Start point
Trout Lake, mile 2229.9
End point
Lava Spring and Tentsite, mile 2250.5
Miles hiked
20.6
Wilderness area
Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Mount Adams Wilderness
People I met
Milkman
Bones
Spiffy (and her sister)
The day on trail
Back on trail today! It’s gonna be a big day, 20+ miles planned and I have to get a ride back to where I left off…which isn’t exactly on the way anywhere.
Barbie hooked me up with Spiffy, who was giving her sister a ride to where I’m headed. Lucky! They had one extra space in the car after someone ended up getting a hitch elsewhere. Even luckier! They were taking off around 9, so I had time to pack up and get some breakfast.
My stakes have been getting progressively more bent. It’s been making staking out my tent more and more exciting…will this hold or will it wriggle its way out of the ground?
Ranger, Good Canadian, and Karma were all at the diner. They were leaving as I was getting there. I hugged them all goodbye because we were heading in different directions. I’m going to miss them.
I had some pancakes and eggs, decaf, and just enjoyed the last lazy morning in town I’d have for a while. After this, I’m going to have to be hiking hard and fast to make it to Tucson by the time I have to pick up Rye.
After breakfast, I made my way over to Spiffy’s meetup spot. I hugged Barbie, who introduced me to Spiffy, and we all started chatting. Soon we were off. It wasn’t too long of a trip, maybe 45 minutes or an hour.
We exited the car. Everyone was excited. There’s a special electricity when getting back on trail. You’re ready for it, but you’re also anxious about giving up the niceties of city life — chargers, running water, accessible food, quick shelter. Even though we’ve gone feral, the pull of civilization is very real and the anticipation of leaving that always gives this dichotomy of friction between the two worlds.
We all got our stuff set up and said our goodbyes.
I took off at a decent pace. Mostly because I already had my trail legs and Spiffy’s sister did not.
About 15 minutes into the trail, I came upon a father and daughter who were goatpacking (?). They had a group of maybe 3 goats carrying their gear. It was so cute and the goats were so sweet.
I said hi to the friendliest of them, who just loved getting his head scratched.
After continuing on for a bit, I found a striped ground squirrel just doing its thing.
The views out here were just so sumptuous.
I came to a sign near the boundary of a burn zone.
And there I was, in another burn zone.
Luckily it was short, you can see where in transitions back to healthy(ish) forest in the back.
You just have to do what you can and keep going. I was rewarded for this with a thatch of paintbrush.
After a few turns around a mountain, Mt. Adams Wilderness really started to live up to its name.
There was some mist, or maybe smoke. The sky had a bit of an ethereal haze to it. And the trail felt like it was from another, more ideal world.
Until the next burn zone, at least.
There was a sign near the end of the zone.
And then a little glacial river crossing.
The last log got a little wet, the others, while bendy, kept me dry. I love taking these things across the rivers now. They’re so fun!
And there was another view of Adams.
I found this little insect in some rocks. Sadly I couldn’t get a sharp photo of it.
And then, wouldn’t you believe it, another view of Adams. Again from a trail that felt like a different, more ideal, parallel world.
I had to cross a little stream with a bridge.
And then I was at my campsite. Which, of course, I cowboy camped in. The weather was too beautiful not to.
Dinner and bed. And I’m back to being feral again.