Day 121, 20.2 miles

Today I slept in super late at my sweet lakeside campsite. I didn’t leave until around 8am! I felt sluggish from such a late start but at least I did feel well rested. The trail climbed gradually up and down, and it was VERY cold and misty. I actually loved hiking in the mist today, and at one point the sky cleared up for just a second and I caught a quick glimpse of Mt. Adams through the trees.

I met a hiker from Philly names Cheesesteak, and soon after that rolled up to a water source where I saw a bunch of other hikers! Mougs was there and I also caught up to Manza who must’ve passed me due to my late start.

L to R: Manza, Google, Canon, Cheesesteak, and Mougs!

Moug’s horn 

Manza and I hiked out together, and at the next water source we caught up to Baby Blanket! I met Baby Blanket way back in Hiker Heaven. He’s a SUPER fast hiker! I’ve only caught up because he’s taken 30+ zeros on trail!! Google who I just met, was taking drone footage of a very old and tall old growth tree.

A tiny little drone

Crazy LCD monitor/remote... Technology...

For last ~5 miles Manza and Baby Blanket and I hiked together. We went up a couple steep hills and practiced running as a group down the other sides. It was really fun to hike with some others for a change, and it kept my mind off the monotony of the trail! Sooner than I even realized we had made it to the road where we would hitch into Trout Lake from.

We arrived at 3:21pm and there was a sheet of laminated paper there saying that a shuttle would be arriving at 3:30pm! What perfect timing! The shuttle pulled up and two familiar faces getting out were Omri and Happy Feet. All of us inbound hikers jumped in the back of the truck and had a super fun ride 12 miles down to Trout Lake.

Mt. Adams on the drive in!

A 50 mph pano

Baby Blanket

Trout Lake is so cool and laid back! Claire and I have been here before, but it’s so neat to be here during peak hiker season too! Manza and I and Google headed straight for the cafe and got burgers and huckleberry milkshakes (and I even got huckleberry cheesecake!!) Yum yum YUM!! 

I picked up a box at the store from mom and learned that there was free camping spaces available behind the store. I hung out talking with all the other hikers for a looooong time! A bunch of people I know were there including Daddy, McGuyver, Hauser, Clean Turkey, Butterfly Kisses, and more! It’s so fun to have people I know around and to actually be going about the same pace for once!

Daddy and a doggie

We stayed up waaaay too late (in hiker terms, (aka 10pm)), and everyone just ended up cowboy camping in the nice soft grass outside the store. What a fun night! I’m excited for breakfast burritos tomorrow and then getting another free shuttle back to the trail! I’m going to meet my buddy Caleb tomorrow, (the one who picked Manza and I up from Cascade Locks), and hike/camp with him on Saturday. I can’t wait!

Thanks for reading!!