I have seen some cool wildlife while hiking through the Okanogan highlands. Deer, bear, mice, osprey, bald eagles, hawks, golden eagles, and cows have all come into view. A mountain lion has still eluded me though. While dropping to Bonaparte Lake I nearly stepped on a mouse. Luckily the pesky rodents have not caused any issues with my food, which could be a bit of a disaster with the diseases they carry. Mosquitos still infuriate me, and yellow jackets are extremely active too. The people are interesting out here. There are lots of pickup trucks, the sounds of guns are often present. Eastern Washington is a different world compared to some of the remote places I have hiked through. Last time I was hiking through this area a local told me with conviction that Sasquatch lived out here, so I have been on the lookout. This section of the trail has more dirt and gravel roads than trails. The trails that are here are very roughly maintained and multi use. The Pacific Crest Trail is solely for hiking and stock but out here there are signs of bicycles, dirt bikes and even jeeps. I get a lot of weird looks while walking by with a backpack on. At least I have a beard to fit in. It was a day spent between established trail and not. I saw a trail crew about 3 miles from highway 20. They were with the PNTA (Pacific Northwest Trail Association) and clearing some of the endless deadfalls. Late in the afternoon I took highway 20 in to Republic for a resupply and hit the post office 4 minutes before it closed! I grabbed a burger at a local spot with only Fox News playing, unfortunately this was a 30 minute special on plastic straws, so I left quickly. Then I bought some supplemental food and hitched out of town. After standing in the heat too long a fisherman from Alaska picked me up and even gave me smoked salmon when he dropped me off. Everything worked out today! I hiked into the evening and after a solid day, set up the tent to escape the mosquitos. another day in paradise!
Miles 37
Total route miles 2827
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