Things hadn’t gone as smooth as we had hoped getting into town, yesterday. We had been expecting two packages, but only got one. It was from our angel, Digit Alice. After two years, she has us dialed in to a “t” when it comes to our resupply. We walked into town with too much food, once again. Yes, I let Bunny go with me when we bought food in Stehekin. If we have extra food when we make it to Canada, this is the cause. The other package was some goodies from Patrice and Justin that we will be reviewing for them. They are writers for Backpacker Magazine and we are holding tightly on to their coattails.
This was a relaxing couple of days for us. Both of us were able to get hold of our families and get caught up on events. My mom had pneumonia when we were going over Goat Rocks a few weeks ago. Because of her advanced age and lack of activity, it has flared up again and she’s back in the hospital. My parents are starting to fail a bit, but they are 86 & 87. My mom is going to be in the hospital for a few more days, and then they’ll transfer her to a nursing home for rehab. As far as I can recall, no one in her family has ever made it to her age.
My dad is a different story. At 87, he’s getting near to his fathers age when he passed at 88, but his mother lived to be almost 101. Her mother lived to be 100 and 5 days (she had a goal and made it). Her mother only made it to 92. My dad has really good longevity genes on his side, but this year has been rough on him with kidney stones. He’s still weak from his recent surgery. My brother came up from FL to take care of them when he was getting operated on in early July. My dad still drives which helps out. I’ll be spending a lot of time with them when we get back this fall.
Bunny’s son finally got his orders in the army. He is being stationed in CO so were happy about that. She was able to spend a lot of time on the phone with him as he was driving out. Her daughter is in nursing school and is highly motivated now that she’s a few years older. I think it’s a mistake for most kids to go straight from high school to college. When someone gets out of college, they need a break from school for a while. I’m a big fan of universal service for two years right after high school. Germany does this and it allows time for kids to mature and figure out what they want to do for a living. I’m not saying military service (although that could be an option). I’m meaning community service of some sort away from home, family, and friends to see more of the country and develop some self sufficiency.
As usual, we ate, and ate, and ate. Thanks to Digit, we didn’t have to do any grocery shopping. The only errand (other than food and alcohol) we needed to do was to get some CBD oil to aid with inflammation. I call this Bunny’s desire for pot (which she absolutely hates, so I will continue calling it that) even though there isn’t any THC in it and it’s legal in 46? states now. Bunny found a local supplier and we decided to walk out to the shop. She didn’t check the exact location other than “out by the grocery store,” but she did make sure it was open. We ended up on a nice journey in search of pot that led us through the rural area around Winthrop. To reward ourselves for our successful multi mile journey, we stopped for pizza on the way back.
We also decided it was time to perform another pack shakedown. When you live in a house for a long time, it’s just natural to accumulate more crap than you need (my inlaw’s attics and brothers-in-law’s basement both provide great examples). It’s no different when hiking. We are in the process of trying to become minimalists (no, not all hikers are ultra-light). It was time to part ways with our pillows, several items out of our first aid and toiletry kits, as well as the beach ball we got in Leavenworth (it was free for writing a review at the Dog Hous Brewery…I tried to get Bunny to inflate it for me as a pillow, but she never complied). Between the two of us, we got rid of almost 7 pounds of stuff.
Once we got the gear together, I boxed it up and headed to the Post Office which was a good 2 miles away. I was walking in the street half-heartedly thumbing it when a woman walked out of a shop and asked me if I was really hitching. I told her I was trying to get to the PO. She gave me a ride. I had walked about 7 car lengths before my ride. On the way back, it was starting to sprinkle. I walked maybe 50 yards before another young couple pulled over and offered me a ride. The wife’s mother had hiked the AT years ago and imparted the “give rides in trail areas” mentality to them. The entire round trip took about 15 minutes. When I walked back into our room, Bunny asked me what I had forgotten since it should have taken me over 2 hours for the round trip. I hadn’t even had time to stop for ice cream (which now became part of the evening “to do” list).
The other big outing for us was getting new hiking shoes. I have Merrell feet so it’s quick and easy for me. Bunny decided to throw caution to the wind (in addition to our leisure time) and switch to new trail shoes. I’m not a fan of switching something so important when on the trail. Last year, on the AT (everybody, hoist and swallow) she switched to Altras which only led to pain, misery, and tears. She also had a hard time with them before switching back to boots which helped to alleviate my misery (Bunny is a sharer of misery).
Winthrop is a cute, Western themed town with actual “board” walks. In the winter time, this is the epicenter of cross county skiing in eastern Washington. The town has been around since before the Civil War and before that, was a Native American settlement. Nowadays, there is a minor Native American presence in the area and a fair sense of guilt for the way they were treated by early settlers. Not so much that they have received any restitutions, but I’m sure there’s a heightened sense that least go loose some money at the casinos. Only morons can lose money when owning a casino. I think anyone stupid enough to lose money owning a casino should at least lose the right to have a twitter account.
EFG
I still feel horrible about the timing of your boxes!!
Good luck with your aging parents. It is never easy to be far away when they are suffering & hopefully you can spend some QT with them this fall.
We missed the package the first day by 45 minutes. We had already planned for a couple days off so, no worries. Never feel bad for helping out hikers.