July 10

Woke up well rested from the night in my comfy, quiet hotel bed. Took a third shower in the morning put on clean clothes I washed in the sink the night before and had a nice hot breakfast. Then I spent the morning re supplying myself for the next 123 miles. I found a few food items in the PCT hiker box at the outfitter and left my boots in the box and bought new trail shoes.

By 11:00 I was ready to hitch to the trail. It took a couple hours before someone stopped thinking I was a different hiker, but he took me anyway and a little way up the road we picked up the other hiker as well. I wasn't sure on my drop point, being taken up with making conversation with my ride last night I didn't note exactly which trailhead I came to the road at. So I jumped out at a place I thought was "close enough" then started looking at maps and realized it was about 7 miles from where I needed to be. I walked 2 or 3 and noticed my water situation was starting to become desperate. In a moment of despair I stood on a rock beside the road and stuck out my thumb.

Now here is where it gets weird. I was just wondering about where I to legally camp being that I would enter North Cascades National Park, and I don't have a camping permit. The first car that I saw stopped, and it turns out he is a NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK RANGER! So we talked and it didn't sound like I would get a fine if I camped in the park, but I gave him my word I wouldn't because it's simply the right thing to do. So here I am at almost 1 mile from the park boundary "stealth camping" it and thereby taking a nearo (nearly zero) day. My feet need the rest anyway my arches hurt especially in my right foot, and I didn't want to try to make it all 20 or so miles starting at 2 in the afternoon.