Day 135: mile 2106.8 to mile 2130.3

Sep 14

8.28.18. 23.5 miles.

Today ended up being a pretty chill day, and I hiked a surprisingly small amount of miles for having a full day on trail. My alarm went off at 5:30, but I went back to sleep and started getting ready around 6, and was hiking by 6:45. I camped near a junction last night that is an alternate to the popular Ramona Falls, a waterfall I’ve been wanting to see for a long time! The alternate and waterfall were beautiful, and I’m happy I did it.

Next it was a super steep climb up the mountain, the last steep climb in Oregon! Not that there were too many. The sun was streaming through the trees in a really pretty way. The trees really have been spectacular. They’re so massive and old, and the forest just smells SO good and the air is SO fresh. After the climb there was downhill, but a lot of rollercoaster up & down. I finally got some great views of Mt. Hood since it was a clear day. There was more up/ down, but mostly up to my lunch spot for the day, 14.5 miles in. I laid out all of my gear since there was some sun: tent, quilt, and pad to dry out and everything did! Patches, a hiker I’ve met so many times, ate lunch with me and she was so nice! We have lots in common and it was nice to have a good convo with someone on trail.

As happens most of the time in the afternoon, I was suddenly beat, and hiking seemed hard, even though I ate a ton of food at lunch to lower my pack weight, and was only carrying a liter of water. I was thriving on the sugar of skittles towards the end. I originally wanted to go a little further, but when I got to the Wahtum Lake campsite, Patches, Macro, and Party Hal were there so I thought it would be nice to finish early and hang out with them instead of forcing myself to hike more and camp alone. I’m trying to socialize with other hikers more. Sometimes since I’ve been solo, I get into a really solo groove and do everything alone, but sometimes it’s nice to hang out at camp and chill and talk with other hikers.