Day 133
It feels like I have already spent quite some time in Stehekin. There was the day that I got here, the nero day where I did nine or so miles, the first complete zero day, and now this, the second zero day in Stehekin. Based on the pain I felt this morning it didn’t seem like there was much improvement, unfortunately.
Today the post office finally opened again, so went there to get my package. I found it weird that a place with so few inhabitants had a post office. The postal worker was also peculiarly looking with an eyepiece over one eye, overalls, a colorful shirt and sixties music playing in the background. He was very helpful and friendly, though. I also had decided to send some of my gear home. I had in other words given myself a “shakedown” to get rid of anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary. A shakedown is usually done by another hiker to get a second set of eyes on ones equipment, but I was nevertheless able to three pounds and seven ounces (one and a half kilograms) back home. For instance I had charged my two camera batteries, so I sent back the charger. And before you ask, yes, my weighty camera is on the list of absolutely necessary items. Ha ha. At the post office, I signed the trail register and skimmed through it fir familiar names. I saw that Yoseki had gotten here two days before me just before the new fire detour was announced, but I crossed my fingers that he might still have gotten word of it later in some way. Otherwise, he was probably one of the last to not get to walk to the monument.
I also paid the hiker box a visit, which here in Stehekin somewhat peculiarly was located in a bear box opposite of the post office. In case that I haven’t thoroughly explained it, a hiker box is a place where hikers can put food or equipment that they aren’t going for other hikers instead. I think I hit the jackpot there, as I found food worth over forty dollars including Cliff bars and seven pro bars. I‘m not sure about this, but the only reasonable explanation for the name “pro bar” is that it is a short version of “prohibitively expensive energy bar” at four dollars a piece. They are pretty nice, though. As I am planning on stretching out the last section I was in need of some additional food, but what I am also trying to do is to increase the energy density by swapping some food and in that way save further weight.
There was many more hikers today than yesterday and yesterday there were many more hikers than the day before that, so I guess I am kind of getting into the “bubble” of hiker and losing my head start. Not that that matters, though. Amongst the hikers were Eon and the large group of Germans that I met at the Mountaineer’s Lodge at Stevens Pass.
I took the shuttle to the bakery and had the day’s sandwich as well as a slice of mixed berry pie. It was good though not as good as the first time, and I had to eat it very quickly to be on the shuttle back to Stehekin again.
In the afternoon, I suddenly said to myself, that the pain was all but gone. Now, that is usually the best time of the day, but it hadn’t been that good for a while. I am taking ibuprofen and acetaminophen = paracetamol. Unfortunately, I have bought all of the acetaminophen in the store as they were sold in ridiculously small packages with only four tablets and you’d need eight a day. I found it very silly that the package had “extra strength” written on it, as the dose for adults always is one gram.
Not much more happened today. I read “Alice In Wonderland” and started on “Don Quixote”, as those were some of the public domain books that I had as eBooks on my phone. Not that I read them particularly because they were public domain, but I had them on my phone because they were public domain. Semantics aside, I had decided that I needed at least one more zero day, so I booked that at the general store.
This day’s miles: 2572-2572 (a zero day)
