Getting Stuck in the Hole in the Wall

 

So, I’m going back in time to my last backpack of 2018 (New Year’s Eve, to be exact) since I never had a chance to write about it. This trip was about needing to say goodbye to the wonderful year I celebrated being a half century, and even though I had already spent over two months on the trail, I felt I needed one last hurrah in my tent. (Get the book about my 50 days on Amazon 😊) The problem was finding a trail in December where I didn’t have to deal with snow. Thankfully we are blessed here in Washington with the wild ocean coast – where anyone can go (after getting a permit at a Ranger Station first) anytime of the year, and stick a tent up pretty much anywhere they want. I wonder how long it will be before that changes. 

You will drive through Twighlight territory

But for the time being, if you get a hankering to be in your tent in the middle of winter, and want to avoid the hassles and crowds at Shi Shi, (which you can read about on my old blog here) Hole in the Wall at Rialto Beach is a great place to be.

You can self permit at the trailhead if the Mora Ranger station is closed, but be sure to have your own bear canister. (They are required along the entire coast, though more for raccoons than anything.) Then it’s only a little over 2 miles to the famed hole…but half way there you’ll first need to get across Ellen Creek. 

Beach hikes are all about the tides, so check here before you go. (http://kaleberg.com/tides/lapush/index.html) A low tide at Ellen Creek means a quick crossing of 25 feet or so in ankle deep water; a high tide means scrambling over what looked to me to be a real pain in the ass jumble of logs. (In case you didn’t already know, log crossings are not my favorite.)

Plus, if you don’t hit the tide right, you won’t be able to make it through the hole – which is kind of the whole point of this hike. I guess it is possible to go up and over on an impossible looking trail to the side; but that way didn’t look fun in the slightest.

I know I said you could set a tent up wherever, but I have to admit this was much harder than I expected. There were more options before passing through the hole, but I loved the idea of the hole “closing” so I could have complete solitude. Without really having a good idea just how high the tide would come up (something I probably should have paid attention to when I was looking at the tide information) I wanted to be extra careful to choose a spot that would not include being washed out to sea. Thankfully I found one, so I squeezed in between the drift logs.

When I watched a fellow hiker make it through the hole the next morning, I figured the tide had gone out enough for me to make my departure. What I didn’t figure was that it’s much easier for someone to climb up wet, slippery rocks without a pack, than for me to go down them with 30+ pounds on my back.

So, after barely being able to pass through the hole without taking a dip, I still could not make it down to the beach on the other side. Not wanting to risk turning around on the ledge that I really didn’t like going over in the first place, I found a place on the rocks to sit (for almost an hour) and wait for a few extra feet of less steep rock to become exposed as the tide continued to recede. Trying my best to enjoy the crashing waves, it was difficult to ignore my mind’s ominous imagery of a rogue one dragging me to my death. That would not have been the ending I wanted for 2018.

Though an adventure with solitude, mixed with some fear and excitement, was the way I wanted to say goodbye to one of the best years of my life – and that’s exactly what I got. Thank you, Rialto Beach. Happy Trails!

Wonderland Fail

Does anything feel worse than quitting? It’s a gut punch to your pride, and it always hurts. But, I do believe there are things that feel worse. Like setting up a tent in a giant puddle. Or pushing up a mountain for 10 hours in the rain while looking at nothing but clouds, even though you know you should be seeing one of the most scenic views in the world.

At least I imagine those things hurt worse…I’ll never know, because I choose the gut punch instead. Sure, it hurt for a bit, but thank God I’ve learned not to let my stubborn pride bully me into unnecessary pain for the sake of saving face.

I’m glad my friends have learned it too. They are a couple smart, strong ladies; and they don’t need to finish The Wonderland Trail to prove it. Though, we are all hoping to conquer those last 30 miles at a time when the weather is a little more cooperative. Until then, I will cherish the 7 days I got to spend trying to go all the way around the most wonderful Mount Rainier.

If The Wonderland Trail is something you also want to conquer, this custom itinerary planner is super helpful. Link to Planner Or you can steal our failed agenda below. Leigh did a lot of work coming up with a perfect plan for getting the most out of those 93 miles, and it’s hard for me to imagine a better way to do it. Well, except for actually finishing. 😉

On a final note, I have to warn you that if you have a fear of log bridges like I do, this trial will force you to get over it. Too many bridges, of all kinds, for me even to count. Therefore, I am dedicating this poem I wrote to The Wonderland. There can’t possibly be a trail that deserves it more. Happy trails!

My Hiking fear

Is pretty clear

For those darn log bridges

Do bring a tear

I imagine a fall

Cause they’re all pretty tall

And breaking both my ankles

Would sure make me bawl

Just a handrail, please 

 It brings such ease

And lightens those fears

That do love to tease

But if there isn’t one

A ford I won’t shun

But if the river I can’t traverse

I’ll scoot across that log till I’m done

   LOG:

Day 1: (going counter clockwise)

3.4 miles from White River to Sunrise. Short miles to make up for the time it takes to drive to Rainier makes a lot of sense. Plus these are 3 very steep miles, so it’s nice to give your legs time to adjust. There will be many more tough miles ahead.

Leigh needs practice with her new tent 😂

Day 2:

13.7 miles to Carbon River. These are varied miles, so it’s not as bad as you’d think. But I will say my feet hurt worse than they ever have after those last 3 miles of hard downhill.

Day 3:

6.4 miles to Eagles Roost. This may seem like a short day, but don’t be fooled. We didn’t get to camp until after 5. Besides being a long climb up, you will want to take your time because you’re in Spray Park. This is a detour off the official trail, but most people take it because it’s so beautiful. And full of bears. We saw 3 this day.

Day 4:

12.4 miles to Golden Lakes. After 2 miles you’ll come to Mowich to get your first food cache, which you’ll need to mail ahead 2 weeks ahead of time. I know it seems like a big pain, but it’s 100% worth it. This is a trail you really want to keep your pack as light as possible. I will also note that I think a 4 day trip from Mowich to Longmire would be a great way to experience The Wonderland without suffering too badly. Reasonable miles, great views, and no resupply shipment needed. Plus there are only a couple log bridges in this section, and they aren’t too bad.

Day 5:

7.8 miles to Klapatche Park. Stunning camp, though seeing a bear on the hill just across from where you’re setting up your tent is a little unnerving. At least all the camps have a bear pole or locker. Be sure to use them.

Day 6:

11.2 miles to Devil’s Dream. Saw another bear after a couple miles, though maybe it was the same bear, who knows. Still unnerving. And if the name Devil’s Dream makes you imagine a camp overlooking a cliff or something dramatic like that, be prepared to be disappointed. Nothing special about this camp, and if it starts to rain a lot, be prepared to wake up in a puddle.

Day 7:

Original plan of 9.3 miles to Paradise River, with a stop after 5.5 miles at Longmire to pick up our 2nd food cache and grab a burger and beer. We had recruited Heather’s husband into bringing our resupply instead of mailing it, and he was wise enough to make sure there was room enough for all of us in the car after seeing the forecast of nothing but rain for the next 3 days. We took him up on it. But not without getting our burger and beer first, of course.

Day 8: (if you are stealing the itinerary)

7.6 miles to Maple Creek. This appears to be some punishing downhill miles, so I’m guessing the shorter miles will be appreciated.

Day 9:

9.9 miles to Indian Bar. Many say this is the prettiest part of the trail…and the toughest to get to. Almost all uphill, topping out at over 5000 feet. I sure hope it’s not raining if I ever get to do it.

Day 10:

4.5 miles to Summerland. Again, this is claimed to be the most stunning portion of trail. Leigh was wanting a short day to take it all in.

Day 11:

6.9 miles back to White River. A nice, easy, short day out. Makes the long drive home not as bad. So smart. Someday it will make an amazing 4 day trip, and then we can claim to have finished The Wonderland…and actually enjoyed doing it. (P.S. I did eventually finish...took me three trips back! Stories here and here, though never wrote about the final 5 miles. I guess I was just totally over it 😝)

No shame in stopping

Here Comes Shuffle! (Finishing Section K of the PCT)

I got a real trail name!!! Yes, I did have one on the Appalachian Trail (buy my book here - or read it free if you have kindle unlimited) but only because I named myself. Talk about a cheater. Even though I got permission from another hiker who had named himself, I always felt a little guilty about it. Even so, KellBell really does feel like I part of me, so I feel conflicted about changing it. Can I have two names? Anish/Ghost does, and she is arguably the best hiker who ever lived. I say, why not? You can call me KellBell, or Shuffle–your choice. 

But how perfect is Shuffle? Poncho said it fit not only because of my slow gait, but because of my old school iPod I always listen to when I get too tired and need a boost. She came up with my name on the next to the last day of our six day adventure together in the North Cascades last month. I got to name her too…the day I met her…which was the day we started our hike. Weird, right?

When seeing an invitation on a Facebook outdoor women’s group to join a fellow member on her PCT section hike, I gave it a click to see what was up. “Bramble” was open to all comers to help her complete all of section K, so I immediately messaged her that I was interested. Sometimes you need to be impulsive so you don’t overthink things and talk yourself out of a potentially good thing. Trying to fit in with strangers is terrifying to me, but I knew I shouldn’t pass on an opportunity to do this with others–even if those others might turn out to people I didn’t like, or who didn’t like me. Scary - but I kept my fingers crossed it would be worth it.

Thankfully Bramble was game for me joining up with her a little past the halfway mark. Ultimately she found someone who would start with her, and also someone who would come with me to do half; so the eventual foursome of strangers was set. Bramble, Ranger J, Poncho, and Shuffle…talk about a fantastic 4!

Well, wait…me? Maybe not so fantastic. This trip was such a painful reminder of how slow I am; in fact it was my inspiration for this new blog name! (Update: My slowesthiker website crashed and burned, but I still hope to to something with the domain name someday.) Though this group of gals was totally understanding and accepting. They did their thing, and I did mine…my thing being about 2 hours slower than theirs. But it was all good, because at the end of the day, we all made it to the rendezvous spot just the same.

Even though I love solo hiking, it sure is nice to have a posse to hang with at the end of the day; especially when Stehekin is involved! All my fears about not getting along were completely unfounded. You know the saying, “No risk, no reward?” Meeting these great ladies was 100% worth the risk.

The rundown for this hike is described below, which I will be doing at the end of all my posts…but please understand this agenda is completely different than our original plan. Hiking never fails to be about being adaptable, so remember to always be ready to hike your own hike. Though the truth is, if slow poke Shuffle can do this trip, anybody can. Happy trails!

Yard sale! ;)

My first ever selfie with a PCT sign back in 2013 when I did the Buck Creek Pass Loop. One of my favorite stories - click here

This trip's (less cute) re-do ;)

LOG

DAY 1:
6.5 miles to camp at a very nice site on Suiattle trail. The 23 mile forest road to the trailhead is a doozy, so consider your car/skills/ patience first. Not a difficult hike though, and so it makes recruiting a drop off team a little easier because it makes a great 1 night backpack for them. Side note: if you are meeting up with someone who is doing the PCT, be extra careful to explain that you are using the camp by the Suiattle bridge and NOT the camp by the PCT bridge only a mile away. I cannot believe there was confusion over this yet again (you’ll have to read my Section K’s first half story to understand) but I kind of reign supreme when it comes to miscommunication.

DAY 2:
11ish miles to “small stream in a meadow/camping nearby”. There is a sign directing you off trail to the site, and a privy is available, as there was at all the camps. Expect almost all upward momentum this day, but it’s not nearly as bad as I expected. Thus I was able to forgive the speedsters we were meeting for asking us to do 3 unexpected extra miles because they had reached our original meeting spot so much earlier than anticipated. It did make the next day much easier.

(This first picture of Janet poking her head out of her tent would not be the last. She has been one of life's greatest gifts 💖)

DAY 3:
11.4 miles, mostly downhill, to Swamp Creek Camp. Very big area, right next to a big stream. My favorite camp spot of the trip.(Picture with the fire is above.)

DAY 4:
8 miles to the Stehekin bus stop. If you are anything like me, the idea of catching a bus causes anxiety, but don’t worry. I promise it’s totally obvious where to wait for the shuttle, and the schedule gives several options for the day if you miss it. (Look up “Red Bus Schedule for Stehekin” to get up to date times and cost. $8 this year, and they expect you to have exact change.)

SO FUN to meet the thru hikers if you are doing this late summer or early fall. And YES, the bus stops for about 15 minutes at the bakery so you can run in and get a treat. Have cash, it will make it easier. Camping is free in Stehekin, and everything besides the bakery is within easy walking distance. “Everything” being: Ranger Station: Where you have to get permits for your next camp spot…unless you can make it to Rainy Pass in one shot. Convenience Store/Restaurant: You’ll need to make your reservation in the store, but the food is excellent. Showers/Laundry: Expensive and probably not worth it unless you’re feeling extra nasty. Post Office: If you want to send a resupply, but you may find everything you need in the larger than usual hiker box. There is also a phone booth that is free, which is nice considering there is zero reception here, or anywhere on this trip.

Beth loves free stuff as much as I do!

DAY 5:
11.2 miles to Sixmile Camp. Six Miles from where…nobody knows. But very nice camp, and large, which it has to be. I think I counted 13 tents that night. Sitting in the hiker “kitchen”, you’ll be entertained by all the thru hiker stories if you are lucky.

DAY 6:
8.3 miles to Rainy Pass. FYI, expect rain…it earned its name for a reason. Easy miles; even so, it took me almost 5 hours. The rest of the fab four had been there and waiting in the rain for about 2 hours, so it really doesn’t pay to be fast if you are hiking with me. Again, no reception, so I hope you can arrange your pick up more accurately than we did. My husband made up for the 2 more hours of waiting by bringing us ice cold Coronas to celebrate. He’s the best.

(I did get to see the real thing when I finished the last of Washington's PCT in 2021. Story here)

Skipping Lake Dorothy and Heading to Bear With Melissa

The summer solstice arrives each year between June 20th and June 22nd, and much like the “death eaters” are called to their master when the magical tattoo is awakened, the Washingtonian backpackers are summoned once again into the mountains once the wondrous solstice strikes. (Harry Potter fans, anyone?)

We were blessed with a forecast of a couple of beautiful days, instead of the June gloom that usually welcomes us at this time. Though, June’s snowline was still low enough to rule out all the “good” backpack options. (Which is usually the case into at least early July.) 

There’s not a lot of talk about Lake Dorothy – or at least it’s not a destination that has popped up on my “must do” radar. But it came up in my searches for June hikes, and I also found it in my 1968 addition of “100 Hikes in Western Washington.” (Under “Snoqualmie Lake” – which you’ll eventually get to if you keep going.)  I did notice that none of these lakes made the cut for the newer 1998 publication, “100 Classic Hikes in Washington” (which I also have, and you should too) furthering my conclusion that this area must be sub-par. 

But beggars can’t be choosers, and Melissa and I were WAY overdue for a trip together, so we set out with open minds to what Lake Dorothy – or beyond – would have in store. 

Besides an easy drive to get there, the huge parking lot with a decent bathroom was also making Lake Dorothy look better by the minute. We enjoyed our walk together, even if Mel had to continually stop to wait for me, and before you knew it our 2 miles were done and we were there. Knowing we could push on to Bear Lake and hearing other’s complaints about how bad the mosquitoes had been overnight at Dorothy, we decided to venture further. It’s only another couple miles, but they are much harder with 700 feet in elevation, so as soon as we saw Bear Lake, it was looking good enough. (Deer Lake is only less than a half mile more, and Snoqualmie Lake a mile after that.)

Get a move on, Kel!

 

It feels like forever to actually get down to the lake, but it was worth the effort to pass on the first small campsite we came to before making the descent. And we were really glad we passed on Lake Dorothy, as for whatever reason, we didn’t find the bugs to be a problem at all at Bear.

I will be the first to confess confusion over what is legal when it comes to making a campfire, so I will claim the fifth in regards to whether we made one or not. What I will say is that IF you can make a legal fire, and you find everything is totally wet and don't know the "incendio" spell, these fire starters are AMAZING and can make it happen regardless.

Almost as good as magic!!

Obviously, I was very wrong about this area being in anyway inferior as a hiking destination, and I’m not worried that in writing this it will suddenly become overcrowded, because I now know it has always been far more popular than I had realized. In conclusion, I will encourage us all that we need to do our best to take care of our precious hiking areas: to never leave trash, and if you do make a fire, do so as carefully and wisely as possible, using only what is already on the ground. Not that we made one, I’m just sayin’! 😉 Happy trails!

P.S. I am adding notes to these old posts as I'm going back to fix a few of them, and currently (2026) the road is washed out 4 miles from this trailhead. And it sounds like it's staying that way. People are still hiking it and saying the trail is nice - it's just longer now. I'm also adding that yes, of course we made a fire. Looking at the rules now I believe we were legal. I will say that I am at this stage of my life totally over making fires, except maybe at a campground. Besides the dangers - they are just an overall pain. But it was fun this night, and if I could get Mel to hike with me again, I would definitely make one if I could.