There was a nice section of trail after the road walk.
Sunset over the Kettle Range.
There is cattle out here and we share the same water source. Here is a trough with a piped spring.
We had some nice views too.
Here we are at Sherman's Pass. The previous night I hiked up the mountain three miles past this point. In the morning I woke up eager to get to town. Instead of hiking onward and getting into town in the afternoon, I decided to hike back down to the road and hitch into town. Fitty met me on the way down. He thought I was crazy but the prospect of pancakes can make even the most seasoned hiker act irrationally. And we'll, now there are two of us hiking down the mountain. Unfortunately getting a hitch at Sherman's Pass was supprisingly difficult. We were standing out there for over 3 hrs before someone picked us up.
I had dinner at the local brewery with Money Shot, Spaceman Spiff, Morning Glory, Fitty Shrimp, Rainbow Brite, and Bonnie.
We didn't leave town until the next night. What hikers do when not hiking? We sit and loiter in town all day long.
Eventually we hiked out. Oh look, more cows.
And cow patties. Here is a happy cow patty.
These cars haven't been driven in years.
We hike miles along private property. Wire fencing and no trespassing signs were everywhere.
I hiked late into the night but didn't make it out of private property. I was tired and it was raining so I ended up hopping a fence and camping behind a brush pile. The property was obviously maintained and it was clear by the copious amounts of fencing and signage that someone didn't want us there. I was a little sketched out by the whole situation- not to mention the creaky tree and the animals making noises all night long. I was outta there first thing in the morning.
Here we are at Bonaparte Lake - 12 of us in one spot. This is the largest gathering of PNT hikers yet, perhaps ever!
Bluebird took a nap.
Money Shot too.
More sweet views from Devil's Dome.
Spaceman Spiff was not napping.
I went for a swim.
We were at the lake for most of the day but eventually we needed to hike out.
At the top of the mountain was a historic lookout tower.
The cabin was locked but I slept up there anyway on the lower platform and woke up for the sunrise.
Fitty didn't make it to the summit. Instead, Fitty camped down below and established himself in an area he named Fitty City.
Here we are descending into town. At the bottom, a 3 mile road walk in 106° temps awaits.
Oroville marks the halfway point on the trail.
Did I mention that Washington is on fire?
A bunch of us made it out to see live music in the neighboring town of Tonasket. Rising Appalachia performed at the community center.
Some nice folks in Oroville let us camp on their lawn.
The following night we camped at the park next to the lake.
There was a farmers market on the way out of town.
It was a nice rail trail leading out of of town. Our packs were loaded with 160 miles worth of food as there was is no resupply option until we exit the Pasayten Wilderness. I think our trail through the Pasayten is the longest in the U.S. uninterrupted by roads second only to the JMT in California.
People were dredging for gold along the river.
Then we got to walk through a tunnel.
There were lots of Marathons in the tunnel.
It's a desert out here. This is also Washington's driest year on record.
We go through private property. We needed to call ahead and get permission from the landowner.
A mine is a terrible thing to waste.
Fitty made friends with a family camped at Palmer Lake. When Money Shot and I arrived, we got treated to a warm meal and good company.
Dan and Dottie shared their dinner with us.
Dan gave us a ride up the road in the morning. Last year on AT, I considered myself a purist, hiking every mile of the official trail. But the PNT is different -it's not a not complete trail and there's a lot of road walking. There's no shame in accepting a ride every once in a while.
Just stopping to take in the views.
At the top of the mountain was a Christmas tree decorated with Christmas ornaments as well as trash.
At Cold Springs campground we had a good dinner, average conversation, pitched our tents, and went to sleep.
We entered the Pasayten Wilderness. Somehow I found myself in a bathtub with some sweet views.
We hiked over Cathedral Pass, sharing the trail with several boy scout groups that day.
We pass by more beautiful lakes.
When the night has come. And the land is dark. And the moon is the only light we'll see...
Water is plentiful in the Pasayten.
On top of Bunker Hill, a 7200 ft bald peak.
Fireweed grows in old burn areas.
The PNT coincides with the PCT for 14 miles. This is some of the best hiking, not only on the PNT, but anywhere!
There is a note on the map not to miss this section or else get smited by the trail gods.
"Rock Cr Alternate: Really bad weather option on decent tr. However, conditions need to be both viewless and life-threatening because Lakeview Ridge on the official stretch you miss is jaw-droppingly beautiful. Seriously, it's one of the best views on any long-distance trail anywhere.
IF YOU TAKE THIS SHORTCUT WITHOUT SAFETY-BASED REASONS THE TRAIL GODS WILL SMITE YOU...TRUST ME."
And sunsets.
We were pretty much walking into a fire and it hurt to breathe coming down the mountain.
I'm following Morning Glory out of there.
I got to go on a little boat ride.
The rangers were waiting for us at the trailhead. We were surrounded by fire and there was no way out except to continue hiking. The rangers had MREs for us to resupply since there was no town option.
We got shuttled 2 miles up the road to the Ross Lake trailhead.
The Ross Lake dam was pretty impressive.
Ross Lake Resort.
The resort had to be evacuated by order of the forest service. This place was pretty special and guests need to reserve a cabin a year in advance. It would have been way out of our price range anyway at several hundred a night for a cabin. The owner was in a good mood having just gotten back from a 5 hr fishing trip (as good a mood as one can be in given that your resort is deserted and you're hemorrhaging 100 grand a week). Well, since the resort was vacant, the owner invited us to have a cabin for the night. Not only that, but when the gusts evacuated, they left the cabins completely stocked with food- really good food. And wine.
We ate well that night and the next day too. And we carried out as much food as we could fit in our packs.
Well, that's it for now. We need to get back on trail before the fires get any worse. Just look at the size of the ash falling on us from 7 miles away!
