Coming Back to the Hometrail

Monday, august 18
Mile 1940, Three Sisters Wilderness

This is our life.

Getting back on trail after a weekend of brewfest in Bend can be described in the following passage, as I remember from my stream of consciousness yesterday evening:

Trail treasures.

Fresh feet thump the dirt path, and the familiar creak of my pack, panting breaths, and tick-tick of my trekking pole bring me back into that old cadence. My ears are still feeling numb from the rides in pickup trucks that comprised our hitch back to trail. I'm sweating out the salt and toxins that built up after two days of rich food and beer. But slowly, the night drapes around and there is an overwhelming relief that darkness brings. Everything's softened at the edges, the sounds become soothing and rhythmic..

It's so good to be back.

More treasures.

Back with a bang!

Wednesday, August 13
Mile 1878, Mount Thielson Wilderness

Flash! .. Cracka cracka BOOM!

The sky lit up around me as I walked the rim of Crater Lake yesterday. It's the deepest lake in the US; one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, and we got to see it as the sky opened up overhead.

And it's been raining on and off ever since. Right now there's a steady downpour on my tent's walls that I narrowly escaped. I actually love the rain and what it does for the mountains I've been catching glimpses of throughout the day. The veils of mist give the hills a mystique that reminds me so much of the city I grew up in. I'll trade a little cold and tent anxiety for the beauty of the rain.

And hey, if worst comes to worst, I'll sardine myself into the Iron Dome with Stick and Laugh Track.

NoCal

Thursday, July 17
Mile 1265, Bucks Lake

Donner Pass, glorious.

Well, a combination of being out of service most of the time, being social, and being way too exhausted at night to write has knocked me off the blogwagon. From here on out, updates will be fewer but hopefully just as fun! Fear not!

Rubik's trail magic. We spent all day chilling with him at Gold Lake. So much fun! Needed relaxation.

Today finds me lounging on the back deck of trail angels at Buck Lake, sucking on hella cough drops. I picked up a cold a couple days ago and it's kind of a drag... But didn't stop me from pulling a 29-mile day yesterday. We're gradually going nocturnal this stretch to deal with the heat and humidity in these green NoCal hills.

Watching the world cup playoffs in Sierra City!

Hiking at night, alone, in the forest, is a funny combination of terrifying, exciting, and peaceful. I'm getting more comfortable with the dark on this trip, though, which is something I've been wanting to get better about for years. I'll intentionally leave my headlamp off as long as possible and hike by feel.. It can be really lovely and meditative when I calm down enough to enjoy it.

Squaw

Thursday, July 10
Mile 1143, Squaw Valley

Pattering softly
Rain is an old friend speaking
From outside my tent.

Squaw valley! Gotta come back and ski this place someday

Mosquito's knocking
I kill the infiltrators
They call reinforcements.

The Festy Hiatus

Tuesday, July 8
Mile 1100, Lake Aloha, Desolation Wilderness

Nahko and Medicine for the People played two sets. And then I met Nahko. When i told him i was thru-hiking, he wanted to see my calves. I almost died.

Whew, what a whirlwind of a weekend! We left trail nearly a week ago to hitch up to a music festival in Quincy. It was my first ever, and I loved every second of it! Four days of my favorite artists, trips to Feather River to cool off, water balloon tossing, and crazy amounts of dancing.

Yesterday, we left the festival but Magic Stick had a gnarly case of the 24-hour flu, so we hung out in Quincy park (where I stomped everyone in an epic game of hearts) til he felt OK enough to hitch up to Truckee. We stayed in our first hotel yet, and it was glorious! Hot tub time, movie watching, bed sleeping.. All good.

Stick was worlds better in the morning, so we hitched back down to Echo Lake. It was evening, so we walked six mellow miles into Lake Aloha. The mosquitos are swarming, but I'm in my tent, the bug-free oasis. So stoked to be back on trail!

Heroes

Tuesday, July 1
Mile 1089

I can see lake Tahoe! This is kind of surreal, because I remember when it seemed SO far away.. The miles are starting to fly.

Today, we walked six miles to the Carson Pass visitor's center, and found out that there was a pub 7 miles down the road where we could watch the US play Belgium in the World Cup.. and eat burgers.. And beer.. Sold! It's been so hot during the day that we don't really want to hike between 10 and 4 anyway. A couple easy hitches, full bellies, and an evening swim told us we made the right call.

More snow crossing on the Elephant's Back before Carson Pass

So we "her-o"ed, Magic Stick's word for hiking in the morning, partying in town, then hitting the trail again in the same day. I'm feel so relaxed about the trail and the schedule now; much more so than I was at the beginning of the hike. I am truly believing that everything works out, and having fun is the key to success on the trail. Being too strict with myself leads to burnout, and I'm in this for the long haul.

22

June 30

Laugh Track's 22nd birthday! 3 lakes to be jumped in, horse magic, and glorious vistas. A day worthy of Laugh Track's awesomeness!