The short 5 miles to get to the ranger station in the North Cascade National Park was a bit chilly and it rained a bit. Fortunately my tent was dry when I packed it up. Once at the ranger station, there was a large group of hikers waiting to go into town. A bus would arrive in the morning to bring hikers front town to the trail, and then shuttle us into town.
Before starting on the 13 mile road trip, I said bye to all my friends who'd hiked ahead of me and were leaving Stehekin today. Wishing them best of luck with the final days ahead, I had my eyes and mind set on one thing. The Bakery.
A few miles short of the lake town, a bakery sits along the dirt road. It is a place I remember well from hiking a short section of the PCT in the past with my Mom, Dad and Brother. It was something I looked forward to the entire trip. A little bit of a carrot at the end of a stick. My plan was to hang out there most of the day and then head into town before dinner time.
While shoveling down pastries, I met a few fellow hikers and between bites got to know them a bit. They were Slingshot, Signs and Bravo. Slingshot is someone I did meet a couple days prior as we had both camped at Mica Lake. The three of them had hiked together on and off throughout the entire trail.
When the late afternoon bus arrived we all hopped aboard and had plans for laundry and a shower in town. First stop was at a ranger station to register for a camping spot. Since Stehekin is located in the National Park, in order to camp anywhere, you must register first. With tent setup, I went into town and head to meet up with the other hikers who'd already started on their "town chores". After many tough days of rain, this hot shower was particularly memorable.
Dinner was spent at the tents. Snacks from a small shop in town and trail food that wasn't consumed during the last leg was on the menu and we all sort of shared and traded to have something different to eat.
The pictures of the sunset should speak for themselves.
