PNT - Bonner's Ferry, ID to Metaline Falls, WA

Day 13 - Bonner's Ferry to Parker Creek  Daily Mileage: 8

Hiker trash resupply mess outside the post office

It took a lot longer than I thought to get a ride back towards the trail from Bonner's Ferry.  Though it was a main highway with lots of traffic, no one wanted to stop.  I walked about three miles up the road looking for a good place to wait, and finally caught a ride with a friendly Canadian fellow headed north around 3pm.  From where he dropped m
e off, I still had an eight mile road walk on dirt farm roads.  There wasn't much traffic here, and I had to walk it all the way to the Parker Creek trailhead.  I had hoped to make about 10 miles up the hill today, instead of a few boring road miles, but I didn't get to the trailhead until about 6:30 and I decided to call it a night.

I'm planning on an early start tomorrow as I've got to cover some big miles, including a 6 mile bushwhack.  Onward to the ocean!

The mountains I'm tackling tomorrow!

Day 14 - Parker Creek to Ball Lakes  Daily Mileage: 20??

Looking back on the Kootenai River Valley

I had big plans to knock out 25+ miles today, but I just couldn't make it happen.  The first 11 miles out of the valley were all climbing.  Sometimes steeply, sometimes gently, but always up up up.  I reached Ball lakes around 3:15, and I knew that I had at least 3 or 4 more hours of hiking ahead of me until I hit my next camp spot.  Though it's light until 10pm, I just didn't want to be arriving in camp that late.

So it was a bit early, and I may not have hit my mileage goal, but oh well. It was a beautiful day and I'm on vacation damn it!  A sunny afternoon at a gorgeous mountain lake is just what I need.  I was going to reward myself with a Mac and cheese dinner, but I didn't quite feel like I deserved it.  I set up camp, went for a nice long swim, and then sat and watched the sun go down over the mountains.  The fish started jumping in the evening, and I enjoyed a beautiful, bug free night.

View of Upper Ball Lake from my campsite

Anyone for a swim?

Day 15 - Ball Lakes to Ruby Camp Daily mileage 22

Lower Ball Lake

From Ball lakes, I had to walk cross country along a ridge for a mile or so, and then descend steeply into a river valley and bushwhack along the river for a few miles until meeting up with the lion creek trail.  The climb up to the ridge wasn't too bad, and I passed what I'm pretty certain was a bear den on the way.  A small, bear sized cave filled with dead grasses on the side of a remote mountain hill.  Sweet! Never seen that before. Luckily no one was home.

I followed game trails here and there throughout the descent along lion creek, but much of the time was spent brush bashing.  I had some pretty frustrating moments, and was glad there was no one around for miles to hear me screaming at the bushes, swamps and nettles.  I eventually stumbled out on the Lion Creek trail, and found a nice spot along the river with a natural rock waterslide to relax and have lunch.  I went for a swim, rinsed out some clothes, and ate my granola bars for lunch.  Though this trail had been hard work so far, the occasional waterslide more than makes up for it.

Bear's house?

From Lion Creek, I passed the campground at the head of Priest Lake.  I had dreams of yogiing some food or a cold drink, but ended up passing everyone by.  Swimming in the lake sounded great, but I was ready to finish up a few more miles and call it a day.  I had some great, easy walking all along Upper Priest Lake, and my feet told me to stop after about 22 miles at a road crossing near Ruby Creek.  The mosquitoes were absolutely unbearable, and I was forced to cook quickly and eat my food in the tent.  Dinner was pesto pasta with sundried tomatoes and a tuna packet.  Yum!

Bushwhack down the hill and along the valley...

Waterslide!

Day 16 - Ruby Camp to Metaline Falls  Daily Mileage: ??

Tropical beach?  Nope...Upper Priest Lake

I left Ruby Camp nice and early and started walking north along some old, quite forest service roads.  My guidebook suggested that the trail ahead was not very well maintained, and could be a miserable, blowdown ridden climb & descent over Shedroof Mountain.  My feet were yelling at me to take a break from the moment I woke up, and we agreed that I'd skip a potentially brutal climb and meet up with the trail in a few miles.

I have no idea how far I walked, and it was a little nerve-wracking to be walking without a map or GPS and just following the directions in the book.  Luckily, the roads and trails were quite nice and flat, and it felt like I made great time.  An old forest service road turned into an amazingly soft trail past Hughes Meadow and back into the mountains.  Aside from a few short densely overgrown sections and some significant blowdowns, the trail was flat, easy to follow, and incredibly easy on my feet.  It meandered through a cedar forest with some beautiful, large, old trees and scarce undergrowth.  The morning sunlight filtering through the dense canopy was just perfect.

A few creek crossings later, I found myself standing at the steep climb up the mountain to meet the official PNT.  Halfway up, I plopped down for a little rest break, and found myself surrounded by huckleberries.  Jackpot!  I stuffed my face, and loudly apologized to any bears that might be nearby for stealing their food.  This seemed like a good spot to take a more extended break, and I broke out my granola for lunch.  Fresh huckleberry granola on a sunny mountainside just can't be beat!

After lunch, I gained a nice ridge and followed the PNT down to Gypsy Meadows (yes...a second Gypsy Meadows).  At the trailhead, I noticed a sign that the Sullivan Ridge trail was closed to the public.  I had a 4 mile bushwhack ahead of me up Leola Creek, and then a few more miles on Sullivan Ridge.  I'm not sure how you close a trail, but that combined with a bushwhack described as "the worst 4 miles of hiking anywhere in the country" and my ever aching feet convinced me to detour around.  I walked for about 8 miles down the Sullivan Creek road before finally accepting a ride from a guy who informed me that I had a looong way to go before reaching the end of the road.

Though I had previously planned to stop at Sullivan Lake for the night, I gave in to his offer to take me all the way into Metaline Falls (I would have just hitched a ride tomorrow morning anyway).  I needed a good rest, and planned to take a full zero day in Metaline Falls.  He dropped me at the Circle Hotel, 2 miles outside of town and I passed out fairly early.  I felt a little bad about having to miss out on ~15 miles of trail today, but I'm here to enjoy myself.  I need a rest after 14 straight days of walking.  I'm 300 miles in, and though I'm bandaged and tired, I'm feeling great!