[pct-l] Stehekin P. O.

[Bob Bankhead]

Careful folks, the alarm level on the list is getting a bit excessive and scaring the Hobits. First bears, then stream crossings, now a PO banditio. Really...............


If you're really worried about security for your passport, carry it with you. Otherwise either send it in your resupply box to Skykomish or send it separately by Registered Mail to Stehekin. Foreign nationals should carry it with them at all times. All my long hikes require either train, bus, or domestic air travel so I always carry my passport and my driver's license (separately, so loss of one still leaves me with the other) to use when travelling.  Local bus service excepted, you can't buy a ticket, let alone get aboard public transport without a photo ID these days.

Resupply for the final 90 miles at Stehekin. You'll appreciate the detour to a truly lovely spot and yes, the bakery is superb. Try the pies! Send your supply box to the PO and don't sweat it. Fresh foods can be bought at the resort store (good selection) or to go at the restaurant.  Everything in Stehekin has to come up the lake on the ferry so prices are higher than normal. There was a tiny outfitter's store up by the Park Service museum/visitor center, but it had limited hours when I was there many years ago. If you have to get out, take the ferry to Chelan and the free county bus system to Wenatchee. There's an airport and Greyhound bus station there.

Hartsa Pass is only 30 miles from the border. The only reasons to exit here are severe weather or injury. Winthrop is a nice town with stores, motels, laundry, restaurants, and a USFS Ranger Station, but there is no public transportation there, and you're 150 miles from Seattle. That's a very hard hitch.