PNT - Sherman Pass, WA to Bonaparte Lake, WA

Day 24 - Sherman Pass to Snow Peak Cabin  Daily Mileage: 5

Snow Peak Cabin

Though there was a lot of traffic, it took me over 3 hours to get a ride out of Republic to Sherman Pass.  I probably look dirtier and dirtier with each passing week, so maybe that has something to do with it.  I didn't make it to the trailhead until 3:30, but figured I'd put in a few miles before calling it a night.  Five miles in, I came across the Snow Peak cabin.  Had I read about it, I would have made the effort to reserve it at the ranger station in town, but I came across it unexpectedly, and just waited it out to see if anyone would show up for the night.

There were two bedrolls set up on the cots, but I couldn't tell if they were just leftover gear.  There hadn't been any footprints in the area since the last rain (at least two days ago), and it was getting late.  I cooked some dinner, had a nice cup of tea, and watched the sun go down from some nicely made camp furniture.  Around 8:30, just as I had committed to a nice, comfortable night, I heard voices off in the distance.  Of course, a family of four showed up around 9pm with reservations for the night.  They were very nice, and we chatted for a while as they got their gear in, and I took mine out.  I ended up setting up the tent a little ways down the trail.  I was a little disappointed that I didn't get an easy night in a sweet cabin, but at least a had a comfortable place to sit while I ate dinner.













Day 25 - Snow Peak Cabin to Thirteenmile Camp  Daily Mileage: 22

I slept pretty well last night, and didn't make it out onto the trail until 8am.  I said a quick goodbye to the folks in the cabin and got rolling.  The first 3 miles went pretty quickly, with only a quarter mile gone down the wrong trail...oops!  Next up was a two mile bushwhack.  This one didn't go so well.  It took me 3.5 hours and a lot of energy to make it down the hill to the road that was my next waypoint.  Once again, I stumbled out onto the road exhausted, thirsty, and bleeding.

There was reported to be water at the 12 mile mark, near the Shelberg Shelter cabin.  Unfortunately, no streams were flowing, the cabin was destroyed and abandoned, and I was getting real tired.  I dropped my pack and walked back down the trail to where I was sure I'd passed a small trickle.  After a half mile, I didn't find anything, but kind of felt committed (can't walk a whole mile for nothing, right?).  After two miles I really felt committed.  Finally, at two and a half miles I had to concede that I might have imagined the water.  I yelled out to the PNT that it had won.  Just give me some water and a ride back to town, and I'll give you the victory.  No help arrived, and I had no choice but to walk back to my heavy pack, and push on down the trail.

Of course, two miles later I found a mediocre stream.  The water didn't seem super clean, but I was desperate and I filled up.  Though I felt better after a drink, I was still exhausted from the bushwhack, and was looking for a campsite when I suddenly felt something creeping up behind me.  I spun around, only to see another hiker right on my heels.  I figured he had to be another PNTer, since no one else in their right mind would be out here, but before I could get the words together, he said, "you must be Alex, right?  If you're wearing Dirty Girls, you've got to be a thru-hiker."

I was a bit stunned, but he had just come from Bert & Jerry's B&B in Northport, and they'd told him I wasn't but a few days ahead of him.  "Tomato" was a seasoned thru-hiker (PCT, AT, CDT...the works) and had started a week after me.  He had been putting in close to 30 miles a day, often more, and had already passed 5 other PNTers.  Meeting him gave me the boost I needed, and we hiked together until 8:30pm when we reached Thirteenmile camp.  We set up our tents, commiserated about the terrible bushwhacking, and even had a brief discussion about trail safety.

After a nice shared meal and rinse in the stream, we called it a night.  Even though I only put in 22 miles, this was a damn tough day.

Day 26 - Thirteenmile Camp to Sweat Creek  Daily Mileage: 27

Grand Canyon of Washington?

Tomato and I woke up around 6am, but since he's far more badass than I, he was packed up and took off down the trail by 6:20.  I took my time getting ready, and made it out to the road by 6:45.  He was meeting a friend at Sweat Creek to take a zero day in Republic, and wanted to make sure he made it in time.  I'd just slow him down anyway...

I had a few miles of roadwalking through the San Poil Canyon, described as the "Grand Canyon of Washington".  Maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but it was a pleasant walk nonetheless.  I made it to Swan Lake around 10:30 am, and took the opportunity to go for a swim and wash some of my clothes.  The lake was surprisingly clear, and the perfect temperature for swimming.  It didn't take long for the group of kids playing on the shore to start pestering me about my gear and what I was doing.  I tried my best to entertain them as I cleaned up my stuff.  They weren't quite buying the concept of walking that far just for fun.

Anyway, I moved on and walked mostly FS roads until it started to rain at about 3:30.  I waited out the initial burst under a tree for about 15 minutes, and then gave up and just tried to bust out some miles.  The rain didn't really make walking sound pleasant, but setting up and being stuck in the tent for 6 hours until bedtime sounded even worse.  I knocked out the remaining miles pretty quickly, and made it to the Sweat Creek camp by 6pm.  Tomato was waiting in the covered restrooms for his ride.  Typical thru-hiker trash...waiting out a rainstorm in a bathroom.  We cooked our dinner together, huddled under the two-foot overhang of the roof.  His ride showed up, and though I was tempted to jump in and stay the night in Republic, I decided I should tough it out.  I set up my tent in the driest place I could find and fell asleep quickly.

Hopefully it's not rainy all day tomorrow too.  I'll definitely need to dry out my gear somehow...

Day 27 - Sweat Creek to Bonaparte Lake  Daily Mileage: 20

Hi friends!

I slept very well, even though I went to bed a bit wet and cold.  Maybe due to some bad sleep the night before, I had fallen asleep at 8:30, and felt good this morning.  I treated myself to a nice cup of tea and cheddar broccoli soup for breakfast to make sure I warmed up right.  I hit the trail at 6:45 and had a relatively easy day of hiking, except for numerous cow paths that crisscrossed the mountains.  Recent work has been done on the trails around here, and though they look really nice now, the dirt is incredibly soft.  With all the cattle in the area, I have a feeling that things aren't going to last long.

I flew through some quick road walking up and over some easyish hills.  Things went pretty smoothly except that the mosquitoes here apparently didn't get the memo that you can't have rain and mosquitoes at the same time.  One or the other...it's just not fair to have both.

I arrived at the Bonaparte Lake Resort to pick up the resupply package I had mailed to myself.  Looking at it now, I'm not sure why I thought that was a good place, since it's only 50 miles from Oroville, but oh well!  The resort had had a cancellation and offered me a cabin with woodstove for only $40 for the night.  The forecast called for probable rain for the next two days, so I took them up on the offer and managed to dry out my wet gear.  I justified it by telling myself that I'd have had to pay $12 for a campsite anyway, and a hot shower/warm room justified the difference in price.

Bonaparte Lake