Back on Trail

Day 8, July 3rd. Stehekin to Sitting Bull Mountain

I had met three young backpackers from Texas. They had about the same schedule and the good fortune of meeting a local who was willing to take us to the trail early. Best of all, the local was willing to stop at the bakery on the way to the trail.

Sure enough, at 7:15 John and his wife showed up at the Lodge. They were driving a 1959 pickup with a couple folding chairs in back. The four of us jumped in the back. We stopped at the bakery, launching into a frenzy of buying something for this morning’s breakfast, but also strategically stuffing sandwiches and pastries in our packs. We were planning on six nights to the next spot, Stevens Pass 109 miles away.

I bought a day old sandwich, two ham and cheese croissants, and a loaf of sourdough bread. John had refused payment for giving us an 11 mile ride to the trailhead. However, we had coaxed out of him that he and his wife the bread was their favorite thing at the bakery. So I bought a loaf, snuck out and put it in the cab of their pickup. The other guys were in cahoots.

We piled in to the back of the pickup. John’s wife asked who’s bread it was. We all played dumb or confused and she eventually figured out the quid pro quo.

It was a chilly ride. But a chilly ride beats a slow road walk. By 9:00 we disgorged from the truck at High Bridge. The locals were kind enough to take a photo of the four of us.

I would be hiking with Josh, Cole, and Bradley. They were young (early 20’s), enthusiatic, and down to earth. Selfishly, they were tall. This meant that I could have them hike in front of me to clear out spider webs.

The day’s hike would start low at 1,625′. We were hoping to get past our first high pass called Suiattle. we were hoping for about 17 miles.

Starting out, the trail was obvious. While there were sometimes trees down across the trail (“blowdowns”), the traveling was easy. While we rose gradually along Agnes creek, the forest was often filled with old trees providing cover. One unusual feature I noticed was for two different species of trees to grow right next to each other. I couldn’t figure out is there was some strange biological benefit or if this was nature’s display of long term stubbornness, one species refusing to budge for the other.

I forgot that traveling in a group has drawbacks. For example, a single hiker passing a hornet’s nest will get them to sound the alarm. The second hiker will definitely get the hornets excited. Thus, the 3rd and 4th hikers are the victims of the hornets being riled up. Bradley and I each got stung twice as we trailed the other two.

Overcast and cool, our hiking would switch between gradual climbs in forests to steeper switchbacks in open areas. The open area trails were slightly overgrown but provided views.

The flowers are just starting to peak.

Late in the day, as we were climbing to the approach for Suiattle Pass, we encountered just a few patches of snow. Then, we ran into Drew and Lobster. They were heading back to Stehekin. They said the snow was too dangerous. Neither had microspikes or an ice axe. We thanked them for their advice.

We chose to see for ourselves. Personally, I had already bailed from snow once and did not want to do it again. My trail buddies also wanted to take a look before turning around. We knew we were too late in the day to try the pass. We found a designated campsite, dropped our bags, and wandered up to take a look at the pass. Yes, there was snow. Yes, it was continuous above a certain elevation. No, we weren’t going to quit.

We found a way to get 4 tents into a three person site. We set up camp and ate. Around 6:00, I looked over, and all three of them had disappeared into their tents. The woods were wet from rain and snow melt. It was overcast, in the low 40s and felt like drizzle on the way. I tried building a small fire to warm things up. It was too much effort with the damp wood. Worried about tomorrow’s snow crossing, I crawled into my sleeping bag around 8.