Start point
Tentsite and dirt road, mile 2159.9
End point
Panther Creek Campground, mile 2183.1
Miles hiked
23.2
Wilderness area
Gifford Pinchot National Forest
People I met
Some hikers at a watering hole
The day on trail
Cowboy camping is the best. We slept under the (shooting) stars and got up early.
Level Up got moving faster; they still had their tent set up. I dilly dallied and took off maybe 15 minutes after they did. They’re young and fast, so I ate their dust.
My plan is to hike to Trout Lake over the next three days, then hitch to Hood River and take the Gorge Express to Cascade Locks for PCT Days. So I have some miles to cover, but it’s absolutely nothing I can’t do.
Holy smokes I’m so excited.
And the day started off with mushies.
A little brown russula just pushing its way above ground.
And a sign.
A rock, a creek, and a river trail. Hello, Washington!
And this little nubbin of a mushroom sprouting up.
Push push push!
This is just my favorite way to hike. Wandering gentle, compacted organic matter over mineral layer trails. Vibing. Enjoying what’s around me. Might be a little warm, but hell, I’m from Arizona.
A ways up there was a sign reviewing the history of this particular section. It’s a reminder that while wildfires aren’t new, their ferocious magnitude might be.
But, in the words of Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park: “Life, uh, finds a way.”
Look at these gorgeous lobster mushrooms!
I soon got to a beautiful watering hole where Em showed up, along with a bunch of other hikers I’d been seeing around. We sat around and caught up. I gave one of them one of my mushrooms.
After they took off I had a little dip in the water, which had some baby fish in it.
There was a really cool beetle on a rock by the water.
Appropriately, after the watering hole, there was a small bridge to cross with a currently gentle creek under it. I bet it really rages when snow is melting!
There was a natural arch. Another break in the timeline.
After crossing into a new dimension, I found this announcement of where I was.
A little further there was another beauty of a lobster mushroom.
Look at that shape! That color! It was perfectly firm. I can’t wait to cook it up and eat it!
I found another sign. This one had collapsed ages ago and was rejoining the forest.
Someone had put some wisdom from Taylor Swift on a blaze.
I found a tag on a tree.
And more mushrooms!
Do you like to whistle, punk?
And another PCT sign with the trail snaking away. I can’t get enough of it.
I came to a meadow nestled between forest on hills. Since the Tahoe Rim Trail, these have been one of my favorite things to walk through.
And someone really didn’t want us getting off trail here.
It was getting late and I was getting close to the campsite. I crossed a bridge.
And. Oh. Another bridge. Right on the walkway from the last one.
I rolled into the campsite at dusk, before it was really dark. I cut up the mushrooms I found, sautéed them, and added them to my dinner. It was really good. I’m loving having all these lobster mushrooms. Then I brushed up and cowboy camped. It was a great end to a beautiful day.