Miles Hiked: 15.3
Total Milage: 2351.5
Today I got out of bed around 7:30am when some other hikers knocked on the door to ask us if we wanted to get breakfast. I was so excited to go back to Lambkin’s and get the cinnamon roll French toast for a second time. It was absolutely delicious once again. I ate breakfast with lots of new hikers including Grey Goose, Red Stripe, Wild Turkey, Ricochet, Ozark, and Peach Fuzz. It felt like a fresh start to the section. After breakfast I went back to the hotel and packed up my things. I took a shower as much as I didn’t feel like it. The morning was freezing cold. It was 10:30am when Ozark, Peach Fuzz, and I left the hotel to meet up with Melon and hitch back to the trail. By noon we had secured a ride back up to Rogers Pass.
I started hiking up the same mountain I turned around on last night. I was feeling great about my decision. This morning I texted 12 pack letting him know I wouldn’t see him until Augusta. I didn’t want to have to worry about running into him when I did what I did to get some space. I felt like a brand new person on a brand new trail today. I listened to a new Mt Joy album as I walked along an exposed ridge with wide open views. I stopped to take a break at the yurt that I wanted to stay at last night. It was way nicer than I expected. It had a log book to sign and I found out that there were lots of people here last night. It made me feel better that 12 pack likely made new friends to hike with. The break was really nice. I knew I had a ton of vertical to hike today and I felt so sore already. I was starting to question if the place I wanted to camp at was still a reasonable option.
I hiked on along more exposed ridge line for the rest of the day. I could tell we were hiking on the actual continental divide and it was stunning. There was a water source before the one I planned to camp near that I originally planned on skipping. I realized I was dehydrated so I ended up hiking an extra 0.8 round trip to get some water that was way off the trail down in a field. It was pretty annoying but I knew it was the smart thing to do. Peach Fuzz grabbed water as well. When we made it back up to the trail Melon and Ozark were taking a break by the Lewis and Clark Pass sign. We all had some snacks and chatted. I was glad I got water because it was getting late in the day and we realized we wouldn’t make it to the last water source. We talked to some SOBOs who gave us some tips for what is coming up ahead. Afterwards we all pushed on to get some last couple of miles in before dinner. I was able to talk to a couple people on the phone while I was hiking today including my friend Julia and Pop Rocks. They gave me some great advice for my situation. I am planning on hiking the PCT with pop rocks and his girl friend next year and two other people as well. Pop rocks and I had a good conversation about letting each other hike their own hikes and how I feel like I was with someone who didn’t respect that. It made me feel nervous about hiking with anyone else but pop rocks reassured me that wouldn’t happen. I’m glad we have had the conversation now! I’m so excited for next summer.
After walking over some stunning cliffs on the edge of the divide. The four of us stopped to have dinner together at the top of a climb. I had a southwest skillet Mountain house from Nate and Teresa and a hot chocolate. They sent me so much food I’ve been able to stretch it into three sections! The air got very cold as we were cooking. It’s started to get pretty chilly every evening hours before the sun goes down. I put my puffy on. It was about two more miles to camp where we set up on a saddle in the middle of a bunch of dead blown down trees. I was thankful to have some new friends to spend a day hiking with today!
Happy Trails!
Des Hikes Thru 