We were delighted to wake up to blue skies! The smoke had cleared significantly overnight, which made us all the more excited to hike out today. After another great breakfast all of got back to hiking-related chores. I cracked up when Jukebox opened here new package of odor-proof food-bags. She’d made a mistake in the size and now she got stuck with two gigantic ones. It would probably fit enough food to get her straight to Canada!
Peach-man was early-morning carb-loading on some beer before hiking out.
It had been such a wonderful stay with Natalies family the past 2 days.
I felt relaxed and very happy. We were all taken in as if we were family and I just felt very grateful. After saying goodbye to Julie and Dick, brother Ben took all of us in his car and drove us back to the trail-head. We said goodbye to Ben too and hiked out around 1100.
Not long after hiking out, I realized how heavy the smoke had been the past stretches, because It was an immense difference now that we were hiking beneath clear skies and sunshine again. The air tasted fresh and it was a huge relief. We played games as we gained elevation, but soon the trail became crazy steep and all of us were struggling to keep a steady pace and keep talking at the same time. That’s when Jukebox asked if we were still on the right trail. Pops quickly checked and it turned out we weren’t. They’d checked the elevation profile earlier and figured we were climbing way too high… We’d taken a wrong turn. Jukebox and Pops cruised off trail through the bushes, while I back-tracked and figured out where we’d gone wrong. The moment that they landed back on the trail after their short descent through the back-country, I caught up with them after finding the right turn.
Free-wheel and Peach-man had backtracked too, but had probably gotten back on a different trail that rejoined the PCT quicker, because we didn’t see them again the rest of the day, so they must have gotten in front of us. We decided on a campsite that would take us 18 miles out today and almost to the top of the ridge. A little later in the afternoon some of the smoke rolled back into the valleys but it was nothing compared to before. There were actually views today! So much better.
We got to our campsite around 2000, happy to set up camp.
I really, really love my tent, it is one of my favorite pieces of gear. That’s why I’ve set it up every single night up until now. Our campsite for the night is great however with good views into the valley. So tonight will be the first night that I will sleep underneath the stars, a.k.a. Cowboy-camping! And there’s a meteor shower predicted for tonight, so that’s real exciting! We had dinner which we all enjoyed and now were ready for a cool night! Great to be back on trail again after such a warm family-gathering!
So long sweet summer,
I stumbled upon you and gratefully basked in your rays.
So long sweet slumber.
I fell into you now you’re gracefully falling away.
Hey thanks, thanks for that summer.
It is cold where your going
I hope that your heart is always warm.
I gave you the best, gave you the best that I had.
You passed on my letters and passed on the best that I had.
Age Six Racer – Dashboard Confessional
