Start point
Blue Lake, mile 2206.3
End point
Trout Lake Creek, mile 2224.9
Miles hiked
18.6
Wilderness area
Gifford Pinchot National Forest
People I met
Roadrunner
Hot Rocks
The day on trail
I slept so good. I woke up when everyone was getting up. It was a nice morning. I had some breakfast and dilly dallied so everyone could leave before I went to the bathroom.
Soon I was off. The weather was a little thick with humidity. But it wasn’t bad and it was still cool enough. There were some light sprinkles.
But it made the light so pretty.
There were already mushrooms to be found.
I came to a trail sign.
And so many shroomies.
Another old style PCT blaze.
And I found a hedgehog mushroom! It was too old to eat, which is a bummer because I love these things.
There were some trail information signs. One was for trail angels in Trout Lake, which was my destination tomorrow. I’ll have a longer day today and a short day tomorrow. Partially because if I did the full distance today, I’d be in too late to contact a trail angel. Partially because I heard there’s some trail magic tomorrow morning at the highway that goes to Trout Lake.
There was also a trail log.
And then some random picnic table out in the middle of a meadow?
That’s cool. Let’s look at more mushrooms though. Like this adorable duo.
Or this cluster that smelled like anise.
Or this bunch of fried chicken mushroom (the name makes no sense).
I came to a road crossing.
I have a problem that’s been building up and I’ve been ignoring it. My hip belt has been chafing me. To try and mitigate it, I put my camp socks under my hip belt to try and cushion the straps. The problem is the belt is too large, so the nylon straps sit where the cushion should be.
I ordered a new belt to be delivered to Cascade Locks. Hopefully a couple days of not backpacking will help the sores heal.
I came to another trail sign. PCT in each direction.
And this really cute mushroom.
Remember the lobster mushrooms? Those are this one that get infected by a mycological parasite which turns them red and puffy.
I was getting close to Trout Lake Creek evidenced by these signs a short distance from each other and a blaze.
I got to camp well before sunset and set up. I made a leisurely dinner and chowed down. I decided against cowboy camping because the weather is so liable to rain tonight.
I’m excited to get to Cascade Locks tomorrow. It’s a huge step.