After a surprisingly warm night, we started to pack out when Banjo passed us. He was trying to go all the way to High Bridge, 28 miles further. If he’d get there by 18:00, he will be able to get the shuttle into Stehekin. If not, he’d camp there until tomorrow morning.

We left camp at 7:20, and immediately saw a much better campsite less than a mile away. Oh well. The trail started with a climb of about 2000 feet, and later another shorter climb.

From that point, though, it was mostly easy down hill for the rest of the day. We hiked down the valley, and then just followed the South Fork Agnus Creek down and down.

We wanted to get as close as we can to High Bridge, so we can easily get there tomorrow in time for the 9:00 shuttle. Taking a break at the campsite in Swamp Creek, we filled some water and headed out to do about 5 more miles.

Lighthouse took the lead and hiked fast. We headed out at 16:00, and wanted to hike until about 17:30. He decided he’d make the most of it and really hurried. I tried keeping up for the first hour, but afterwards gave up and just kept hiking at my usual pace. He’d stop somewhere eventually, and I’ll get there at the end.

He stopped just under 3 miles from the bridge, right near a little stream, with a small flat spot where we can squeeze in both of our tents. Tomorrow morning we’ll just walk the remaining distance and get into Stehekin for a long day of rest before the final push.

Another broken bridge
Another broken bridge