Day 159: Holden Village/ Stehekin Zero
9.21.18. 0 miles.
Today was just a really great day. I hadn’t anticipated on taking any zeros in Washington, but since I cranked out the miles the last few days and got to Holden Village last night, I was able to enjoy today off!
All the hikers waiting for the shuttle
I got up and was walking to the actual main village at 7:10, and would be there just in time for breakfast to start! As I was getting settled and figuring the place out, I saw Dead Zone!! It was such a lovely reunion. I was so happy to see her. Dead Zone skipped NorCal and the second half of Oregon, but wanted to hike Washington. I knew she was ahead of me, and I knew I’d catch up eventually, I just didn’t know where! So despite the breakfast being very lackluster at Holden Village (literally just different kinds of bread and yogurt w mix ins), it was great because I got to reunite with a friend. As I was making my way towards their table, I heard my real name being called and Captain was there!! I didn’t even recognize him with his beard! I met Captain leaving Mt. Laguna way back in the desert. How fitting to have met up with him again in the last town on the PCT when we met in the first one! The trail has a way of doing things like this. I met some other really nice people Dead Zone and Captain had made friends with.
Kat, Stitch, and Dead Zone
After breakfast, I paid and got a ticket for the shuttle to go down to the dock to catch the ferry to Stehekin. I had some time to kill and went to the library to charge some things a little and read a backpacker magazine. At 10:30 I went back to the loading area and it was so funny seeing all of the hikers chilling on the stairs. We stick out so much, and stick together so much too. It makes my heart swell when I see a bunch of hiker trash hanging out together. I also ran into Mantis when getting ready here, who I hadn’t seen since I got sick in Burney! He was relieved to see that I was better and continued on the trail. We all loaded onto the school bus shuttle, which is possibly the worst smelling school bus in the world. I sat with Bernt, one of the hikers I met in NorCal and we chatted about Washington. He’s from Monroe.
Once we got down to the landing, we only had to wait a little bit for the ferry to come. We loaded up our things, and once we got moving, bought our tickets and then drinks and snacks. The ferry ride was pretty short, and soon enough we were in Stehekin. I immediately went to the post office to get my box, which I had to wait a little while for since the postmaster was down at the dock getting mail from the ferry. I was relieved to have my box in hand: it contained my passport and Canada entry permit, which were essential to have to walk into Manning Park from the terminus! After sorting through everything, and grabbing some things at the store, Dead Zone and I tried to figure out the bakery situation. We ended up taking the free bakery shuttle to the bakery, but needed to take the $4 regular shuttle back to Stehekin. No problem. I needed that bakery to finish my resupply anyways, and we were hungry! So we went to the bakery and gorged ourselves! I got a quiche and strawberry rhubarb pie a la mode to eat there, and bought a cupcake, muffin, and another pastry thing there to eat later, AND three cinnamon rolls to complement my resupply. I’m living large these last few days on trail. After eating and singing Hamilton together (which I convinced Dead Zone to listen to back in the desert, even though she’s a Brit who didn’t think a musical about an American founding father could be that good, and now she’s obsessed....) and annoying everyone in the bakery, we got on the shuttle back to town, arms full of baked goods.
My bakery haul
We got our stuff organized a bit and then got a permit to camp at the campground near the ranger station, not able to get a room in the lodge since there’s a wedding party here and all the rooms were booked. After setting up camp, we went back to where everyone was hanging out. Captain has been buying everyone beers and Mike’s Hard Lemonade (which brought back memories of freshman year of college). I had a few Mikes, the most drinks I’ve had on trail. He also bought EVERYONE burgers! Captain is literally one of the nicest, most generous people I know. I don’t even know how to repay him. Especially since he and his wife Alana, and Jim were my saviors when I left Mt. Laguna all those months ago in a terrible mood with thoughts of giving up on my mind. So I don’t know how to repay him, but I thanked him again for prepping me up back then. Who knows where I’d be if I hadn’t run into him.
Me & Captain
Feeling a little tipsy and very tired, and not happy about the hard sprinkling and random winds gusts, Dead Zone and I went back to our tents after much socialization and WiFi usage. Now it’s time for bed and to finish up the trail!
Happy Hikers