I caught a ferry from Chelan to Stehekin today. The journey uplake is 55 miles, 90 km over water, which took a bit over 3 hours. Once at Stehekin, I had another couple of hours free before the shuttle to the trailhead. I left from the drop off at 3:30 pm to hike 5 miles, 8 km to camp.

I got up early this morning and packed up while it was still dark. I didn’t sleep well last night right next to a busy road, and I also didn’t feel like answering any awkward questions about where I was sleeping. Starbucks was open at 6 am, so I went there for a coffee.

I left Starbucks just after 7 am and walked across town to the ferry terminal. It was about half an hour walking to the terminal and I got to see the town of Chelan in the early hours.

The ferry left around 8:30 am and we had smooth sailing on the lake. The trip uplake was a cool experience, and I was able to see a lot of the scenery along the shores. The smoke began to clear and the scenery became more visible as we went further up the lake.

The landscape around Stehekin was beautiful. There are no roads in or out, so the place felt really remote. All deliveries including vehicles and fuel come to the village by water or air.

At 2 pm, a shuttle bus took myself and a half dozen other hikers up to the trailhead. Leaving from the trailhead was quite hard, my pack was loaded with 9 days of food and I was a bit nervous knowing this was my final resupply.

It was 5 miles to the first campsite from the trailhead, and I slowly made my way uphill, taking it easy with such a full pack and also savouring the beginning of my last section on the PCT. The trail took me into the North Cascades National Park, up a small rise, past a lake and several small streams on the way to camp. The mountains were shrouded in mist and smoke, the air was cool and damp.

When I got to camp, the light was fading fast. Rain began to fall as I set up, so I got my tent pitched quickly and put all my stuff inside. It’s nice sleeping under rain, I’m just hoping it’s not too bad tomorrow.