Metaline Falls, WA to Northport, WA
Section Overview
- Miles: 45.9
- Days: 1.5
- Total Miles: 400.59
- Total Days: 19
Day 18 (Continued)
After lounging in the Metaline Falls park for a couple hours attempting to dry out my shoes and charging my electronics, I decided to pack up and head towards Northport. I was happy after the high route to have a very short section in front of me – I only needed to cover about 45 miles to reach my next resupply. I wasn’t sure how good my resupply would be in Northport, so I packed out a bit more food than I would need leaving Metaline Falls.
Even with the extra food, my pack was still fairly light and I was making good time leaving the friendly town. My plan was to reach the Abercrombie Mountain Ridge and spend the night up high to put Northport within reach the following day. The road out of Metaline Falls was boring. At this point in the trail I was used to walking along all sorts of roads, but the paved ones, while very fast, were mentally draining.
Eventually after a few miles I stepped off the pavement and heading up to long climb toward the summit of Abercrombie Mountain. The pavement gave way to a gravel logging road that I slowly made its way up the side of the mountain. As I climbed I could see plenty of evidence of the active logging. The clear cuts opened up swaths of land above me as I trudged along the dirt road. As I drew closer to the Flume Creek Trailhead, I came across the massive machinery responsible for the downed trees all around me. It felt a little strange walking through equipment that nearly looked abandoned. Thankfully no one was around as I picked my way through.
The climb had been slow and I was running out of water. Based on reports there was a small outlet running into a culvert along the dirt road. Unfortunately, I passed the marker I had put on my map and the outlet was completely dry. Looking ahead, I would have to make it another 5 miles and 2,000 feet before reaching a spring that, from reports, seemed to may or may not be running. If it wasn’t running, I would have to skip my plan to camp up high and descend down off Abercrombie Mountain to the campground on the other side.
I began rationing my water as I crept up the road. As I came around a bend, the wonder sound of running water met my ears, signaling I had erroneously marked my map, but my water worries were gone. I stopped and drank as much as I could before filling up all of the water I could carry.
Once I reached the end of the road, I was greeted with a trailhead signage and my first trail registry since one I came across just after finishing the Northwest Peak Alternate. I opened it up to sign my name and to my surprise saw another PNT hiker only two days ahead of me. Furthermore, their comment mentioned two other PNT hikers that must also be in the area. This was the first signs of PNT hikers I had seen since leaving Stahl Peak Lookout nearly 300 miles ago.
It was great being on soft single track and the final miles to camp started to pass more quickly. As evening started to arrive, I reached the switchback where the small spring was supposed to be. After a minute of searching I was pleasantly surprised to find a small stream of water flowing out of the group a few yards off of the trail. I filled up all the water I could carry and finished out the few remaining switchbacks to reach the arm of Abercrombie Mountain.
I was clearly in a relatively popular camping spot, with plenty of flat dirt spots to choose from alongside multiple built up fire pits and lounge areas. Unfortunately, I seem to have arrived at peak mosquito season for the campsite and I was quickly forced to get into my wind pants, raincoat, and bug head net to avoid being eaten alive.
After dealing with the bugs while I ate, I got into my shelter early and went to bed, hoping for an early morning the next day to reach Northport.
Day 19
The next morning I started awake around 7:30. I had overslept my alarm by nearly 2 hours! Clearly the Idaho stretch, though very short, had worn me out. I packed up and started my trek down the other side of Abercrombie Mountain. I took my time on the trail, skirting just below the summit of the peak, enjoying the mountain views all around. There was a slight haze in the air in the distance, another indication that fire season was starting.
The descent off of Abercrombie switch-backed its way down through the woods until it eventually ended at a gravel road. I was surprised to find a PNT sign at the trailhead. It was the first one I had seen since the Northwest Peak in Montana and in this case marked the start of a road walk. I was sad to leave the single track behind, but I was able to cruise down the gravel road toward the road that would eventually take me into Northport. In the middle of the week, I was the only one using the gravel road, which I was very happy about. I was only accompanied by a set of two owls flying from tree to tree, staying just in front of me for nearly a mile.
The gravel eventually gave way to pavement and I turned directly north on Deep Lake Boundary Road. The road unfortunately took a very road about way to reach Northport, nearly touching the Canadian Border before heading back south. I had 19 miles to go to reach the town and I settle in for the long road walk. But not soon after joining the paved road I heard barking to my right. Looking over, I saw three dogs angrily barking behind a fence. As I passed by them they turned and sprinted along the fence and, to my dismay, I saw them jump through the metal gate that closed off the driveway of the property. They bounded up to me, backing and snarling at me. I yell at them to stay back and whacked my tracking pole on the ground in between me and them.
As I moved away from the property the dogs slowly began losing interest in trying to bite my ankles and one by one drifted back across the street and returned to their owners property. I was a bit shaken up from the encounter. Compared to the first dog that came at me heading into Eureka, these dogs were much larger and emboldened by their numbers.
Thankful I didn’t have to pull out my bear spray to fend of the dogs, I settled in to the long road to Northport. After a few hours, a major landmark on the PNT came into view. The Columbia River flowed out of Canada at the base of a cliff just below me. I was overcome by a similar feeling I felt when I crossed into Washington. After a few minutes of watching the water flowing far below me I set my eyes back to the pavement that would lead me to town.
Soon after my first sighting of the Columbia, a small, rundown convenience store came into view. Other thru-hikers in previous years had been able to get drinks and snacks on the long, hot road walk, but it didn’t look promising. Never the less, I stepped off the road and made my way to a man who was stepping out of his truck. I asked him if the store was open and he shook his head no. He explained, that he and his wife had bought it and were working on renovating the place, but they had a fridge with cold drinks they kept for thru hikers. I gladly bought a soda and Gatorade from them – they even refused to take more than a dollar for each and returned some of the money I handed over – and sat down on a picnic bench behind their store to enjoy the shade.
The last 10 miles passed mostly uneventfully. The biggest surprise were two dots I could see on the opposite side of the road from me. As we drew closer it was clear it was clear they were headed eastbound on the PNT out of Northport! We stopped and they introduced themselves as David and Holden, a father-son duo who were doing a flip flop of the trail. They had started in Oroville, WA and we were able to share some information with each other – mostly about the various bushwhacks – before we wished each other happy trails and went our separate ways.
As I reached Northport, few clouds formed overhead and heavy raindrops fell on me as I dropped down towards the Columbia and Northport, but the warm summer air kept me from needing extra layers. While I was still a few hours out of town, I managed to get cell service and reach out to some trail angels (Jami and Josh) that host hikers in the tiny town. They graciously offered a shower, some pristine grass to camp on in their back yard, food for dinner, and good conversation until I was barely able to stay awake. I slid into my shelter and fell asleep quickly.
