Day 160 Departing Snoqualmie Pass

5.9 miles
From Snoqualmie Pass Summit Inn (mile 2396.3, elevation 3017)
To follow camp (mile 2400.7, elevation 4854)
Upload 2110
descend 266

The Summit Inn was tolerant and accepting of hikers, but did not seem overly hiker-friendly. Will was waiting for a box so I asked about late checkout. They said noon (instead of 11). If we wanted to pay $25, we could extend it until 2:00 pm, but no later. I spoke to them yesterday about a couple of problems with our room (not being able to close the window completely and a light (fluorescent bulb) over the sink that wouldn’t turn on). They fixed the window and played with the light until it came on, but I felt like they didn’t really want to bother (I only managed to turn the light on once after that). It seemed like they had a total of about 5 rooms while the hotel was rented.

We had breakfast in the restaurant connected to the inn. It was actually a very good breakfast. After that, we packed up and left the room. But AKA I was still waiting on a pair of shoes I had sent to Snoqualmie Pass and I was trying to reactivate my InReach or order a replacement. So we spent a good part of the day in the hotel lobby. While I said above that they didn’t feel like they had a friendly attitude toward hikers, I admit that their actual actions were accommodating, such as allowing us to stay in the lobby.

my breakfast

Firefly was hungry

Hanging out in the hotel lobby

I couldn’t turn on my InReach device last night, I wanted to contact Garmin support and see if something could be done.

I went out to the lobby around 6:30am to call Garmin support. The person I spoke to said that updating the firmware would probably fix the problem, but that could only be done with a Mac or Windows computer. So, I tried to find a computer I could use.

After leaving the room, I wandered around the nearby business places to see if anyone could help me. I was directed to a co-working space, but the only computer there was the receptionist’s and she wasn’t there.

The gas station market had a data cable I could use, so I bought it. I wasn’t sure if the cable I had was for data or just power.

When I got to the deli/cafe where we had dinner last night, the waitress said she would arrange to call a friend. He spoke to another person who worked there, who turned out to be the manager of the co-working space. He was very friendly and helpful, taking us to the workspace and setting me up on the receptionist’s computer. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to revive my InReach. But both Zac (manager) and Brandi (receptionist) went above and beyond what I could reasonably expect to try to help me.

Back in the hotel lobby, I ordered a new Garmin Messenger device from REI to ship to my next resupply city. I know I only have a couple of weeks left, but satellite communications are a great security measure. And although my friends will send me an «all good» message (they added a friend of mine among the recipients of their daily message), I will continue to use the device in the future. And that only works if we don’t separate.

It wasn’t until around 4pm that AKA received the new shoes that had been sent here and we hit the road. We just hiked a few miles to a trail campground, but still passed the 2400 mile marker.

leaving the hotel

Back on the road

It was fun to find this mileage marker. Whoever did it got artistic.

I was running out of meals I had prepared and becoming dehydrated, so the box I received at White Pass had some meals that a hiking friend prepared and dehydrated for me. Kathy’s Chili Mac turned out very well. Besides being very tasty, I somehow estimated the right amount of water, so the consistency was good too.

Our tents

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