Rainy days are here again! We were so happy to be cold today in off and on rain, mist, fog, and views. We had tons of elevation change, tons of climbs, and all of them with beautiful mountains and rivers. We hit 2,500 miles, so just 150 more to go!

The evening ended at a stunning river that kept us asleep all night long with white noise.

Tim served as the “runner” today, taking off to get an early tent spot while I stayed back and hiked at a normal pace for the remaining 20 miles. Two significant climbs meant amazing views, and Tim snagged a super camp spot amongst the massive bubble of hikers around us.

The climbs were significant, but you learn to rest right before them and just commit to hiking hard for 2 hours and then they are over. I’m getting quite good and getting through them.

Huckleberries and blue berries have been fading, replaced by massive trees that have fallen over significantly obstructing trail. It’s always a fun puzzle piecing together the easiest way up, around, under or through these road blocks.

Only 100 miles to go! I spent the end of the day picking huckleberries and blue berries as I could tell my chances to really do this would be dwindling. Gorgeous views today, with a long downhill to end the day coming into the campsite with the trail fam. The weather was perfect for this last day before getting into Stehekin.

We’d give Stehekin a B, A+ for the bakery, D for other amenities. We sprinted for a campground spot, did not get one of the 30 (?!) WiFi spots, the restaraunt was not open, the general store only had one type of beer and almost no hiker food otherwise, there was only one shower and one set of laundry machines. The only things going for it were that there was a nearby ranch with a restaurant that ran a bus to take hikers to and from, their post office was efficient, and they had an accessible charging station.

Thankfully there was a lake where we washed ourselves and our clothes otherwise we would have been very sad.

The bakery was everything. Best cinnamon roll of my life. Hot coffee! Everything we tried was perfect.