Monday, September 03, 2018 – 4.20 miles

Only 4.2 miles of hiking today. At Stevens Pass, another hiker greeted me… I have no notes for today and I’ve forgotten her name, but she was waiting near the trailhead with her father, boyfriend and trail magic. Thank you for the delicious oranges!

Signs near the trailhead advertised the Mountaineers Stevens Lodge, which I had heard about from Hardcore. For $35, you get a mattress in a dorm, all-you-can-eat-until-it’s-gone breakfast and supper, snacks like fresh fruit and cookies, and a fridge teeming with expired cheese (nothing is perfect). Note that the ‘do your laundry’ mentioned on the signs does not equate ‘do your laundry in washing machines’. The two methods were a washboard and a plunger system that reminded me of churning butter or my vague image thereof. I didn’t bother using either.

I was the first hiker to arrive today, but a chain of hikers trickled in and puddled into a fun group including Caribou, Bigfeet, Smileyface, Conflicted and Debra (I was probably told her trail name, but I don’t remember it). Volunteers manage the lodge, with hikers helping out with chores. Both of the volunteers left after supper and put me in charge of check-ins. I can list that as front desk experience on my resume, right? Luckily for them and for me, since I dislike confrontation, everyone who showed up in the evening was honest and didn’t try to evade payment.

I should mention the Wi-Fi situation at Stevens Pass. I had an American SIM card for my phone, but couldn’t renew the prepaid plan due to Cricket’s automated systems neither allowing me to use a Canadian credit card for payment nor permitting me access to a human being. Therefore I can only access the Internet via Wi-Fi now, which is generally fine for letting my family know that I’m not dead, but Mountaineers Stevens Lodge has no Wi-Fi and the Wi-Fi at the main lodge is terrible. Loading even one page is a struggle. The struggle is real.

Caribou’s brother is driving her into Seattle tomorrow. She offered a ride to me and Bigfeet, since we’re both after new footwear but Amazon doesn’t recognize Stevens’ Lodge as a legitimate mailing address.