Tonasket
I packed up early to get a hitch. Since I had lost a day, it was now Friday, and the Tonasket phone repair shop would close for the weekend at 5 PM. If I wanted to get my phone fixed, I had to get there as soon as I could. The hitch would also be fairly long and inconvenient: 15 miles north into Republic, then 40 miles west to Tonasket.
There was no one on the road. In 20 minutes of waiting, I got passed by one car. I started walking, mostly out of boredom, but partly knowing that if nothing else worked, I could at least make it to Republic in four hours or so.
I walked up the dusty rural highway for three miles, gawking at the canyon walls towering over me, before I was picked up finally by an old guy in a red pickup truck with a dog in the passenger seat. I happily jumped in the bed and laid flat to watch the world pass by as he accelerated toward Republic. When we made it into town, he offered me a few pieces of homemade smoked salmon.
The hitch out of Republic toward Tonasket took even longer. I waited in the hot sun for about 2 hours, shielded only by the straw hat I had picked up in Republic I stretched out my thumb eagerly for every passing car. It took three separate rides to get there, but the last driver took me most of the way.
I made it into Two Rebels Tech in the early afternoon. The eponymous Two Rebels were a very sweet couple probably in their 50s, and they took my phone and told me they’d have it done in an hour.
I could finally relax. The bushwhacking nightmare I had experienced two days ago felt like a distant memory. I wandered blankly around Tonasket, a dusty little town that probably no one knows about outside of Okanogan County. There was a visitor’s center, though, with information boards outside detailing a surprisingly-honest version of the town’s history – The Syilx, like most native groups in the area, had their land stolen by settlers and were forced onto a small reservation.
The lone employee of the visitor’s center was delighted to hear that I was hiking the PNT, and she let me know that I could camp on the lawn behind the building. I was so grateful that I teared up in front of her. On of the hardest things about hiking on a budget is finding somewhere to stay in towns… for me, it sometimes ends up being just a weird strip of land that looks unclaimed. So the fact that someone was just offering me a place to stay, complete with bathrooms and power outlets, felt nearly overwhelming.
After getting lunch at a Mexican restaurant, I headed back to Two Rebels Tech to pick up my phone. They tried to sell me on a waterproof phone case, but I preferred to take my chances rather than drop another $20. In hindsight… although I didn’t end up breaking my phone again, I should have bought the waterproof phone case.
I had a peaceful evening in town. At the library, I ordered a replacement water bladder, some toe sock liners, and replacement trekking poles (The pole I bent in Glacier was starting to cause serious issues). A truck stop at the main intersection provided a shower, laundry, and a greasy dinner. Feeling lonely but satisfied, I camped on the visitor’s center lawn and fell asleep quickly.
