Miles Hiked: ZERO
PCT Miles: 2524.9
This morning I went down to the lodge on the shore of Lake Chelan to wait for everything to open up at 10:00 a.m. I needed to pick up my package and purchase Wi-Fi. There was a whole herd of hikers waiting to do the same thing. Since only 30 people a day can purchase Wi-Fi, it felt stressful. Everyone started to line up early. Despite opting to go to the post office first, I was still able to buy Wi-Fi and get in line before a whole new bus load of hikers arrived and added to all the chaos. I received two packages from my mom. One was my last resupply box with my passport and the other was a box of party supplies with a crown she made me. I can’t believe it is my last box! After getting all the chores done, Midnight and I walked two miles down the road to the famous bakery where we met up with Trail Diva and Kurt. I got Thai noodles in a sticky bun. They were just as good as I hoped! After hanging around for a while, we walked down to a local cabin. Kurt had helped them fix a boat the previous day and scored us canoe access and exchange. After hanging out with the very sweet and well traveled family, we got to go out on the water. It was epic to say the least. The water was deep blue and calm. The reflection of the mountains was perfect. The lake reminded me a lot of Waterton on the CDT. I felt so lucky just to be here! Lake Chelan is the third deepest lake in the USA. I think it is so cool that we got to visit the three deepest lakes in the US this summer. The deepest being Crater Lake in Oregon, and the second deepest being Lake Tahoe in California. We paddled down to the lodge where all the other hikers were swimming. I jumped in the lake multiple times. The water temperature was absolutely perfect! Once I swam to my heart’s content, we paddled some more to check out some cliffs and then back to the cabin. The mountains on either end of the lake were getting obscured by smoke. It was pretty dramatic. We walked 2 miles back to the camp where I opened most of the things my mom sent me in the party box to share with everyone. I found out about several new wildfires east and west of the PCT near the border. I was so anxious about not being able to finish because of them. I am so tired of the wildfire complications. I’m excited to go tag that border and not have to worry about them affecting me anymore. They have honestly impacted my thru hike in a big way and not a good one. I am so glad I took one last zero in Stehekin. It was really important to me to spend one last day savoring the journey and all it took to get here. On the Appalachian Trail I took a zero in Baxter State Park five miles from the end. I was frustrated about it at the time because I was waiting on other people to go finish with. In retrospect, that was so important to me. Taking a moment to respect my body before finishing one of the hardest things I’ve asked it to do feels right.
Happy Trails!
-Early Bird
Des Hikes Thru 