Skykomish to Bushcamp
11.0 miles
Mile 2475.2
I didn’t really sleep last night thanks to the trains blasting their horns every hour as they rumbled through town. I also realized that we’d need to cover 110 miles in the next three days in order to reach Stehekin before it’s post office closes on Saturday, so that sucks. A bit past 7 I finally gave up on rest, and headed down the street to wash our filthy clothes at the laundromat.
An hour later I was back in the room packing my gear up with Spikes before heading downstairs to grub at the cafe. I think we’re both overdue for some new socks…
We grabbed a table near a group of southbound hikers and began reviewing the menu. We overheard them making fun of us north bounders…calling us “nobo it alls”…to be fair, we’ve been out here longer than them, so our advice is solid, but I understand where they’re coming from. When the waiter came to pour our coffee, Spikes ordered a strawberry milkshake, the breakfast of champions, as well as a breakfast scramble named Train Wreck.
I went with the veggie scramble with bacon and salsa added. It wasn’t bad!
After breakfast we swung by the post office to pickup our boxes before heading to the highway to grab a hitch back to Stevens Pass.
Within minutes a van pulled up and we hopped in. The back was filled with all sorts of fun recreational toys. It turns out that the driver and his wife had been touring the Pacific Northwest for the last month, and they were heading back home to Hawaii the following day.
When they dropped us off at Stevens Pass, Spikes and I swung by the cafe to grab some snacks before hitting the trail.
Shortly after entering Henry O. Jackson Wilderness, Spikes began feeling nauseous. We slowed down and took a couple breaks, but the feeling persisted.
An hour or so later my stomach was also in knots. We were both in bad shape, a serious case of code brown. We figure it was something we ate in town.
Ultimately we decided to cut the day short, making camp near a stream on a patch of grass. We’d have to make up the miles over the next two days, but we just couldn’t go on. Neither of us could eat much for dinner, but fortunately sleep came quick.
Cheers!