Day 133, 21.2 miles

Wow, today was one of my favorite days on trail so far! It seems like Washington is full of favorite days! You guys are probably sick of hearing/seeing this already so I’ll just say it once: There were blueberries and hucklesberries EVERYWHERE today!! HUGE berries!! So, when you see all these images, feel safe to assume there were handfuls of delicious ripe berries all around me at any moment in time.

The day started with a big climb out of our beautiful little camping area. I was in a thick forest for awhile but soon busted out into the open. Right off the bat there was beauty to be seen all around, and the day’s views just got better as it went on! 

Is this real?!? 

The day was remarkably gorgeous, I really don’t know how else to explain it! The warm fall colors of the huckleberries and other bushes and shrubs mixed with the vibrant lush greens of the forest and the cool and calming blues of the sky blended together with the earthy grounded whites and light browns of the trail and surrounding rock formations were just so breathtaking!

Google, Big Boy, Calamity, and Numbers

I saw everyone on a nice big boulder over a nice big lake about 10 miles in. Everyone was there; Hauser, Cheesesteak, Big Boy, Numbers, Happy Feet, and even people that I thought went ahead including Baby Blanket, Google, Calamity and Skywalker. Baby Blanket had caught some fish and was grilling them up. 

I knew I wanted to swim but before that I went on a mini adventure to find a larger, hidden lake just behind it called Deception Lake. It took alot of bushwhacking to find the thing but I did and it was really pretty. On the way back I could see people jumping in the lake off of the boulder so I quickly made my way back! The boulder was perfect for jumping into the icy deep water and you bet your bottom I did! 

Daisy Lake

Deception Lake

Looking across at the others jumping in!

Baby Blanket cooking lunch

Blanket going in! 

The water was so nice and refreshing. About half of the group also jumped in. At around 1:30pm we decided to finally move on. There was some crazy elevation changes coming up, but the day was so beautiful that none of us cared! We went way up to Piper Pass and then way back down into beautiful granite valleys and then up again overlooking grand blue lakes!

Huge Blueberries

At one point, I found the largest blueberry patch I had ever, with some of the biggest blueberries on it. I was so excited I literally jumped on the ground and Baby Blanket took a picture of me. This is one of my favorite pictures of me that anyone’s ever taken...

Best picture ever! Baby Blanket you’re a pro! We popped out of berry forest and went down yet another set of beautiful granite slides. Then, the steepest uphill we had yet. It was a 1,000 ft incline in just over a mile! That’s steep ya’ll! I pushed up the hill with previously untapped energies. I felt like I couldn’t be stopped. My heart was trying to pump out of my chest, but it felt so good! At the very tip top I took a break and on the way down o saw one of the most beautiful lakes I’d ever seen!

Ahhhh!!!

At one point I caught up with other members of the group and most of them had encountered a bear today! There were two different encounters in a matter of a couple miles! What the heck?! Where’s MY bear-sighting! It’s ok, I have basically come to terms with the possibility of me not seeing one on this trail, so if I DO see one, I’ll just be even more surprised!

Soon after this view my camera decided to stop working on my phone. Usually if grumble about this but this time it actually felt nice! Instead of reaching for my phone at every scenic thing, I just stopped and took it all in, as well as a deep breath. There was a beautiful little creek area with tadpoles and frogs and songbirds all around! All the others had gone ahead and I was alone. I sat down in the warm grass and dirt and was able to write some thoughts down. It was such a beautiful place, I wish I could’ve stayed for hours!

A southbound hiker eventually came by and I decided I should make a move too and roll out. Camp was under 5 miles from there and I spent the rest of my day walking slowly and eating way too many berries along the way.

I’m really missing Claire today. I miss her all days but today my thoughts are with her x10... 4.5 months is a long time to be separated from your significant other, and although a small part of me is very sad that the trail is coming to an end, the much larger part is happy that I’ll be returning to the woman of my dreams, and excited to start the next adventure together :)

Thanks for reading!!