Day 36. Part 1. Wednesday, April 5. Mile 456.1, elev. 5870, to Mile 465.5, elevation 6022. Walked 9.4 miles (plus 4 or 5 into and around and out of town of Pine), 1717 up, 1604 down, total grade 352.0 ft/mi.
Dear Trail Friends,
Today I spent from about 8:30am until 2pm in the town of Pine, picking up FIVE packages (mattress repair kit, replacement pouches for worn out ones on back up, a pstyle to replace the one I lost, 2 tent stakes to replace the 2 I lost, and a down beanie to help me stay warm in the coming nights with lows in low 20s) and eating two HUGE meals (photos 1 and 2). In photo 2 you see trail friend Slo Bro (who had offered to share his cottage but I ended up deciding to go back to the trail. ) He seems to be giving me much the same look, as I approach my gigantic hamburger, that he gave to his patients when he wanted to convey the importance of taking their medications. (I ate almost the whole thing. Very compliant patient. )
I thought I had an easy 4.5 mile hike into town. But it turned out to be a steep descent into a canyon and a steep rise out, plus a lot of lost trail navigation challenges (especially in the first 45 minutes hiking in the dark).
When I finally began my descent toward the town of Pine I was struck by how similar the view was to Orcas - evergreen trees, mist in the valley below me (Photo 3).
Unfortunately as I went on hiking I began to smell smoke and realized it wasn't mist. It turned out there was a huge prescribed burn taking place. (Photo 4). Isn't "prescribed" an interesting term to use? Sounds medical. There were many more fires like the ones in the photo and a lot of smoke.
To be continued
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