Day 103 | mile 2365.8 - 2393.1 | 27.3 miles

I passed out with phone and InReach on. Woke up at 3 to turn everything off and charge the InReach. Woke up for real at 5:20 and started breakfast. Oatmeal and instant breakfast packet again. It’s like drinkable oatmeal.

Only 27 miles to Snoqualmie today! Then shower and real food.

Well, these miles continued in the spirit of last night’s 10 miles. A nightmare of steep ups and downs with loose rocks and tons of roots thrown in for good measure.

this trail.....

I was super hungry and ready to stop for food at 10 when I came across trail magic!!! Extra Mile was there. She was eating a beef hot dog. Extra Mile is vegan. That’s how hungry we all are. Also in attendance was Gandalf and Subzero.

I ate two hot dogs with bell peppers and avocado. Holy shit. It was better than most town food. Thank you, Too Clean! You da best.

Still 18 miles to go and it’s getting hot. Left right after Subzero. Extra Mile and Gandalf took the off-trail shortcut into Snoqualmie. Somehow I got in front of Subzero in the first 2 uphill miles and he was catching up behind me. He must’ve stopped for a poop break. We hiked together for a while which kept my pace up.

Subzero is from London, has been married for 3 years, and has been wanting to do this for 10. 10 years! They are ready to start a family and he wanted to hike the PCT first. We talked about how tired both of us were. It was nice to hear another hiker admit to being excited for this to be over.

I passed Mirror Lake by myself. It looked so clear and inviting. It was super hot and I was exhausted after climbing another steep hill. All I wanted to do was to jump in. But I had to keep moving.

Listened to Hamilton the last 8 never-ending miles to Snoqualmie. I was really down. You could see the wall of mountains I'd have to climb out of Snoqualmie. I don’t know how I’m going to hike another 250 miles.

Finally at the hotel. Grumpy receptionist put me at the end of a long hallway. I swear it’s 1/10th of a mile to get there. Shower. No conditioner. No cash or quarters. A sweet girl asked me if I wanted to throw my laundry in with hers. Yes!

I have two convenience stores at my disposal for a resupply. Everyone resupplies with a box here. But we fucked up and didn’t send it in time. I ended up spending $44 and I didn’t even get lunch. Agh. I don’t know how I’m going to do this next section.

My friends from work texted me to look for a surprise at Pie for the People. It’s in the same building as the convenience store. When I was about to leave with my resupply, the guy running the pizza place was like, “hey, are you Olga? I’m supposed to make you a pizza!” So so so so so sweet of them.

I was wearing (and sweating into) my rain gear because my clothes were in the laundry. So I went back to the hotel room to get my laundry and change. Putting on my damn hiking clothes felt so good. Picked up the GIANT pizza. And got a pint of ice cream to go with it.

Guys, I did a really dumb thing. I accidentally gave 3/4 of my pizza away. I gave 2 slices (1/4) to the grumpy receptionist right away to get on his good side. Then went to my hotel and ate 2 slices. I was pretty full and I wanted to share with the girl who helped me out with laundry while the pizza was still hot. I brought the box and paper plates with me. She was like “oh awesome! Thanks!” and took the whole box. .......... I just stood there like an idiot. Agh. Why am I so stupid and awkward?

The hotel WiFi doesn’t reach to my room. (It’s 1/10th of a mile down a hall, remember?) I sat in the lobby trying to upload my photos. It was really slow. Gave up and went back to the room. Ate the ice cream. Still hungry.

I was about to go to sleep when Alex hit me with some more bad news. No affordable rooms in Stehekin. The only option is $225 per night and it has a 2 night minimum. That was going to be my last stop. The light at the end of the tunnel. That’s what I would’ve looked forward to for the next 5 hard days. Stehekin is everyone's favorite stop on the PCT.

I can’t tell you how much I look forward to showers and clean clothes on the trail. It takes up most of my brain cycles. Heading out tomorrow knowing I won’t get that for 9 days (until i finish) is daunting and makes me want to cry.

I hate this. And I’m so done.