Day 145: Chronicles of a Hitchhiker

September 2, 2017
Mile 2314.67 American Ridge Trail Junction to Mile 2321.10 Chinook Pass then hitch to Snoqualmie Pass

Only a short hike to Chinook Pass this morning. There were a ridiculous number of day hikers coming up the mountain and passing us as we hiked down to Highway 410. A combination of the fire closure of the trail northbound, it being a Saturday, and also being Labor Day weekend made for a massive throng of humanity that didn’t always understand good trail etiquette.

After arriving at the highway we began trying to get a ride. Since it was still morning, everyone was driving to the parking lot and not away from it since the road heading east was also closed due to fire. So all we were able to rely on were cars leaving the parking lot. Fortunately, we did eventually get a ride from a nice couple who drove us to Enumclaw where ate lunch at McDonald’s and then got another couple rides onto Snoqualmie Pass.

It was the second of the two extra rides that was exceptionally cool. The guy was headed past Snoqualmie Pass to his family’s cabin where they were celebrating Labor Day weekend so since we were going to be getting to the trail late and had few camping options, he offered to let us join him and his family at their cabin for the night!

This was some of the best trail magic we’ve had. They fed us burgers and beer and brought us in as if we were part of their family and gathering. It was so cool! They wanted to offer a room to stay in, but the cabin was full so we slept in our tent outside whichever was still nice. They were, however, still able to graciously offer us hot showers. Just amazing.