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[pct-l] Belden Town, Echo Lake Resort, and White Pass

I could easily ramble on about the merits of each of the town stops but I'm
just going to stick to the ones mentioned in the #278 digest.

First off was Echo Lake Resort. The lady there seems to hold all the power,
being the shop owner, Post Office person, marina master, and who knows what
else, all rolled into one. The pressure is obviously getting to her. I felt
like I was imposing on her to just to get my package and it seemed like, to
me at least, that she deliberately slowed the process down as much as she
could to let everybody know who was in charge. My advice is this. Almost
everyone I knew of took a day off in South Lake Tahoe to take advantage of
the multitude of buffets, movie theaters, health food store, outdoor
equipment stores, etc. You can get a free ride down and back from one of
the motel owners. Send your resupply to the real Post Office in South Lake
Tahoe to avoid burdening this poor women any more than absolutely
nessesary. This stop comes after a particularly gruelling section and is
one the few towns of any real size that you will see all summer. Plan a
layover there, you will definitely be glad you did.

Belden Town. This looked like a nice place but it's a resort, not a town.
Unfortunately I and at least 15 other through hikers all managed to hit it
during their annual Harley-Davidson Convention. IT ALWAYS TAKES PLACE ON
THE THIRD WEEKEND IN JULY. The reason we all seemed to converge there at
that time was because everyone was following Ray's itinerary. Hikers were
given the bum's rush, plain and simple. The management could legitimently
do that because it is private property and they were charging the bikers to
be there. They posted signs on the trail about a day out, but by then of
course it was too late. They did say that at any other time they loved to
give through through hikers the royal treatment, so make your plans
accordingly.

Finally, I think Craig might have mixed up Snoqualmie Pass with White Pass.
You must hitch 17 miles down to Snoqualmie but the Post Office lady was
extremely nice, as was the Motel lady, as were the restaurant folks and any
other locals I met. Where I did run into what is charitably being called
indifference, was in White Pass at the Cracker Barrel Store. There I got my
package okay but was informed that I had no other mail when I was sure that
I did. When I asked if that could be a mistake I recieved a "What are you,
stupid?" kind of look. Later I got another person to recheck and, lo and
behold, there were a couple of letters for me. A couple employees there did
seem downright indifferent, but I think I might have disarmed them a little
by being extra special nice.

I hope I haven't come off sounding negative. Other than these three
instances almost everybody I met treated hikers with warmth and respect.
After all, we usually drop a fair amount of cash in the short time we visit
and other than being a fairly earthy bunch at times most hikers are good
upstanding folks. After all, the PCT is a outstanding and uplifting
odyssey, but what is an adventure without a few rough spots? I merely point
these out to help smooth out the waters on both sides.

				Andyman


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