PCT day 142 – The Dinsmores
I could not sleep, whether it was because I was in a hotel or the guy in the room next to me was snoring like a train I'm not sure. 2am rolled around and then I think I may have finally drifted off. But it was ok because I had a leisurely day ahead of me. I was told that the Dinsmores (local trail angels) usually make a trip to Skykomish from their home in Baring 8 miles away about 10am every day. So I lounged about in my room until then, all my stuff was still wet as I had nowhere to dry it. So my plan was to spend the day and night at least at the Dinsmores and get my stuff washed and dried and get a feel from any other hikers there about the next stage. The last 184 miles of the trail (only 184 miles!!) is complicated because of the fires and some closures.
I hung out in the cafe and chatted to Ace, another hiker, and some other people. Jerry Dinsmore came up about 11am and had breakfast then I went with him back to 'hiker haven'. And in this weather it really was a hiker haven. They have converted their garage into a hiker hangout and have everything you could possible need. Shower, laundry, indoor bunks, kitchen, loads of leftover hiker crap, soda and ice creams...
When I arrived Mr White, Kmart, Snipe, Caveman and Chris (sobo) were there. That had been hanging out for a couple of days already. This rain is just relentless.
I did my laundry and tried to dry all my stuff out. I got my package I sent myself and sorted through my food. We all discussed our options for the next section - there are so many rumours and so much conflicting information being thrown around. We sat. Chatted. Played games.
At 5pm Jerry drove us up to Skykomish and we had dinner at the cafe. I had the exact same as I had yesterday because it was so good, but this time I tagged a chocolate milkshake on the end. There were 8 people there and this guy Chris paid for all of us. Such a nice gesture.
2 hikers were already at the cafe and they had hiked out yesterday, but they made it 18 miles and decided to turn back and come back to Skykomish because it was so wet and so cold. It really is unpleasant out there.
Unfortunately I didn't get to meet Andrea Dinsmore because she was unwell, but Jerry is one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Their love for helping out all of us stinky hikers is amazing.
Kmart found a great hat amongst the hiker loaner clothes...
Back at the Dinsmores we hung out some more, played a dice game called farcle for a long time while we listened to the torrential rain outside. There is wifi here but you have to sit outside on the Dinsmores back porch to get it. It's a good thing it doesn't reach the bunk house / garage because it means we all have to interact with each other and we don't all just sit there on our phones!
Mr White modelling his new rain gear...
If it's still raining like this tomorrow I'm not going anywhere. The temperature has dropped significantly and the inside of the garage is cold. The mountains are going to be so much colder!