Instead of just having a short two miles into town, we had a moderate 4 miles with a 600’ climb into town. My biggest concern has always been getting to the pass early enough that we’ll be able to get a hitch into Leavenworth. We made the mistake at White Pass of trying to get a hitch too late in the day. We tried for 15 minutes and not one single car even passed us. I have no intention of going through that again.
It was refreshing to smell tide pods and talcum powder on passing hikers…a sure sign that we are near a road. I love my wife, but being stuck in a tent for 5-6 days exposes you to more smells than anyone ever expects when they sign up for this whole marriage thing. Luckily, I know how to cover up all the sweat, stale breath, and dried urine smells…I have rose flavored farts. It’s much better and cheaper than spending $40 to go to the florist and bring home a bouquet that only lasts for a week, at most. I’m more like one of the motion sensor air freshener dispensers found in high end public restrooms. I just need to work on the dispenser sound so Bunny doesn’t react so violently.
It was so deceptive to be at the top of the ski slopes, looking down, and feeling like we are almost there but then looking at Guthook to find out we have 2 miles still to go. Ski areas are the hardest areas to stay on the trail, but I am a purist in wanting to hit every inch of trail. Last year, I was a continuous northbound purist on the AT. The weather out here has made that an impossibility for us. All I have left is staying on trail, if I let that go, I’ll just be Forgotten and Bunny will be Little Bunny Foo Foo (except she’s not capable of hopping through the forest because of her bad hips).
Nearing the ski lodge, we could see a crowd congregating. After all these years and trails, could we finally be getting the celebratory party we’ve been hoping for? Wouldn’t you know it, the celebration is coming near the end of the trail that we’re really only reaching the halfway point. This is bad timing. This is a little embarrassing. This is awkward…This is not a party for us! It’s a trail cleanup crew for the ski area. Screw it. We’re going to the snack bar and have our own celebration. “Paninis for everyone!” Hold on $13/each…paninis for Bunny and me (I hope no one heard me in my bravado saying “for everyone”—money’s getting a little tight and we still have a lot of miles…).
While we were ordering, JYD (Junk Yard Dog) came up to us and told us there were a group of hikers hanging out in the shade by the parking lot trying to decide where to go. We said we’d join them once we finished eating. There were around a half dozen people sitting around that we hadn’t met before. They were an indecisive lot. Bunny and I wanted to hitch into Leavenworth and take our chance finding a hotel. They wanted to call and make sure spaces were available first. I’m not really a planner, I’m a doer that doesn’t mind sleeping in the streets. Bunny and I took off.
We decided to canvas the parking lot first (looking for unlocked cars with the keys still in the ignition—lots of angels leave cars for thru-hikers if you just know where to look. Instead, we found an angel, Dink, giving out food to hikers. If we had known he was here, we could have saved $35 in the snack bar. We opted for Gatorade and Klondike Bars (turns out, in answer to the age old question “How far would you go for a Klondike.” we will go 1100 miles for one).
There was a solo female from the Netherlands that had followed us as we broke off from the heard of hikers. While we were enjoying our unexpected treats, I still was hitting up people in the parking lot for rides. I managed to find someone with enough space for one hiker, so I let her take the ride, but at a cost. We had lost our best asset at getting a ride—a pretty young blond girl. I had, in effect, just lengthened the hitching process for us.
Bunny and I headed out to the road and spread out to cover the two entrances to the parking lot and catch cars coming up the west side of the Pass. After 10 minutes of trying to hitch, two more hikers decided to join us, devil may care what the hotel situation in town might be. JYD and Numbers were heading our way, but got distracted by the magic. Now we needed a ride for 4. This was too much for two dirty hikers to pull off. I had to convince Bunny to take off her hat and let her hair down so passing cars could see she was a female. As always, she argued but eventually gave in. Next vehicle was a full size cargo van that pulled over and said he’d take as many as he could hold. The 4 of us made it in a single hitch. I KNOW how to pimp for a ride.
The driver was from the eastern side of the state around Spokane. He had hiked a portion of the AT in ‘73 before coming out to hike the PCT. Once he got to the Pacific Northwest, he fell in love with the area. He found a job working in an orchard near Leavenworth eventually building up enough capital to buy his own tree farm. He had been delivering a load of trees out west and was heading home now. He saw the hikers (us) and was doing a good deed. He delivered us directly to the hotel that Ghost had told us about when we passed him a few days ago.
The rates were a few dollars higher than what Ghost had told us they were, but Bunny and I had asked for a king size. It’s a tourist town, we had a great location, and they were willing to take us in despite our smell. Good enough for us. I didn’t feel like walking around looking for another place. JYD agreed and got a room for 2 nights. Only Numbers was willing to push on and take her chances. We knew of another hiker hotel that was about $30 cheaper, but it was getting mixed reviews from other hikers and didn’t have laundry service. Not washing our clothes was not a possibility.
The only caveat was that we had to wait a couple of hours before our rooms were ready. Let’s see, what can hikers, who have been hiking for 6 days since the last town stop possibly do to kill some time before they can shower or do laundry? Let’s try something a little different. We’re in a Bavarian knock off town. Instead of eating pizza and hamburgers, how about beer and brats? We have a winner!
EFG