Start: 178.7
Stop: 187
Today’s miles: 8.3
Total PCT miles: 374.8
I tossed and turned a lot, but overall slept well, I think. I woke up to a soaking wet tent though, and a very damp sleeping bag. Thanks a lot lake condensation. It didn’t matter, we all three packed super quick and got to hiking by 6:30am.
The trail was easy going, but the mosquitoes were out in full force. I had my headnet on by 8, and was mildly losing my mind. Thankfully, the trail was kind and I could move fast. I hit the side trail to get to the Skykomish Lodge at 10:15 and was at the lodge by 10:20. Marquis beat me there by 40 minutes, and we were both devastated to learn that there wasn’t food nearby. That should be illegal.
A-Train and Drake were there already, too. They decided to get off trail today, which makes me really sad.. but I totally get their reasoning for it. They aren’t enjoying it anymore, so why waste their time doing something thats making them miserable? Tashina and Romy are going back on 7/12.. so now I know at least 5 trail friends that have left or are leaving the trail early.
Margot got there not long after me. We sat around talking and decided to hitch to Skykomish to get our trail chores done, since the inn Mom found us doesn’t have a laundry service and also the town doesn’t have a laundromat. We didn’t want to sit around here until the afternoon when Anthony, the trail Angel would be able to drive us. Drake, A-Train, and a SOBO named Jack went to try to hitch first. They were out there for a good 15-20 minutes before the three of us decided to go hitch, too.
I walked to the road, stuck my thumb out, waved and smiled at a little red car.. and immediately the driver pulled over! It was seriously less than a minute of getting to the road! Everyone was shocked! Haha-good times-I think it’s the bright fuchsia pink hiking shirt I wear. The girl in the red car could only take 2, so I told Drake and A-Train to go with her. They were out there first and they needed to figure out a bus to Seattle today. We all said our goodbyes and off they went.
The next hitch took a little longer, maybe 10 whole minutes, and a man driving a U-Haul stopped. Jack and I went, even though I was willing to stay to try for the next one. I asked the man how he felt about putting 2 hikers in the back of the U-Haul and I got a very quick, “Absolutely Not!” Haha just kidding there buddy-unless you’d have done it..
Jack sat in the middle, what an Angel, and we talked with the driver about all things hiking. He likes to do trail magic at a lake near White’s Pass. We three got so involved talking that he passed our stopping point and I didn’t realize it for a good 5-10 minutes. He was kind enough to turn around and take us back, but I almost thought we were going to have to hitch again.
We walked into a deli and I got a Rueben sandwich, chips, a beer, and a butterfinger-because why not?! As I was ordering, Margot and Marquis had just got their ride and was on the way, too. I wish I could say I was a kind person and waited for them before ordering and then eating my food-but I 100% didn’t even consider it. Yikes. Sorry guys. I did however happily sit with them while they ate once they got there. Margot tried her first ever Dr. Pepper and hated it.. that was a hysterical experience!
We walked through town, located the laundromat, and then I went to the post office to mail some stuff home-my old charging bank, the pants I wore in the cold weather (honestly the idea of putting those pants on in this heat makes me think I’ll actually combust), and the thermarest pad inflater thing-I love it-but it uses the hell out of AAA batteries and it’s just not worth the effort. Sad times.
We all shared a washer and dryer and sat around in rain gear and undies while our clothes washed. Since I actually had on rain pants, I walked to the Inn in town to get my resupply box Mom sent me. I told the man that I was sorry we weren’t staying, but I was told they didn’t have rooms-he says, “we have plenty of rooms tonight.” WTF?! Seriously? When I followed up-apparently yesterday he chose to not answer the Inn phone line (when Mom was calling to book us a room) because the cafe was busy. Ah. Ok. I guess?
I went back to the laundromat and reorganized my stuff (thank you Mom for all my goodies), and got really frustrated with how large my pack is when it’s weighed down with food. Resupply days are both the best and also horrifying because of this. Marquis went and got us some drinks while we sat waiting-so Margot got to try her first ever Mountain Dew, too.. she liked this one! Hahaha what have we done?
Once laundry was done, we redressed our dirty bodies in our clean clothes and walked to the gas station.. because Marquis said is was absolutely disgusting and we needed to see it for ourselves. He was not wrong. Holy hell. There was layers of dust or rodent excrement or something gross on every shelf-every item-including skittles. There were flies everywhere. And, the best part: it smelled like raw sewage. BARF. The man working there was super nice though, and I felt bad for him, but maybe it’s one of those “if you’re around it long enough you get used to it” deals.
We walked across the 2 lane highway, to be facing the correct direction and started to attempt to get a hitch to our Inn in Index, Washington-20 minutes west of Skykomish. Again, roughly 10-15 minutes with thumbs out, waving, smiling and all that jazz, a lady in a minivan stopped for us. We must have stank because she rolled her windows down! She did, however, take us right to our place, the historic and absolutely charming Bush House Inn.
We thanked her profusely and then we headed inside. The woman at the counter checked us in. Mom actually booked us two rooms and won’t tell us how much it was so we can pay her back.. I swear, she’s way too good to me. Each room has a queen bed, so Margot and I shared the larger room and bed, and let Marquis have his own. There were communal showers, so we took our turns and my god the bathrooms were incredible. This is the first non quarter operated shower I’ve had in what feels like forever, so please believe I took my sweet time with the free toiletries we were given. I even shaved my crazy looking legs.
When we had all showered and ready, we met in our room and were discussing our game plan: go to the general store across the street, let Marquis resupply and I needed lunch food.. then we’d eat dinner at the Inn’s restaurant. During this time, our room door was open and a toddler boy ran into our room! We cheese and coo at him, he giggles showing us his sweet dimples, and then he darted off. Seconds later all I hear is tumbling down stairs and screaming wails.
I immediately spring from our room and down the stairs to find that sweet boy wrapped in his mom’s arms, both of them crying. Without thinking, I start looking him over, feeling his head for swelling, noting the bruising blossoming above his nose on his forehead, moving each limb and making sure everything seemed to move like normal.. I know nothing about babies, but I figured if something was terribly wrong I’d hopefully notice it and at the very least be able to talk them into calling 911 or something.
The dad appeared and the little boy went to him, still crying.. once he did, I hugged the mom and asked if she was ok.. she broke down a little more, causing me to tear up, too. She promised she was ok, and agreed that he looked ok too-and we all agreed that he shouldn’t nap incase he had a concussion. When I walked back up the stairs, Margot and Marquis were standing there, and Margot had tears down her face too. She said it was the mom’s shrill scream that hit her so hard, and I realized my brain never even heard the mom, all I heard was the baby. That was such a terrifying moment, almost more scary than my fall on Cutthroat Pass or that sketchy snow crossing the other day.
Once we all settled our nerves a bit, we headed out for the general store. On the way out the door, I saw the mom and baby, he was happy now-and I realized she worked there, at the Inn and restaurant! I asked her again how she was, and she promised they were both ok, she was just so scared in that moment because she watched it all happen.. she was grabbing his arm as his foot slipped off the top step of the staircase and she couldn’t grab him fast enough. How absolutely awful!
The general store was small and overpriced, but we made it work. Margot and Marquis started in on a gallon of ice cream at the picnic table outside while we planned out the next day. I messaged Anthony to see if he’d be willing to pick us up tomorrow from here to take us to trail-and when he text back he said he had just sat down at the bar of the restaurant at the Inn! No way! We put our groceries away and went to talk to him. He would help us get the few things we couldn’t find at the general store and pick us up tomorrow after 8:30am. Deal.
We got a table and the mom of the sweet boy was our waitress. Gotta love small towns. We shared some salmon cakes, Margot and I got Prime Rib with potatoes and Marquis got a chicken panini. My goodness that steak was heaven! So delicious, I cleared my entire plate! Perfectly cooked, some incredible sauce on top, excellent grilled or sautéed potatoes. Marquis liked his sandwich, too. He was just full from eating the ENTIRE GALLON of ice cream..Which he finished at the restaurant. Lol kids, ammirite..
When we went to pay, I asked our waitress about leaving a tip on my card because I don’t have enough cash-and she wouldn’t let me.. said it was for all my help during the accident earlier. I didn’t like that, she still deserved a tip, but she wasn’t going to let me. It was really sweet of her, but unnecessary for sure. We walked up to our rooms, talked a bit, shared our gear.. and now we’re all in bed, Margot is probably close to being asleep and it’s time to turn this light out. Our room is amazing, this inn is wonderful.. my Mom is the best 🙂 I love you, Mom. Sweet dreams, y’all.. goodnight!