Between Smoke, Water, and a Real Bed

5:49 AM

That was a rough night; I couldn’t fall asleep. I’m camped next to a river, but with earplugs I can still dampen the sound quite a bit. Maybe it’s because I’m alone here and had just read that a bear has been spotted nearby, looking for food? You stay alert.

I think I listened to Aimee’s playlist for Gos about twenty times. I must have slept a little, because I always miss the last songs. Still, by 5:30 AM I’m already sitting with a hot cup of tea and a banana and an apple for breakfast. It’s cold next to the river, and I’m pretty sure I’m deep down in a gorge.

Time to get going.

7:02 AM

So yes, I’m in a gorge and need to climb my way out. There’s a river I have to cross, and there is a bridge, but it’s much higher up and there’s no trail leading to it. What nonsense!

I try hopping from stone to stone, but they’re slippery, so my shoe, foot, sock, gaiter, and pants all get wet. Oh well—it’s nice weather, so it’ll dry soon enough.

7:58 AM

Another fun crossing, but unfortunately the first three planks are missing right away. Should I launch a drone? No—better focus on the crossing, because this little bridge is wobbling quite a bit.

8:22 AM

Either I radiate pure zen, or the deer is thinking: “What do you want? I’m eating here!”

8:31 AM

The trail runs through immense cedar trees. They’re so solidly rooted and so tall that my neck starts cramping from looking up. I try to take photos quickly, but the moment you stand still, you’re attacked by mosquitoes. You have to keep moving, or the itching will drive you crazy.

9:44 AM

My goal is to reach Stehekin and get a room there—preferably for two nights—so I can get everything back in order. There’s a wildfire going on there as well, and people are already talking about evacuating the village. Still, I’m going anyway, because I really need to wash everything—especially myself 💦🚿.

10:36 AM

At the top of the mountain I pass a beautiful lake. It looks so inviting that you’d want to jump right in. But it’s 40°C here, and white smoke hangs everywhere. It seems wiser to push on toward Stehekin.

11:53 AM

I race back down the mountain, though I’m not entirely sure why I feel such an urge to keep moving. Usually it has to do with catching the right connections and links. And sure enough, I spot two hikers loading their gear into a car. I walk straight up to the driver and ask if I can join if there’s room. No problem—I’ll make sure there is room 🤣🥳.

A pair of mountaineers were also in the car and told me they’d been through some terrifying moments in recent days. There had been dry thunderstorms, which fueled the wildfires. They said you could literally see lightning striking the trees. They had to descend to lower elevations as quickly as possible, which is tricky when you’re hanging on ropes.

I’m dropped off at the lodge. My gratitude is, once again, immense 🙏.

There’s one room available for $275 per night. What do you do? Hitchhike back and head up the mountain again—or enjoy a proper shower, do laundry, and reorganize!

Total: 18.8 km in 4:59 hours
413 m up, 833 m down

12:14 PM

First, I enjoy a good meal and try to truly appreciate how good food can taste.

After that, I try to call home. There’s no reception, but for $5 you get 1 GB of data, which is enough to make a quick call.

The smoke is increasing, and firefighters arrive with buggies full of new equipment. They unload everything and head back up the mountain. It looks like tough work—and I think it’s volunteer work too 🤔.

13:55 PM

I really need to go back to my room to wash everything; otherwise I won’t have any clean clothes left. So: rinse, rinse again—jeez, it just doesn’t seem to stop. Then I fill the bathtub, empty the shampoo bottle, and let everything soak. Rinse again, and so on.

Luckily, there are two large fans in the room, so everything dries quickly.

And then you still have to wash yourself—it’s such a relief to stand under the shower.