewing Company at 7 pm for food and beers. We had a lot of fun, a couple beers and too much food. After dinner, it was sleep time, and I slept great in the big bed.
August 9, 2015 – Sunday (Republic / Seventh Day compound)
Most everything in Republic is closed on Sundays, but we got a nice breakfast at the Knotty Pine diner. This is the weekend of the first PNT Trail Days festival. The problem is that the festival is about 70 trail miles ahead of us in Oroville. If they’d scheduled it for the following weekend, they would’ve caught our big hiker bubble. As it turned out, only four hikers were there to join the townspeople of Oroville. Honey Bee & Stumbling Norwegian drove their rental car there. Freebird got a hitchhike there and got on the stage to talk about his PNT experiences. And our British friend Matt (now Mr. Bean or just Bean) hiked into town during the festivities and received a heroes welcome.
Back in Republic, the rest of us did what hiker trash does on a town day—got groceries then loitered at a picnic table for six hours. We needed enough food for about 5 or 6 days to Oroville, but with a cafe in between at Bonaparte Lake “Resort.” Somebody asked us our mileage goal for today, and Money Shot replied that it would be a huge accomplishment if we could only pull ourselves away from the picnic table.
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| Hardcore loitering in Republic, hiker trash style |
Finally, we hiked out of Republic around 6 pm. We only went about 4 miles up a gravel road. The map labeled the spot as a golf course, and it looked like it might have been at one time. Now it is the compound of the “Seventh Day Adventists.” But it appeared to be abandoned. Spiff convinced the rest of us to cowboy camp on the old deck behind one of the buildings. I wasn’t a big fan of this plan—I wondered about cult members in white robes showing up in the middle of the night, or if a crazed caretaker would take us prisoner and torture us.
I shared a story with the guys about one of the stranger experiences I had last year on the A.T. I had stealth camped just below a scenic rock overlook on a ridge just north of the Conn/Mass line. In the morning, I got out of my tent in just my underwear to pee and scratch my ass. When I turned to get back in my tent, I saw about 35 people, all ages and nationalities, all in white jumpsuits, meditating on the rock above me and probably straining to hold back their laughs.
So we all set up our sleeping pads/bags on the deck. The weather said only 10% chance of rain overnight. I wanted to set up my rain fly just in case, but Spiff talked me out of it. Why do I keep listening to Spiff’s advice? It was a nice, clear starlit night, but when I woke up around 1:00 a.m., the stars were gone. Hmmm… I unzipped my pack to grab my rain fly, but just then it started raining, just heavy enough to mess up our stuff. We just threw the rain flies over us best we could. Things still got pretty wet. It rained until 3 am, and I got terrible sleep.
August 10, 2015 – Monday (Republic area / Maple Mountain)
When the direct sun beams hit the deck, we put our wet things out to dry. We all decided to cut west on the Maple Mountain Trail to catch the primary PNT route that does not actually go through Republic. The mountain climb was long, and it was followed by lots of ups and downs. Marathon and I got disoriented for half an hour or so after a spring on Maple Mountain. Even so, this was set up to be a 20-mile day. In the evening, we reach one of those zones where we leave National Forest land. Either side of the road is private property, often with barbed wire and/or an excess of warning signs—“Keep Out,” “No Trespassing,” etc. I turned left onto the paved Toroda Creek road as daylight was waning—ranches, dogs, and more barbed wire. A couple miles later, I found a place next to a gravel pit where I could jump the barb wire and set up my tent on a flat area up a small hill. Marathon came by, but he decided to night hike. As I got settled, a surprise wind storm came through, a squall line with a little rain and thunder. My tent survived the beating, and no large branches fell.
August 11, 2015 – Tuesday (Bonaparte Lake / “Fitty City”)
I set myself up for a 7-mile road walk down to Bonaparte Lake. Many hikers had already arrived before I got there around noon. I enjoyed a bacon cheeseburger, curly fries, and a chocolate malt. The resort had some rustic cabins. Norwegian and Honey Bee had rented one the previous night. The others all had tales of camping on private land, same as me. Freebird, Marathon, and I were last to leave that evening. I made it a few miles up the mountain to a spring where I camped—“Fitty City,” I called it; just had to clear a few dried cow patties. Marathon wanted to night hike several miles to the lookout tower, where a couple others intended to camp. There had been chatter for a couple days about a concert coming up on Thursday in the town of Tonasket, 20 miles south of Oroville. If I could knock out 20+ miles tomorrow, I could still be set up for a reasonable hike on Thursday to get to the show.
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| Marathon taking in the view overlooking Lake Bonaparte |
August 12, 2015 – Wednesday (Bonaparte Mountain / Okanogan National Forest)
I left “Fitty City” pretty early with hopes of catching the others. Of all the hikers I know of on the PNT, I am now officially in last place, although I’m pretty sure there are others back there that I don’t know about yet. Two hours up a relentless and exhausting ascent, I reached the side trail to the lookout atop Bonaparte Mountain. Just then, Money Shot and Marathon were on their way down. Marathon showed me a picture of the tower he’d taken at night. So I did not feel the need to climb the extra half mile and 500' ascent to the peak. The three of us hiked on, down the mountain and eventually to an old wagon road. There was a short cut on our maps, so we took it westward to cut off less than a mile. Soon we were all separated and wandering through a maze of snowmobile loops and trails. Eventually, we all got through and found Freebird at a slimy pond having lunch. The heat is really cranking up again for a few days. I got moving to try to finish another 20-mile day. It was miles of more private land until 6:30 pm when I reentered the Okanogan National Forest on Trail 100. I took it as opposed to the alternate road walk, as they would meet up again in 2.5 miles. I guess I got off track because the cow trail I was on just ended. I decided to eat dinner, set up camp, and deal with that shit in the morning.
August 13, 2015 – Thursday (Whistler Canyon / Oroville)
I had camped near my cow trail in the event the other guys came by, but they never did. I bushwhacked back toward the road to the north and found a trail, but it did not seem quite right. So I bushwhacked more. I decided to try my phone and I was surprised to find a weak signal. I got my GPS to work and saw that if I followed a gulley to my east in a northward direction, I would meet the road. I lost about 90 minutes in the bushwhack, but I got to the dusty dirt road. From there it was smooth sailing to town, and I was even further along than I thought. But it turned into a brutally hot day. I met up with Marathon at the Whistler Creek and we hiked down the dusty switchbacks, clouds of cruddy dirt kicking up with each step. I reached the highway well ahead of Marathon and saw it to be busy with speeding traffic and little opportunity to hitchhike. In the record heat of 103°F, I walked 3 miles along Hwy 97 into Oroville. To the northeast, planes were circling a wildfire that had started in the mountains. Later I learned that a man died in a plane crash that triggered the fire. I tried to get a room at the motel. They found a reservation that was not coming, so I got the last room. But the others had already gone to Tonasket for the show. I got a large pizza and lots of soda to overcome a mild case of dehydration.
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| A view of the Okanogan Valley from Whistler Canyon Trail |
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| Huge wildfire sparked by plane crash near Oroville |
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