WalkingCarrot

Woke very early, about 4:30am to stomach distress, thankful we were in a dry motel with a bathroom nearby, as I was up a couple more times before 6am. Never did get really get back to sleep, but the distress subsided and I rested until 7am. We pawed through the well stocked hiker box and found most of what we needed. Then we went, with Dave, to the only place in town for breakfast – the liquor store / deli which opened at 8am and made microwaved bagel/ham/egg sandwiches. Food and coffee settled in well enough to be able to hike out. We finished our resupply with a few items from the Chevron mini mart.

We packed up to leave even though the weather forecast was bleak. There were no rooms available in town tonight anyway. Both motels were booked up completely from an antique car rally. The motel manger called a local trail angel, Jerry, who would come to get us and give us a ride back to the pass. Jerry’s wife, Andrea, actually showed up and we returned to their cabin to pick up some other hikers whom they had hosted, One Gallon and Fritz. Once back at the cabin, Andrea insisted we have breakfast as they had leftover potatoes and she scrambled up some eggs. Can’t say no to food or hospitality like this so we stayed and ate. By the time we finally got to the pass it was about 12:15

Because of the almost constant rain these last few days and more heavy rain in the forecast for tomorrow we were afraid the Neepeqah river on the re-route would be extremely difficult at best and most likely would be impassible. We did not want to walk 58 miles to get to it and have to backtrack at least half that distance to go around. We decided to take the stock option/road walk route.

So off we went down highway 2, with One Gallon and Fritz, trudging along the shoulder being sprayed by the mist from cars and trucks. Road walking is especially hard on the feet and I raised up a couple of new blisters. Its also hard on the throat, a dry burning sensation sets in after sucking on exhaust fumes from cars and trucks for a couple of hours. Far less scenic than the hiker PCT, but this would connect us back to trail and still provide a continuos walk to Canada. Off and on it rained during the afternoon.

There were a couple of good points. Skykomish was the destination for an antique car club road rally. Up the pass came a series of antique cars. We chatted with one who had stopped to let his engine cool, a Buick from 1903 with a 4 and 1/2 horsepower engine.

The other good thing about road walking is that we made good time, by 7pm we had put in 20 miles and arrived at Coles corner stopping for dinner at the “59er dinner”. Fritz and One gallon had stopped at a rest area for a break about 2 miles back and did not show up at the restaurant.

After dinner we walked to a small motel nearby only to find they had no rooms available, which seemed odd as their parking lot was empty. Disappointed we hiked on, knowing that a state park with a car campground was about 4 to 5 miles ahead. We hope to find a spot in the trees before that. We walked underneath power lines crackling and glowing blue with current arcing between the lines. After about a mile we did. So we camp like a hobo beside the highway. Except our tent is nicer than most homeless bums.

Fine line between hiker and homeless bum. Both smell bad, wear ratty clothes, won’t pass up free food, don’t have jobs and sleep beside busy roads……….

Phil “Nowhere Man” Hough