Day 128

11 Miles

Even though I slept cold last night, I was fairly warm getting packed up in the morning. The climb up, and subsequent descent, was gradual. We weren’t the last ones to leave camp, but it seemed like most had taken off already. The early shuttle times are 8:30 and 10:30 and we figured the first would be full. When we reached the road, there were already about 6 people waiting. We knew the group from Crater Lake and Whitefish Camp. Huck Finn, Clancy, Navigator, Zippy, and some others that I can’t remember their names. They’re a good group of “kids” having fun on their way up the trail. While waiting for the shuttle we all threw a frisbee they had, as well as wiffleball, and some improvised putt-putt. We ended up getting a hitch into town from a couple who were checking out the ice caves. The guy had actually hiked the PCT in 2019 so we talked trail stories on the way to town. They dropped us off at the Trout Lake Cafe, which was full of mainly hikers. We got food, but had to get lunch. I had hoped for breakfast, but a burger was great too. We then walked over to the general store where it was overrun with hikers. The store had a decent resupply, but a tad pricey. They provide a lot to hikers though so it’s worth it. They have porta-potties out back (with hand-washing stations!), donation-based laundry, shaded area to hang out and repackage, a hiker box, outlets for charging, and towels and soap for the showers at the park. We got our resupply, a couple beers, and some snacks then joined the other hikers on the lawn. Most of the afternoon was spent there hanging out and waiting for laundry. We didn’t shower, but we only have 3 more days until we get off trail at White Pass, so what’s a little more funk? We got waffle cones, which are messy for beards, and coffee from the bakery next to the cafe. Knowing we were heading back to trail on the last shuttle was looming, we got packed up and sat out front of the store where the shuttle picked up. That’s when we found out that there was a sign-up sheet for the shuttle. Oops. There were 13 ahead of us and only one pick-up truck serving as the shuttle. “The shuttle” is just a group of trail angels in Trout Lake that make it a point to run hikers back and forth at set times (donation-based). Luckily, the driver called his backup and Doug showed up within minutes ready to take anyone who couldn’t fit in the first truck. He drove us back to the trailhead, picked up the last group of hikers heading into town, and took off. It’s so nice to have that as a hiker. Thank you, Trout Lake. Once on trail we started climbing. We stopped to get water at a potential campsite, but there were too many dead trees nearby so I wanted to try for a better site further up. The next sites were a few miles in, but if those didn’t work we would have to finish the climb a few more miles up before the next possible site. Of course, the next sites were in a burn area so again, not usable. Once we reached a meadow that seemed safe enough, we scouted out a spot tucked into mostly-healthy trees. More miles than we thought we were going to do, but manageable. Tomorrow’s mileage should set us up to hit Goat Rocks Wilderness on the next day. Very excited about that.