Wednesday August 14, 20.8mi/33.5km

Chopaka Grade Road (606.6/3041ft) to Fireplace campsite (627.4/6991ft) (WA)

It was a great campsite, I slept for 10 straight hours! Then I started up the hill at 7am. It was a nice sunny day, and the early morning air was nice and cool.

After an hour of climbing uphill on old dirt roads, I turned off on an uphill trail. The morning’s objective was to knock out the remaining 3500ft of climbing. I came across an old cabin, which was a nice distraction and rest stop.

The rest of the climb was uneventful, and I stopped to eat first lunch at a campground, which was at the top of the climb. Yay, done with uphill!

Just after this, there was a trailhead where the PNT leaves the dirt road. These carved wooden signs are so neat!

And then… trail! Hello, old friend.

Up in the alpine zone, the views are pretty spectacular.

I stopped at a bridge and ate second lunch. It was nice to have a flat, clean place to sit, with the sounds of the creek nearby.

And right after the bridge, I officially entered the Pasayten Wilderness.

The high ridgelines are my favorite.

And the alpine meadows with the wildflowers too.

Apparently the peak I had just hiked over was called Goodenough Peak. Haha!

I hiked all afternoon in wilderness bliss, stopping frequently to look at all the surrounding mountains.

I stopped at a creek and made dinner, then hiked another mile and setup camp…just in case any large bears are in the neighborhood!

Tuesday August 13, 28.4mi/45.7km

Oroville (578.2/942ft) to Chopaka Grade Road (606.6/3041ft) (WA)

After getting in one last shower, I packed up and headed out at 8:30am. The first mile was on the Similkameen Trail, which followed the river.

The landscape around here is very dry, and there is sagebrush and tumbleweeds everywhere.

The rest of the day was on a paved road, which passed by some irrigated farmland as it followed the river.

I stopped for a late lunch break at Palmer Lake, and took a swim in the strangely warm water.

The walk along the lake was nice, especially as clouds arrived to filter out the hot sun. The deer were everywhere!

At the other (south) end of Palmer Lake is a nice picnic area, so I stopped there too, and get a break from the pavement.

The final hour felt long, but eventually the pavement ended, and I was at the base of a large 5000ft/1500m climb. I meant to camp there, and do the climb tomorrow, but my camping spot was infested with cows. So, I continued another two miles and up 1500ft/450m, and found a camp spot. Long day!

Monday August 12, 0mi/0km

Today was an unintended zero day, as I was originally planning on arriving to town today, not last night. And with the next section requiring a set schedule to comply with my camping permit for the North Cascades NP, there was no point in leaving a day early.

So, I relaxed in the motel room all morning, and watched a movie.

And then another movie…

I walked down to a deli for lunch (not much is open here on Mondays), and then went in the motel’s pool for a bit before it got too hot outside. The motel has hundreds of movies to borrow, so I continued with the Harry Potter theme, haha. After two more movies, I finished my resupply shopping. This is what seven days/six nights of food looks like.

Tomorrow, I start a 155-mile section, which will travel thru the Pasayten Wilderness and North Cascades NP, ending at Ross Lake. Then, I have a resupply box I mailed to myself at Ross Lake resort, which will keep me fed for the next 100-mile section of wilderness. So, I’m not expecting any phone signal for almost two weeks – blog posts will be delayed. 🙂

Sunday August 11, 23.5mi/37.8km

Swanson Creek Road/Church (550.0/3461ft) to Oroville (578.2/942ft) (WA) -4.7mi alt route

I had an amazing breakfast with Diana and Steve, and then we said our goodbyes. I started with the dog, Sirius Black. He is a huge wolfhound!

Steve was even generous enough to drop me off back on the trail. (Thanks!!)

I started walking at 9am, and most of today was on dirt roads. I only saw three cars.

I stopped for lunch, and then 2nd lunch at a nice ledge with some views of the valley below.

There were thunderstorms in the distance, they didn’t seem to be moving closer though. I had a relaxing stroll downhill to the highway to town.

The Okanogan backcountry horsemen had made a fancy sign for the trailhead, it was a beautiful carved wooden one.

And the first PNT highway sign I’ve ever seen!

The walk into town was two miles on a busy highway. The town of Oroville seemed nice.

I walked up to the only motel in town, and it was such a welcoming sight on their sign!

I promptly checked in, showered, and then went across the street to the Pastime Brewery for dinner. Zero day tomorrow!

Saturday August 10, 20.1mi/32.3km

Cow Pond (526.8/4272ft) to Swanson Creek Road/Church (550.0/3461ft) (WA) -3.1mi alt route

I slept in, because I was so tired from all the miles yesterday. I finally got hiking at 7:15am, and I got to Lake Bonaparte just after 8am. It had a restaurant! And I had perfect timing, it had just opened at 8am, time for second breakfast!

There were a few people out on the lake enjoying the day. Ducks, too.

I finished my breakfast (and milkshake) and hiked uphill, starting a long climb up to the summit of Mt. Bonaparte. The lake was 1000ft/300m below at this point.

A couple of hours later, I got to the junction to the summit. I had a choice – the official PNT goes around the mountain, and the trail is 5km longer. The popular alternate route goes over the summit, with an extra 1000ft of climbing. Easy decision…over the summit!

I was on top an hour later. The fire tower is staffed, and I had a fun conversation with the lonely watchman.

Clouds were gathering, so I decided to get down the mountain quickly. I dropped down into the trees, and the trail was a nice gentle downhill, and the miles flew by.

I saw an old abandoned cabin on the way.

And of course I saw cows too. Hi cows!

I was walking along a road on the final mile to my destination, when a guy in a pickup truck stops to ask if I want a ride. I was heading to the church (which lets hikers camp in their yard for free), but he offered a place to stay, and said there was a big storm coming. Yes, please! Steve picked me up, and also his spouse Diana, and along with some grandchildren, we went to town and got pizza!

Back at the house, I setup my sleeping bag on the porch, and watched a huge thunderstorm roll through!

Friday August 9, 28.1mi/45.2km

Ogle Creek (498.7/3802ft) to Cow Pond (526.8/4272ft) (WA)

Since I did so many miles yesterday, I slept in until 7am today. I started walking at 7:30, and said my usual greeting, “good morning cows!”

The morning was an 11-mile dirt roadwalk on an old forest service road. I was enjoying counting down the mile markers, and this one inspired me to play some rap music.

I stopped at the Sweat Creek picnic area for lunch, and then hiked up a short mountain under gathering clouds.

Coming down the other side, I saw plenty of springs to fill up from. I’m glad I filled up at the first spring, and didn’t wait for the second one! Bleh.

I could see the clouds thickening, and there were a few light sprinkles, but nothing umbrella-worthy.

On the descent, I was mostly in the trees, so I was paying more attention to the things nearby, rather than the views. I saw a PNTA trail crew had carved themselves a name…

And this bridge needs some help. Good thing all the creeks are dry.

The trail came out at a dirt road, but someone had put up “private property” signs, gates, and weird plastic skulls. It seemed like they were squatting on public land, and it was just plain creepy.

On the dirt roadwalk, the “Deliverance/Hills have Eyes” theme continued…

There were probably a dozen junk cars, abandoned RV campers, hundreds of “keep out” signs, a few unabomber-style shacks, gun propaganda, and even two loose junkyard dogs (one got kicked). WTF is wrong with people?

After a mile of that insanity, the trail moved on to a nice open grassland area, it reminded me of the Southland District (NZ).

And later, some nice farm fields that were freshly mowed.

Because my planned 20-mile day would have me stop in Deliverance-land, I kept on walking. And walking. Finally, at 6:30pm I reentered public land, and I setup camp a few hundred meters over the boundary, at a cow pond. Moo.

Thursday August 8, 25.7mi/41.4km

Thirteenmile Ridge (478.5/4518ft) to Ogle Creek (498.7/3802ft) (WA) + 5.5mi alternate route

Another hot day was forecast, so I was hiking early at 6:45am.

About an hour into the day, I had an option. I could do a 2.7mi bushwhack, or a 5mi alternate that is on a trail. I chose the trail!

Despite the map calling it the “Trail to Hell”, I enjoyed it immensely.

Towards the end, it dropped into the San Poil River canyon, with 1000ft volcanic rock walls.

There was a short bit of paved roadwalk to link back to the official PNT. It was getting hot, so I didn’t stop until I was off the shadeless road. At least the views were great!

The road also briefly crossed into Colville Nation territory. Neat!

I stopped for a break and to refill water at a FS campground. Most of the rest of the day was on dirt roads, and I only saw one car in five hours.

Just before I stopped to camp, I crossed into a new national forest. Goodbye Colville NF, hello Okanogan NF!

I stopped to camp near Ogle Creek, I don’t normally camp near creeks but water is so scarce here. It’s a nice spot, though a little creepy to hear the cows roaming around here in the dark. Moo.

Wednesday August 7, 18.5mi/29.8km

Sherman Pass (460.0/5436ft) to Thirteenmile Ridge campsite (478.5/4518ft) (WA)

I met up with Karrie at the coffee shop at 7am, as we had planned. She is a local trail angel who helps out hikers with rides, and sometimes showers and food too. While we were waiting for her coffee, I briefly met two other PNT thru-hikers! Sweets and Lorax, both from the east coast. There are other hikers out here!

Karrie dropped me off at Sherman Pass, and I was in my way. I even spotted the elusive PNT marker!

The PNT continued along the Kettle Crest for a few hours, and it’s a nice trail among beautiful granite mountains.

I could see into the valleys down below. It looks like the smoke from the nearby wildfire has accumulated down there.

Just before leaving the Kettle Crest, I found a cabin! It can be reserved thru the USFS, complete with cots, woodstove, and longdrop toilet.

And then, I left the nice trail and did a short bushwhack. It was only 2.5 miles, but took as many hours. Lots of rock scrambling, log hopping, and weaving around small cliffs. It was hot, and slow. I finally came to the end of it, and found some water.

And someone had decorated this boulder, and now it looked like a face with teeth. Haha, snaggletooth rock!

The rest of the day was uneventful, but went slower than expected. The map for this part is very inaccurate, and omits all the switchbacks that exist, thereby underreporting the mileage by at least a mile.

I arrived to a campsite at 6pm, and stopped for the day a few miles short of my goal. The slow bushwhack, combined with the underreported mileage, made for a very long day.

Tuesday August 6, 19.5mi/31.4km

Profanity Ridge (440.5/5728ft) to Sherman Pass (460.0/5436ft) (WA)

It was already warm when I started walking at 6:30am, but there was a nice breeze. I hiked thru the last part of the burn area, it was probably another 3mi/5km.

And then all of a sudden, the PNT turned left, good thing I was paying attention! I haven’t seen any PNT markers at trail junctions here in Washington, but Montana had plenty…

And as soon as I left the burn area, I started hearing cows in the forest. I never saw any, but this cattle trough had some nice water. Reminds me of the CDT!

Around mid-morning I reached the summit of Copper Butte mountain, elevation 7100ft/2165m. It was a nice spot for a sit, and there was a nice breeze too.

Another summit view.

As I was descending back into the trees, I started seeing many mushrooms. And this one was particularly enormous!

The last few miles were just purely enjoyable walking on a magnificent trail in beautiful weather. These are the days that I kept hoping for on the AT…

I got to Sherman Pass at 3:30pm, and since it is a very lightly traveled road, I didn’t get a ride until 4:30pm. It was a 45 minute drive into town, since there was road construction on highway 20.

I got dropped off at the grocery store at 5:15pm, did my shopping, and walked across the street and grabbed the last motel room. I had a super quick shower, since everything in the town of Republic closes at 8pm, and I still had to do laundry and eat dinner. I ended up eating a microwave meal in my motel room, since the restaurant’s kitchen had closed early. I’m grateful to be getting back on trail early tomorrow morning, with a ride from a local trail angel, Karrie!

Monday August 5, 27.1mi/43.6km

Taylor Lake (413.4/2185ft) to Profanity Ridge (440.5/5728ft) (WA)

I started very early, at 6:45am, in an effort to beat the heat. And I mostly did! The climb up to 5000ft was gradual, and I was at the top at 11am. And then I entered a burn area from a 2015 wildfire.

I love these cattle guard devices in the roads. I want one for my driveway!

I stopped for a break to enjoy the last of the shade, before I entered the main part of the burn area.

And a few minutes later…

Even though I was up at 5000ft, with no shade it got warm fast. Still, it was better than being down in the valley where it was almost 100F/37C!

The Kettle Crest Trail is nice, and I can tell much work has been done to improve it since the fire. And new bridges!

I hiked to my planned camp spot, but it was full of standing burned trees… too dangerous. Camping near these “widowmakers” is usually a terrible idea, as they can easily fall over and crush the tent. So I kept walking. And walking… the burn area wasn’t ending, and it was almost 7pm. I finally found an area that was out of range of any nearby dead trees.

And with all that extra mileage today, it looks like tomorrow I’ll be heading into the next town a day early!