Episode 61: Day 138-141

Day 138:

Woke up to the best sunrise and left camp by 8am. Today is going to be a good day.

Smooth sailing until my lunch break by a lake. Dark clouds overhead, so I’m enjoying the nice weather while I can.

3pm.. hail

4pm.. HEAVY HAIL

5pm.. rain

6pm.. snow

The trail is legitimately a river at this point, and my feet are soaking wet. Where am I going to camp tonight?

Found a cluster of pine trees and decided to stick my tent there in the hopes that I will have some extra coverage, since IT IS SNOWING SO HARD RIGHT NOW.

Finally in my tent, and everything is soaked.. and its cold. My compass/thermometer is showing 40 degrees, and its not even that late yet…Good times.

Its kind of amazing to think about – going from the most glorious of mornings to the most challenging of nights. Thank you PCT for another life lesson.

A gnarly 23 miles today.

Good morning:

Lake Lunch:

Hail on trail:

Chaos (aka the inside of my tent):

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Day 139:

Waiting out the rain, which stopped around 8:30am, and I was hiking by 9am.

The weather consistently rotated from drizzling to rain to fog, and then back to rain throughout the day.

Had lunch at Stormy Lake (how appropriate), and filled up water.

Then I ran into Hidalgo! I haven’t seen him since Yosemite (I camped with Hidalgo in the Muir shelter back in the Sierra). Apparently he flipped at South Lake Tahoe, taking a train/bus to Canada and walking south until he gets back to South Lake. So great to see him!

And then my day got even better… SUNSHINE. BLUE SKIES. WHITE CLOUDS. I could seriously cry it was so beautiful. I appreciate not being rained on incessantly.

As the sun was setting it was cold again and its looking like more weather is on its way. Good news is Elk Lake Resort is just ahead, so I have some options.

21 miles today.

Anotha one:

Sunshine feels so good:

(WARNING GRAPHIC) I hope I don’t get trench-foot:

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Day 140:

31 degrees this morning. My pack is wet, everything is wet. My socks are so cold that I decided not to wear them, only 2 miles until Elk Lake Resort.

Once I get there, I try to rent a cabin, but they are all booked! My only two choices are to camp wet or hitch into Bend. I know its time consuming, but I can’t keep hiking cold and wet.

But before going back outside again, I needed a respite. Gabriel, who washes dishes at the resort, invited me to relax in the tent he lives in. It was dry, and there were chairs and I was very happy.

Eventually, I mustered up the courage to get back out there, and stood on the road with my thumb out in the rain for over an hour until some folks pulled over. Thank you Chris and Thomas! They dropped me off at a Super 8 in Bend, but I walked over to the Roadway Inn to save a few bucks.

I GET TO SLEEP IN A DRY BED TONIGHT!

Life is good.

2 miles today

Today:

My new look:

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Day 141:

Today is a mental health day. Being dry and warm is good for the soul.

Read a book called O Pioneers!. Not my favorite, but provided enough entertainment for me to finish it in one day.

Rest Day.

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Video (Day 138):